History FalloutNewVegas / TropesNToR

** Ulysses was also a TokenEvilTeammate, however according to the developers he can persuaded to serve a different cause completely.

** [[spoiler: Corporal Betsy.]]

This page covers tropes found in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', tropes N to R.
-> [[FalloutNewVegas/TropesAToB A-B]]
-> [[FalloutNewVegas/TropesCToD C-D]]
-> [[FalloutNewVegas/TropesEToH E-H]]
-> [[FalloutNewVegas/TropesIToM I-M]]
-> [[FalloutNewVegas/TropesSToZ S-Z]]

* RealIsBrown: ''New Vegas'' plays around with this; there's a surprising amount of color in the Mojave Wasteland, especially New Vegas itself but as you approach Camp Forlorn Hope the color is leached out of the setting, making everything appear in shades of dull brown.

* RainbowPimpGear: As usual, a possibility.

* PaintingTheFourthWall:

** The game prides itself on making certain that none of the factions are straight out "good" or "evil," with reminders like NCR being ineffective at defending its interests in stark contrast to the Legion inspiring such strict order that even the [[CompleteMonster Fiends]] won't attack their territory, but...of the companions for the Courier, nearly all fall under either pro-NCR or neutral, and two will even abandon you outright for supporting the Legion. Couple that with ''a lot'' of doors being closed to players for throwing their lot in with the Legion...yeah. There aren't a lot of incentives for siding with the Legion for anything but the different story missions.

** Terrifying Presence is essentially made of [[OhCrap pants-shittingly terrifying]] speech checks. Like scaring the dog-helmeted '''[[CompleteMonster Vulpes Inculta]]''', right after he ''slaughtered the entirety of Nipton''.

* NeverLiveItDown: InUniverse example. [[spoiler: Cannibal Johnson got his nickname because he '''once''' ate a raider's heart as psychological warfare, in order to scare his buddies into backing away/putting them in shock long enough to run.]]

** [[spoiler:Caesar and Arcade Gannon]] are extremely similar. Both are or were members of [[spoiler:the Followers of Apocalypse]]. Both lost their fathers at a young age. Both are well educated [[spoiler:to the point of knowing Latin]]. Both believe in the greater good, even if it is at the expense of the individual good ([[spoiler:although Arcade doesn't take it to the same extremes]]). Both prove to be [[spoiler:remarkably effective military leaders as soon as they put their mind to do so. Arcade is openly gay, while Caesar (along with the entire Legion) is implied to be gay (though this might just be slander). If you get a very specific ending, the trope is more apparent, as well, due to Caesar's interactions with Arcade]].

* NoobCave: The immediate area surrounding Goodsprings, complete with easy to kill giant geckos and a few bloatflies. Just don't take the north road if you've barely started the game. You [[BorderPatrol probably won't survive.]]

* NoodleIncident: You can find a computer log in ''Old World Blues'' which says steps are being taken to avoid a repeat of [=Incident:PLAYTIME=]. There were cyberdogs involved (possibly in heat), and fixing/sanitizing it took up a good portion of the research budget.

** Consequently, there is also some from Oblivion, since ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' recycled some Oblivion props; this is most obvious in the caves.
** If you listen closely you will hear some Oblivion soundtrack recycling. Less than in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' but still.

* PsychopathicManchild: If you read the [[AllThereInTheManual fluff text in the back of the collectors edition guide]], it's revealed that Caesar is pretty much this.
** He also has a pretty impressive moment if you bluntly refuse to serve him.

** For Vault 34 though this is the case of the inherent flaw (there were just too many guns around and the vault was overpopulated), and even when the Overseer has no interest in the vault experiments, not much could be done. The game was rigged from the start.

* PyroManiac: Cook-Cook, one of the Fiend Bosses.
* PsychoForHire: Jean-Baptiste Cutting.

* TheQuisling: [[spoiler:Papa Khan to the Legion. You can show him how that's a bad idea.]]

* RagnarokProofing: An integral part of the ''Fallout'' universe, but the example that truly shines is the Lady. This universe's WW2-era engineers must have been remarkable, [[spoiler: since a B-29 can sit on the bottom of Lake Mead for ''300 years'' and not only be raised intact, but made to fly again by repairing her with spare parts from a museum piece.]]

* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler: Corporal Betsy.]]

* RecycledINSPACE: Caesar's Legion is the Romans [-IN POST APOCALYPTIC NEVADA-]!
** [[InsultToRocks The Romans take offense to this horrible slur.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: For the NCR, Colonels Cassandra Moore and James Hsu are red and blue, respectively. For example, Colonel Hsu prefers to resolve the problem with the Kings peacefully by providing supply for The Kings, while Colonel Moore just prefer to [[KillEmAll kill them all.]]

* RefugeInAudacity: You, Boone, and ED-E storming Caesar's fort and killing everyone inside, Caesar included. Boone even comments on it.
** Lampshaded by Mr New Vegas later, though he was rather surprised on how the assassins evade heavy security even though the truth is you just storm your way in, killing anyone that gets in the way.

* {{Retcon}}: Used to explain the significant departure from the plasma rifle as seen in previous games to Fallout 3. The classic Plasma Rifle is now the "Plasma Caster", while the new truly rifle-shaped plasma rifle is a format encouraged by a Colonel Moretti. You see the name turn up on the "Future Weapons Today" cover on a loading screen: "Colonel Moretti slams the venerable P-94!" And in several terminals in the Repconn HQ you find a weapons project that was authorized by the same Colonel Moretti and resulted in the [[SuperPrototype Q-35 Matter]] [[FlawedPrototype Modulator]], which appears to be the first functional prototype iteration of the Plasma Rifle as seen in Fallout 3 and as a low-mid tier energy weapon in New Vegas. The explanation for why it shows up on the east coast is easy: The Enclave refined it to field-deployable status it and produced it over there. The reason for its apperance on the West Coast since Fallout 2 could be explained by the Van Graffs or other energy weapon manufacturers salvaging the field-ready plasma rifle design from ruined Enclave bases.
* RetiredBadass: You can recruit a squad of them to aid you in the final battle. [[spoiler:They're ex-Enclave, so they're also [[RetiredMonster Retired]] [[PunchClockVillain Employees of a]] Complete Monster.]]
* RetiredBadassRoundup: The entire quest of "For Auld Lang Syne".
* RetroUniverse: It wouldn't be Fallout without it. Though it manages to not only have a 1950's vibe in it, but also combines that with a late 19th Century Western feeling in the more rural areas outside the Vegas Strip itself.

* RobotBuddy: ED-E. Flies, allows you to spot enemies from ''really'' far away... And kick some ass with his laser while playing a bugle sound.
** Invoked with the MkII Stealth Suits AI from Old World Bues, a slavishly loyal and eager to please RobotGirl, who whines when you put her away and sadly asks "Will you love me if I help you hide?" when you put her on. She also feeds you Stimpaks and Med-X when you're hurt.
** The appliances in Big MTs "Sink" facility.
* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Caesar's Legion (Romanticism) versus NCR (Enlightenment)
* {{Robosexual}}: [[CrowningMomentOfFunny The owner of the Atomic Wranger.]]

** '''ASSUME THE POSITION.'''

* RuleOfThree: Quest-givers give three tasks, with few exceptions.

* NationalWeapon: The tribes in the Honest Hearts DLC each have a signature weapon. The Whitelegs use Submachine Guns, the Dead Horses use War Clubs, the Sorrows use Yao Guai Gauntlets, and the New Canaanites use .45 pistols.
* {{Nerf}}: Many of the low-level energy weapons were practically useless before the 1.2.31X patch, doing far too little damage to be of any worth. Also, the Hunting Rifle in ''Fallout 3'' had low damage mitigating its usefulness despite its plentiful ammunition; something that was rectified in ''New Vegas'', that being both the damage and the ammo supply. Also, the Sniper Rifle, with its 5x [[CriticalHit crit chance multiplier]] all but guaranteeing crits outside of sneak attacks, was toned down in the same patch that de-nerfed the low-tier energy weapons. Not to mention That Gun, the .223 pistol from ''Film/BladeRunner''. It was by far the best pistol in the 1st and 2nd games. Now it's not even as strong as the default 10mm pistol you get an hour into the game (but what it lacks in raw damage it makes up by being able to load the best armor-piercing pistol ammunition in the game).

* NeverTrustATrailer: The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epFupigyIN8 Blue Moon trailer]] features a gorgeous view of a fully illuminated New Vegas in the background. In the actual game, however, only the four casinos are actually lit up. The trailer, as well as some bits in the intro narration, suggest that Obsidian might have intended New Vegas to be a completely pristine pre-war city. In the actual game, it is revealed that the city had undergone centuries of dilapidation until Mr. House decided to repair the casinos as a means of welcoming the NCR.
** The Limits of the game engine might have something to do with this, as the game's intro also shows Vegas as a near pristine pre-war city.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: If you [[spoiler:kill or incapacitate Mr. House. You'll receive a message saying "A great tragedy has befallen mankind" '''and''' take a large karma hit. It's essentially some post-mortem ego-stroking]]. (Check the bottom of the note if you don't believe us). Caeser even says how House was 'full of himself' after reading through the note if the player chooses to return to him after killing House.
** Also gets rather ham-fisted in Lonesome Road, where it's made clear, in no uncertain terms, [[spoiler:that YOU are the reason The Divide, touted as humanity's best chance at recovery, is now nothing more than an Irradiated crack in the ground, thanks to the EarthShatteringKaboom you set off. [[YouBastard Thanks a lot, asshole.]]]]
*** [[spoiler: Though it should be noted that only person who considered it humanity's best chance at recovery was Ullysses and he's all kinds of crazy. And it's not as if youmeant to do it.]]

* NintendoHard: The game gives you the option of ''Hardcore Mode'', which simulates the post-apocalyptic experience. What does this mean? You have to [[ThisIsReality eat, drink, and sleep regularly to survive]]. Ammo has weight. Stimpacks heal over time instead of instantly. They also can't heal limbs any more; you need a doctor's bag or and actual doctor for that. That said, doing this is at best a minor annoyance for a decent player: there is more than enough food, water, and beds to cover your needs. The only thing in short supply is doctor's bags, which can be supplemented cheaply by actual doctors.

* [[NoCampaignForTheWicked No Campaign or Companions For the Wicked]]: The game prides itself on making certain that none of the factions are straight out "good" or "evil," with reminders like NCR being ineffective at defending its interests in stark contrast to the Legion inspiring such strict order that even the [[CompleteMonster Fiends]] won't attack their territory, but...of the companions for the Courier, nearly all fall under either pro-NCR or neutral, and two will even abandon you outright for supporting the Legion. Couple that with ''a lot'' of doors being closed to players for throwing their lot in with the Legion...yeah. There aren't a lot of incentives for siding with the Legion for anything but the different story missions.

** WordOfGod also alluded to this concerning Joshua Graham--his VideoGame/FalloutVanBuren counterpart, The Hanged Man, was a TokenEvilTeammate played quite straight, with great stats, but severe social consequences for bringing him along. For his appearance in ''Honest Hearts'', this was deemed too bland a character, and wouldn't be interesting. Considering how conflicted he is when you meet him, this was clearly the correct move.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Mr. House basically ''is'' Howard Hughes. WordOfGod even lampshaded it.

* NoFairCheating: Have the PC version and used the console? ''No achievements for you!''
** [[EpicFail Even if you do it to fix a]] GameBreakingBug. Achievements can re-enabled by saving and quitting, then going back to the game.

* NonStandardGameOver: In Dead Money [[spoiler: if you access Sinclair's personal account in the Sierra Madre Vault [[TooDumbToLive even though a previous text clearly says doing so will permanently and irreversibly lock the vault door]], you get a message (addressed to Domino) saying you are [[FateWorseThanDeath trapped in the vault]] [[AndIMustScream with absolutely no way to get out]], and an ending slide plays saying the Courier died inside the vault and was turned into a hologram.]]
** Also in Dead Money, [[spoiler: you can join Father Elijah and unleash the cloud upon the Mojave Wasteland, killing everyone.]]
* NoodleIncident: You can find a computer log in ''Old World Blues'' which says steps are being taken to avoid a repeat of [=Incident:PLAYTIME=]. There were cyberdogs involved, and fixing it took up a good portion of the research budget.
** Hinted to cyberdogs in heat and measures taken to sterilize the place after the dogs had their mating season.
* NonActionGuy: The idea behind the Good Natured trait. Your combat skills take a hit, but a whole bunch of non-combat skills get a boost, and since you have the option of getting a couple of party members to do the fighting for you, you can still survive when violence becomes necessary. That also does not prevent you from [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]] by putting skill points appropriately.

** Even better, the ''Old World Blues'' DLC has the [[TheAce Skilled]] trait, which gives you +5 to all skills at the cost of a -10% exp gain. Combined with the Good Natured Trait, this is a net gain of +10 to a lot of skills while also removing the -5 penalty to your combat skills. The experience loss can be negated by a perk which you can get at second level.
*** Sort of. The 10% penalty is applied first, then the 10% bonus is applied to the intermediate calculation, giving a net loss of 1% XP (1*.9*1.1=.99).

* NoOSHACompliance: Standard for the course in the Fallout verse. Though the Bison Steve hotel gets kudos. Pre-War there was a platform that led directly to the tracks for the Roller Coaster. Not to the loading[=/=]unloading platform, just in the middle of the tracks.

*** Followed through in many other cases where toxic waste is dumped in places such as a fire station. The REPCONN headquarters' tour guide also lampshades this by constantly reassuring you that no safety measures are required for toxic waste dumps because "nothing bad will ever happen."
* NoTellMotel: Bison Steve was this BEFORE the war. You find a ransom note. A skeleton on the bed next to a blood stain that's at chest level then another skeleton in the tub with a knife and surrounded by drugs. Murder-suicide, anyone?
** Maybe it's a StealthPun, since the real-world equivalent is "[[TheSilenceOfTheLambs Buffalo Bill's]]".
* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler:Caesar and Arcade Gannon]] are extremely similar. Both are or were members of [[spoiler:the Followers of Apocalypse]]. Both lost their fathers at a young age. Both are well educated [[spoiler:to the point of knowing Latin]]. Both believe in the greater good, even if it is at the expense of the individual good ([[spoiler:although Arcade doesn't take it to the same extremes]]). Both prove to be [[spoiler:remarkably effective military leaders as soon as they put their mind to do so. Arcade is openly gay, while Caesar (along with the entire Legion) is implied to be gay (though this might just be slander). If you get a very specific ending, the trope is more apparent, as well, due to Caesar's interactions with Arcade]].

* NPCScheduling: In the ''Lonesome Road'' addon, there are many instances where you will find a cache of goodies and opening it or merely approaching it will cause a group of angry npcs to kill you. It helps immensely to lay frag mines down in the entrances to buildings [[ProperlyParanoid before you go in]].

** If you tell the lone NCR Ranger attempting to use a bunker as a safehouse that the Brotherhood of Steel have you hostage - "Ha, ha, not a slaver collar... hey, what's that noise?" [[spoiler:Three angry paladins in T-51b armor, that's what.]]

* OmnicidalManiac: The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibOkPx_Ej30 Toaster]]. . No, you don't need to have Wild Wasteland enabled to see this.

* OneManArmy: The pro-NCR path more or less requires you to be this. Even if you aren't following that path, a high-level character with the right equipment can literally be this.
** Ranger Stella, one of the possible opponent in the arena. She apparently refused to be given a machete in the arena, prefering to fight with just her bare hands, and she wasted just about anyone thrown at her, from slaves and recruit legionaries up to veteran legionaries and an elite centurion. When you fight her, she can cripple limbs with one hit.
** Randall Clark, the Survivalist, wiped out most of the cannibalistic Vault 22 dwellers who killed the Spanish refugees he was watching over, at first by guerilla warfare which led him being called the [[RedBaron Evil Spirit]] by them.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Sort of. One minor Frumentarius that you meet greets you for the first time with "Hail Caesar" (hard C) and the very next sentence says it again, this time with a soft C.

** "Numbness will subside in several minutes."

* OutlawCouple: Vikki and Vance, who, according to the claims of the robot that works as a tour guide in their museum, were not copycats of the former {{Trope Namer}}s, as they began their own "crime spree" two days before Bonnie and Clyde began theirs. The pair's crimes were, however, pretty low key, and consisted mostly of shoplifting and con artistry. Their story still ends in a tragedy as they were unfortunate enough to caught in the massive crossfire between the police and a bunch of bank robbers, which resulted in them getting shot to pieces.
** A couple of idiots try to emulate them by stealing their clothes and gun, but it's pretty easy to convince them how badly this will go.
* OutscareTheEnemy: This can work against Caesar's legion on one occasion. [[spoiler:There's a quest where you can be hired by the NCR to help interrogate a Legion officer they've captured. If your character has a high enough intelligence or charisma, then the best solution is to convince him you're a Legion assassin sent to punish him for allowing himself to be captured. He's obviously more afraid of the Legion than the NCR, and in his panic and indignation he lists everything he'd done for the Legion lately, which is exactly what the NCR wanted to know.]]

*** North Vegas has a similar instance with a Speech check. You need to scare off some squatters. After you ask nicely and they refuse, you can inform them that you only ask ''once''. Later on in the same mission, squatters in the sewers can be made to fear a mob bearing down on them if they continue to make trouble.

* PaintingTheFourthWall: Obsidian addressed complaints about ''Dead Money'' in regards to personal item whereabouts and the ability to return in the newest DLC, among others:

** OWB's epilogue actually calls the player out if they rush through the main quest, since several of the good endings rely on you reaching every location and finding every single upgrade for the Sink personalities.

* ParanoiaFuel: [[invoked]] Vault 19 was designed to induce paranoia in its citizens through purely psychological methods. The vault is split into Red and Blue sides with an Overseer for either side, and the actions they undertake to drive the residents insane include making the air vents turn up for five minutes at a precise team every night, making lights outside corridors blink in apparent morse code, and assuring residents who notice these little anomalies that it's just their imagination and nothing is wrong. The vault being split into two sides naturally makes them suspicious of the other as well, and as the journal entries and computer logs will attest, it spirals into total insanity.
* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Every password you steal is always something very silly or at least words that can be found in a dictionary. Such as 123456789 for Raul's cell. All hackable terminals all have passwords in the form of words which can be found in most dictionaries.
** Seemingly averted on the HELIOS ONE terminal passwords, where the two terminals have super long passwords with seemingly random letters and numbers, until you find out that the number sequences can be converted from hexadecimal into ASCII, producing the phrases "My voice is my passport" and "Too many secrets"—both encoded phrases from the movie {{Sneakers}}.

* PointOfNoReturn: Once you choose to undertake the [[spoiler:attack on the Hoover Dam]] mission there's no turning back, though the game does at least warn you about this, unlike the corresponding situation in ''Fallout 3''. Strangely enough, it doesn't seem as if Obsidian took on-board the criticism of the fact that you couldn't play past the final level of ''Fallout 3'' (at least not until the "Broken Steel" DLC was released), as the game ends once you defeat the final boss(es).

* PowerFist: The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Power Fist]] makes a comeback, but the big daddy of them in the game is the Ballistic Fist: a glove with a [[MoreDakka SHOTGUN]] attached to it which triggers on contact. [[RuleOfCool AWESOME!]]
** It's Veronica's WeaponOfChoice.

* PraetorianGuard: Caesar's personal guards; they are even called that in the game.

* ProperlyParanoid: Mr. House believes that it is only a matter of time before the NCR betrays him and use military force to annex New Vegas. The NCR on the other hand thinks that Mr. House will use his robot army to betray the Republic and drive them out of the region after they defeat the Legion at Hoover Dam. They were both correct.

* PropRecycling: Lots from VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}.
** Consequently, there is also some from Oblivion, since VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}} recycled some Oblivion props; this is most obvious in the caves.
** If you listen closely you will hear some Oblivion soundtrack recycling. Less than in VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}} but still.
* PstandardPsychicPstance: The holograms in Dead Money will do this before attacking.

'''Courier:''' If you stole my brain, then how the hell am I still functioning?\\

** Potentially averted, as there is a way to bypass the Deathclaws and [[GameBreaker get to the Vegas strip at level 1]]. [[NintendoHard Good]] [[TrialAndErrorGameplay luck]].

-> [[FalloutNewVegas/TropesHToM I-M]]
-> [[FalloutNewVegas/TropesNToR S-Z]]