After the introductory cinematic, you find yourself at the entrance to the Temple of Trials. You could turn around and attack Klint, the guy guarding the path to the village proper, but that would be mean. You can also just Talk to him, but he just tells you to go on with your trial.
So just head inside and face your first challenge. Equip your spear and attack all the creatures inside. Visit all the side rooms to pick up any loot. Also pick up the Scorpion Tails. The first door is not locked. In the next hallway you'll get several messages saying "You see a raised plate." This means you see a trap. You can 1) disarm them all for 25 XP each, 2) run through them and take the damage, or 3) hug the right wall and avoid them altogether. You'll need to use your Lockpick Skill on the second door.
On the third screen is a seemingly impassible door. If you don't already have some Plastic Explosives, backtrack to the large pit and loot a pot on the northeast side. To arm explosives, Use them in your inventory to set the timer, position your character close to the door, Drop the explosives from your inventory, then run away and wait for the boom. If the Radscorpions poison you, there is some Antidote in a chest in the northeast room.
In the next room is Cameron. As you approach, you will enter dialog with him. After the conversation, there are two ways to get past him:
You and your fancy-dressed self will have just exited a cave on the north side of the village. Immediately south is a garden with some overgrown venus-fly-traps in it. Give them a wide berth and go in the tent to the south. Talk to the Elder to get some stuff and advice from her. Taking stuff from her tent will lower your Karma, so don't do that.
In the tent just to the north is Hakunin, and he has a weed problem (in both senses of the phrase). Taking stuff from his tent will also lower your Karma. Agree to help Hakunin, then go a few paces north and kill the plants that attack you. Pick up their spikes when you're done, and return to Hakunin for your reward. He can also cure any poison and heal you to full HP for free.
Feargus is standing next to the well, and doesn't know how to fix it. Amazingly, you do, by using your Repair Skill.
Exit the area to the west. Kill all the Geckos, gather all the Broc Flowers and Xander Roots you can find, and avoid the green goo. Bring the plants to Hakunin. Tell him "Ow?" and he'll make some Healing Powders for you.
Exit the main village to the south. Cross the bridge and exit to the World Map. Go to Klamath.
Klamath / Toxic Caves
Maps: Klamath | Toxic Caves
You can read one of the notices on the bulletin board. You can also give a leaf to the town greeter.
Immediately north of the exit grid is an outhouse. North of that is a shack with sign that reads "Vic's." There is a trap on the inner door. It is also locked. If your Lockpicking isn't strong enough, you can Steal a Molotov Coctail from Aldo the town greeter and toss it at the door. After unlokcing the door, there is another trap on it. Loot the back room and keep Vic's Radio (i.e. don't barter it away). Start collecting Beer and Booze (you'll need 10 of each later).
The building to the north of the bulletin board is Buckner House. Talk to Maida "Ma" Buckner and all you can do is agree to look for Smiley. Her daughter Aida just tells you to go talk to Torr, but she does have some nice things if you click the Barter button. Sajag the barman will also Barter.
Just outside Buckner House is Torr, who needs you to kill the Scorpions attacking his Brahmin. Have him take you there immediately. The Scorpions are to the southeast. Kill them, then talk to Torr for his thanks.
If your goal is to get 10 Cat's Paw Magazines eventually, you'll have to kill the Dunton Brothers in their little house north of the square. Do this before you leave this map, because they disappear after this. If you just start fighting them, the whole town will join in against you. To avoid this, lock the door before entering combat. Loot their corpses for one magazine, then loot their house for the other. Killing them actually increases your Karma. There is a third magazine in the outhouse north of the Bar.
Exit northwest and you'll find a crashed vertibird with a crazed robot that attacks you. It's a tough fight, but you can kill it. Looting the corpse in this area yields a Yellow Reactor Keycard, which you can sell.
Exit southwest to Trapper Town. Talk to the townsfolk, explore and loot the buildings. When you get to Slim Picket, he'll just give you the Trapper Town Key. Use it on the locked door next to him (or you can Lockpick it). Continue north, looting as you go. There are some Rubber Boots in the part of the building with the "Guns" sign on it. You may want these later. Exit down the manhole in the northernmost building. Kill all the Rats here, then take the manhole in the eastern part of the cave. On this second screen, continue looting and killing, and exit to the northeast. Be careful to avoid the Rat God for now.
Exit to the third caves area. You'll come to a locked door. Save. If you can't Lockpick the door, try again until you jam it, then reload and try again. You can loot the shelf nearby and use the Dynamite on the door, but you might want to save it for later. Go up the ladder and on the next screen, then loot the car for your Fuel Cell Regulator. Return the way you came, and this time kill the Rat King.
You can kill the Keeng Rat outright, or you can be more sneaky. Place a Dynamite (if you didn't use it on the door) on the ground near one of the wooden support columns northwest of his lair - the one that says "damaged" when you look at it with the binoculars - and the cave will collapse on him, yielding more XP than personally killing him. Just be sure to explore the cave thoroughly and loot everything you want first, because some areas will become inaccessible. Also, when the explosives go off, the cave will gradually begin to fill with rubble, and your character will say that it's best to leave quickly.
Go up the west ladder to Trapper Town. When you stop back to tell Slim Picket you took care of the Rat problem, he just gives you some floating text. Head back to Downtown Klamath.
Barter away your loot for better stuff, keep any Rubber Boots, (and the Radio, and the Cat's Paw Magazines, and the Beer and Booze), and exit to the World Map. Go to the Toxic Caves.
Make your way through the cave. In the room to the south, loot the Rad-X, Rad-Away, and Rubber Boots. Don't sell any of that. For the boots to work, they only need to be in your inventory, not in an active slot.
Go down the ladder at the end, killing all of the Geckos on the lower level. At the end, before opening the door, drop the Rubber Boots on the ground, then take several steps in the green goo. You'll take some HP loss. Keep taking a step or two here and there until you get the message "Your feet burn and itch for a while, but then they feel better." (there's also a shorter message that just mentions your feet. Wait for the longer one where they feel better.) The results of this are seen in Vault City, and again at the end of the game. After you get the message, pick up the Rubber Boots again, then open the door to meet up with Smiley. Ignore the locked elevator. (The first set of Electronic Lockpicks a stupid character will find is in Navarro.) If your Repair is high enough, you can repair the generator, though. Head back to Klamath. There is a narrow hallway along the south that is clear of enemies and goo.
Smiley will now teach you how to skin Geckos (a skin will just appear in every dead Gecko's inventory from now on). Exit to the south. Kill the Geckos and loot their skins. Next stop, The Den. To get there, it's two squares east and 5 south.
Watch out for the children in this town, as they'll steal from you as you walk past. Your best bet is to walk right next to them, wait a second, then try to Steal back your items. If they run off before you can get to them, your stolen item will eventually end up at Tubby's, the local shopkeeper across from the saloon. I recommend against killing them, as the Child Killer Perk is not something you want.
Tubby's store is southwest of the entrance. Becky's Place is east of the entrance. You can gamble here and make more money than you'll need in the game, assuming you know how Craps works (I don't).
Time to get Vic. On the East Side Slaver's Guild building. Tell the guard that you're looking for work. Talk to the guard on the right about seeing Vic, and he'll let you pass, then talk to Vic. Give him his Vic's Radio. Generic Radios won't work. Now you just have to kill all of the slavers. Talk to Vic to get him in your Party. (See Party Members)
Make sure Vic is well armed. Tell the slaves to the north that they're free. Note that you cannot ask him to stay put or leave. Go to Becky. She'll realize that Metzger is dead, and she'll give you $1,000.
Next stop is the Umbra Tribe. From The Den, it's 8 squares west and 5 south.
You will never find the Slaver Camp, because you are too stupid to ask about it.
You enter on the Woodland area to the. Pick up three of the Firewood off the ground here. Examine the body to the northwest. Loot the skeleton in the southwest. Kill all the critters, then exit north to the Tribe.
Speak to Krom, the Head Warrior in the eastern tent, and he'll ask you for 5 Spears and 10 Knives. No one else will talk to you until you turn those in.
Use the well to learn that it's missing a Rope and a Bucket. Use the well and put a Rope on it, then pick up the nearby Bucket and put that on the well, also. There's no reward for doing this, other than the thanks of the man standing next to it.
Exit west to the Fishing Area. The Fisherwoman outside the tent needs three bundles of Firewood, which you should have already picked up from the Woodland map.
Next stop, Modoc. The world map exit is on the south side of the Woodland map.
Modoc / Ghost Farm
Maps: Modoc | Ghost Farm
Feel free to stop by The Den to trade out some of your loot. From there, head due east, and you'll come across an unlabeled green city circle. This is Modoc, and you should stop and say hello.
First stop is the building immediately east of the entrance. In talking to Grisham, he'll will want you to guard his Brahmin. Agree, and you'll be teleported to his Brahmin Pastures. Hurry north and intercept the dogs before they get too close to the Brahmin. When they're all dead (the dogs, not the cows), return south to Grisham for your reward, which is dependent on how many of his Brahmin survive.
Between Grisham's place and the slaughterhouse is Bess the Brahmin. Use your Doctor skill on her to fix her broken leg and gain some XP. She'll follow you all around town any time you're in Modoc.
Go to the well outside and remove the boards, then attach a Rope and climb down. Inside you'll find Jonny's BB Gun, and a bunch of coins. You can take the coins, but you'll lose 1 Karma for each. The gun is pretty decent if you can find ammo for it, and you can sell it for some good cash. You can also return it to Balthas, but that will make him think his son is dead, so don't do that.
Exit north to the Bed & Breakfast part of town. Farrel is in the house in the southeast, and has a problem with rodents in his garden. Save before you accept his quest, and you'll be teleported to Farrel's Garden. These are not your ordinary Rats. They're tough and it's hard to find them all. Be sure to pick up the Rope if you don't already have one. When they're all dead, you'll get a floating text message saying you got them all. Return west to Farrel for some XP.
Go to the outhouse east of the B&B. Open the doors just behind the toilet holes, then click on the hole to go down. Set a timer on some Dynamite, then Drop it as close to the rubble as possible, and climb out. If you don't have any explosives on you, the mayor will have some later.
Aside from redecorating half of Modoc, you opened up a cave in the septic system. (Note that your character may have taken some damage. If you can no longer run, you or your party members may have a broken limb. Use your Doctor Skill to heal it, or find a good doctor. If you married earlier, your spouse may have died in the explosion, as well.) Go down the ladder, and fight a rat to the north. Loot the nest for Cornelius' Gold Watch, but there's nothing you can do with it.
Southwest of the well is Jo, the town's mayor, sheriff, and shopkeeper. Ask him about a G.E.C.K. and he'll ask you to investigate the Ghost Farm to the north. Exit to the World Map and go there.
Inspect the bodies to discover that they're fake. Follow the path north to the shed, and walk along the northeast side to loot the stuff on the other side, then run back across the tarps to fall down a hole into the Slag Pit. The guards will take you to Vegeir. The other option is to wait until midnight, when a patrol will accost you. Surrender and the guards will take you to Vegeir.
The leader of the Slags wants you to take a message back to Jo. Agree to do so, then look around and feel free to loot everything you can carry. Exit to the northwest to find some kids. Talk to the one boy who will, just to say hello.
Go up the ladder behind Vegeir, return to Modoc and deliver the letter to Jo.
Return to Ghost Farm. Instead of falling though the hole in the shack again, you can now use the manhole in the middle of the field you came up before. Tell Vegeir the good news.
Leave and go to Vault City, 6 squares east and 1 square south.
Your goal here is to get into the Vault to see if they have a G.E.C.K., or failing that, to find locations of other Vaults, so you can visit those and take their G.E.C.K.s.
The greeting office is useless. Loot it and be done with it. During the day, you'll have to Sneak to avoid getting caught. At night it'll be unstaffed.
Charlie is puking in a tent across the way from Ed's. Use your Doctor Skill on him to determine that he's radiated, then use some Rad-Away to cure him. He'll stand up and you'll get some XP.
East of there, between the bar and the greeting office is Curtis, who's lost his Mr. Nixon Doll. It's just on the other side of the bar. Get close to the wall so you can see it (looks like a plain box on the ground), then pick it up and return it to its owner. Curtis will then tell you, via a floating text conversation with his doll, about a Wrench behind the bar under some rocks. Go pick that up by looting the "inconspicuous pile of rocks," and hold onto it for awhile.
At the Clinic, Use your Repair Skill to the Autodoc.
Happy Harry is glad to Barter with you.
Exit north to the main gate. There's only one way in from here, and that is to Talk to Skeev. Pick the right response, and you'll be teleported to the Servant Allocation Center, then straight to the Vault. Don't talk to the Doctor, as you'll wind up either in combat with him, or escorted out of town. Phyllis just tells you to go down to Level 3.
Down on Level 2, Lockpick all the doors you can, use a ST of 8 to pry open the others, and loot to your heart's content. Notice an insane number of Water Chips. Ironically, they're not worth much, so don't bother. Be sure to get the Red Memory Module, and the Computer Voice Module. Fix the rattling vent for some XP and some Micro Fusion Cells.
Loot everything you can on Level 3 as well. Use use your Science Skill on the Vault City learning terminal in the southwest for some XP. Use the talking computer in the northeast. You'll rip out some wires, then have your PipBoy "optimized" by inserting it. This actually puts several locations on your World Map.
Leave and head to Gecko. You can pull up your World Map now. There are no consequences to just walking out. Vic and Val won't even talk to each other. Speaking with anyone else inside the walls will either put you in combat or get you escorted outside.
The only thing you can do here is trade with Percy in the Junkyard, in the shack immediately west of the exit grid.
This place is north of Gecko, 1 square west of the top right corner.
If you Drool enough times at the Doctor in the southwest corner of the ground floor, he'll die.
On the 2nd Floor, Elaine wants you to deliver a part to Max, in the basement. Go down to the ground floor. Open up the cellar door behind the preacher Matthew, and go down. Give the Small Piece of Machinery to Max, who's standing behind the desk, then go back up to the ground floor.
Under the stairs in the middle of the building, go down and give a Lighter to Hank.
Go through the gate to the south and kill the rats, then continue through to the Caves, kill all those creatures, and loot the corpse of Thomas for the Ode to the Flame Deluge. Return the book to the Abbot up on the 3rd Floor.
Broken Hills
Map: Broken Hills
Steve the town greeter will tell you what's going on in town, but won't talk to you if you or any of your Party Members have their weapons out. Liz in the white building on the north side of the street runs a General Store, and is only open during regular business hours. If Dogmeat is in your party, and you have the NPC Armor mod installed, she'll sell you some armor for the nice doggy.
Across the street to the south is Bill the Outfitter. Ask him about a job, and you can shovel brahmin crap once.
In the Bar, buy some Rotgut from the bartender.
In the small L-shaped house in the southeast corner is Jacob, who will Barter with you.
Loot everything you can in this part of town. This should include the Rubber Doll in the building Marcus is standing in front of, and a Cat's Paw Magazine in the pot on the south side of the hotel (last building to the northeast on this map).
Exit east to the Residential part of town.
The large house in the middle of the north side of the street is the Old Ghouls' Home. (a nice new home for Lenny, but you may want to keep him through Golgotha). Talk to Typhon in the southwest room. Give him a Cat's Paw Magazine, then Wait an hour. Then give him a Rubber Doll and Wait three hours. Give him a Rot Gut (the barkeep sells them), and he'll give you a clue about some treasure and some XP. Go to the town well Downtown and manipulate it to find out you won't fit. Micky nearby will, and he'll get the treasure for you. Return to Typhon to tell him you feel wronged. Let him off the hook for a small Karma gain. You can Barter with him to get your Cat's Paw Magazine back.
In a large building in the east is a Mad Professor. You can take competitive tests against his intelligent Radscorpion for some XP. Save before each, as there is a random element. It's impossible to actually beat it on the IN test yet, but try once anyway. In the north part of the map is a garden, and a talking plant will want a transplant to a new garden, in exchange for a tip on how to beat the scorpion at chess. Bring a Shovel to him and plant him in the garden in front of the Old Ghouls' Home just south of there. Return and retake the IN test to defeat the scorpion. It will attack you afterwards, and you'll have to kill it. When it's dead, you should force end combat to avoid killing the Professor too. Loot the scorpion for some Spectacles, which you should keep.
There are three manholes in this area that lead down to some caves. Kill all the giant ants down here.
Next stop, New Reno.
There are four Families vying for control of the city. You can leave them be, or kill all or some of them, in any combination. (see Endings)
First, some side-quests. On Virgin Street, go in the Church and talk to the man in the back who's making barking noises via floating text. Learn that he has epilepsy.
The dealers in the casinos all carry loaded dice, so I'd recommend against gambling with them, unless you have a really high Gambling Skill. The slot machines are ok, though.
There's a shelf up on the second floor of the Desperado you can loot for the Marked Cards. Three-Card Monte can be found near the sign to the north. If you're having trouble with some of the quests, you can buy information from him. Or, seeing as how he enjoys cheating at cards, you can Steal and put your own Marked Cards in their place. Do this in two separate moves, and save between each. Once you win enough from him and he owes you money, he'll stop talking to you. Enter combat and kill Three-Card-Monte and his sidekick. The good news is you gain Karma for doing so.
Exit north. Jagged Jimmy J trade with you after his introduction.
Exit east to the East Side. In the large building to the north, go down the stairs and Repair the Still that's to the left of the stairs.
On east side of 2nd Street is The Jungle Gym. Talk to Stewart Little to set up boxing matches. Winning each match nets you XP and cash. Winning all four matches gets you +5% to your Unarmed Skill, the Prizefighter Reputation, and permanent bonuses to certain Damage Resistances and Damage Thresholds. Be careful not to Kick, as that will disqualify you. Also, ask Stewart for time to rest up between matches so you can heal and save. If you manage to lose, Stewart will only give you one more chance total. The last fight is really tough, even with all the unarmed Perks and a maxed-out Unarmed Skill.
In the middle of 2nd Street is the Golden Globes Porn Studio. You can audition here, and if you pass, you can make a movie every month for $500. This also makes you popular in town, what with the Porn Star Reputation. You can also loot the place.
Go two screens west to Commercial Row and Barter with Renesco. You can also barter with Eldridge to the south at New Reno Arms, but only during the day.
Head into the Shark Club. Loot the pool table on the 2nd Floor for the Magic 8 Ball. This thing is funny and will give you some clues and access to secrets in the game.
Male characters only should sleep with the daughter, Angela, first. She's standing in the hallway. You will most likely become Addicted to Jet. Sneak past Mr. Bishop to avoid entering combat with him. Go downstairs.
Any sex character can sleep with Mrs. Bishop. Male characters can impregnate her or her daughter if there's no Jimmy Hat in your inventory. After sex with Mrs. Bishop, try to talk to her until her floating text gives you the combination to her safe. Use Traps on the safe in the northernmost room, then Lockpick it. Loot Bishop's Holodisk and the Raiders Map. Use the latter in your inventory. There's also a Cat's Paw Magazine. Save in a separate slot, then if you want to leave him be, Sneak past Mr. Bishop to avoid entering combat with him and go back downstairs. Otherwise, see the next bullet point.
The only other thing you can do here is kill all of the bosses.
There are two ways to find this place. 1) Get the map from Bishop's safe in New Reno, or 2) with a high Outdoorsman, exit Vault City around midnight, and you have a chance of coming across some raiders, whom you can follow to their camp.
When you first enter, you'll be above ground amongst some ruins. There are some Rats in the white building. In the middle of the map, take the manhole leading down. Kill everyone down here.
Loot the footlockers to find a Cat's Paw Magazine. Even if you do pick up the Dog Tags, there's nothing you can make sense of with them, and you can't open the big safe to the north.
On the map of Cave Entrance to the west are an insane number of traps. Your oblivious Party Members just love to walk all over them and take damage. There's plenty of XP to be had if you take your time and disarm them all. There are also a couple of pits you can fall down. If you do, be sure to clear out the Big Bad Boss Radscorpion before taking the ladder back up in the north of that map. If you exit out the west, you'll be at the Cliff Entrance.
Redding
Maps: Redding
The only person in town who comes even close to talking to you is the merchant in the mayor's office, just north of the town's entrance. Go one screen west to the the Mine Entrance. Kill all the rat-like creatures in the area. Take the elevator in the northern building down to Mine Level 2. (It's labeled level 1 on the elevator) If the elevator isn't working, repair the generator in the building to the west.
You're now in the Wanamingo Mine Level 2, oddly enough. (Just FYI, the wanamingos themselves are resistant to energy weapons, except the Alien Blaster and the Phazer, although your Party Member's energy weapons seem to work just fine.) Don't even bother looting the Excavator Chip, because neither of the mine owners will talk to you.. In the room just northeast of the elevator, just to the right of a broken crate is a well hidden Metal Armor Mark II, if you're into such things. Kill all the wanamingos and eggs on this map.
Go up any of the ladders here to Mine Level 1, and kill everything. Exit southeast to Tunnels North, and clear them out again.
Exit south to Tunnels South. When all the Wanamingos are dead, you'll get a message saying you've cleared the mine, along with some XP. You don't have to kill the rats in the west and east ends, but it can't hurt. In the eastern room is a ladder up to Ascorti's storage cellar. If you go upstairs, the guard will try to kill you if he sees you, so kill him silently, if you kill him at all.
Leave and go to NCR.
New California Republic (NCR)
Map: NCR
Buster owns the shop just north of the exit grid. He'll give you only one warning if you enter his store at night, and will then attack you. Be sure it's after 0801 before you talk to him, as he carries some really good weapons. You can also click on the shelves behind him to check out more goods.
The barkeep, Mira, will sell you alcohol and information. She also wants you to kill her husband, Jack. Wait until night, then use the Rope on the wall to the northeast. Once inside town, rest until morning, then wait for a cop to walk into the building in the northeast corner. Talk to the woman outside, and she'll ask you to stop him. Talk to the cop, but you're too stupid to stop him. Wait for him to blow himself up, then return to Mira.
The Slavers won't talk to you, so just kill them all. Manipulate the panels on the cages to set all the slaves free.
Read the bulletin board in the street outside the entrance to town. Follow its rules, especially the part about putting away your weapons. You can't even have one in an inactive hand. Also tell your Party Members to put away their weapons, or just tell them to wait here, as you won't need them inside. In fact, don't ever enter the Downtown map directly upon entering NCR unless you're sure that neither your nor your Party Members have weapons out. Don't loot any of the guard's lockers, as they'll turn hostile right away. If it's night, the force field will be up, and you can politely ask the Captain of the Guard in the building east of the Saloon to lower it for you.
If Vic is in your Party, there is no way to tell him to put his gun away, and the guard won't let you in. If you use the Rope that Mira provided, you will inevitably wind up close enough to a cop that he'll open fire on you. You can get him killed, or you can use a save editor to kick Vic off your team. When you want him back, you'll have to go to the map he's on and use the save editor to have him join again.
Talk to Sheriff Dumont, located on the corner south of the police station, and he'll tell you to talk to Tandi. You'll do that in a bit.
The first building to the west of the entrance is Duppo's Store. Check both his tables for more stuff to trade for. You can ask him for a job, which is a caravan drive to Redding. Rest until 0800, then meet the driver to the west, just outside the gate. Save in a separate slot, then start the drive. Your reward will be based on how many Brahmin survive. You can hoof all the way back, or take a caravan one way back to NCR.
Go in the garage door in the large building on the east side of the area. Take the Ranger Map from the table in the garage. Use it to put the locations of three Ranger Safe Houses on your World Map.
Talk to the guy outside the Brotherhood of Steel station in the southeast corner. It doesn't matter what question you ask him.
In the center of Downtown, between the police station and the bar, is the Hubologist's church. All she can do is give you a Zeta Scan. This will either lower your LK by 1, or increase it by 2, up to a maximum of 10.
The southernmost building is Doc Jubilee's place. When you fist talk to him, he'll insist on amputating your leg. You asssume it's a joke. Instead just ask him to heal you. You can then ask him questions. Talk to him about Vault 13 to get him to mention Salt-Beef Bob. You can Sneak and loot stuff from his shelves.
In the middle of the southeastern wall is Dusty's Cantina. There's an obnoxious guy here named Hoss who's looking for a fight. Tell your Party Members to stay put, well away from the Cantina, then fight him until he surrenders. (Unless your Unarmed Skill is high enough to knock him out in one round, when it's their turn, your Party Members have a nasty habit of shooting people.) Dusty, the barkeep, will then give you a free Booze every time to talk to him.
Exit to the east, to the Council Hall. Tandi is in the building to the north. To get past her lackeys, tell Gunthar and Feargus you're there for the job. Talk to Tandi (yes, she's that old) and agree to pay a visit to Vault 15 for her. Ask her about everything.
The location should be on your map now, but if it isn't, on your way out of town, stop by the police station. Talk to the cop, Karl, inside who will enter dialog with you, and he'll open up a cell. Enter combat and punch Oswald until you exit combat. (If your Unarmed Skill is too low to knock Oswald out in one round, leave your party members well outside like you did earlier with Hoss.)
Tell the guard behind the gate in the southwest you need to get in, then use the dumb option, and he'll lower the energy bars for you.
On the Westin Ranch, Westin himself in is the large ranch house north of the road. Talk to Felix to gain permission to enter the ranch house. Ask Westin for a job. Talk to Felix again to be teleported to the herd. Wait for two Deathclaws to appear and converse. When they leave, you can leave. Ignore the text that says to go northeast, and instead go southwest, then re-enter NCR's Westin Ranch.
Go to Felix, then Westin to collect your reward for guarding the brahmin.
When you first arrive here, the only person who will talk to you is Rebecca, the woman in front of the middle tent. Her daughter is missing, and only you can rescue her, but someone overhears your conversation. Talk to Dallia to the north and she'll kindly let you pass. Exit north.
To free the girl, you can Sneak around the guard and use Traps and Lockpick on the doors, but the next time you enter this map they'll just attack you anyway. So kill them and loot the key, then use that to open the doors in the shack.
Return to Rebecca for your reward, and she'll tell you to talk to Zeke, the mayor of the Squat. He's just north, in the one permanent structure. Agree to kill Darion. He'll give you the Vault 15 Key Card, which you'll use on the door on the East Entrance map.
Inside is, you guessed it, a Vault! (Very different from how the entrance was in the previous game.) You're too stupid to bluff your way in, so you'll just have to kill all the guards. Once the bad guys are dead, the doctor here will heal you for free and give you some background info on the Khans.
On Level 2, the generator to the south will bring the power back online: use Science on it, then Repair it. Loot the locker and desk in the northwest room for a Cat's Paw Magazine. Take the Elevator down.
On Level 3, the west-most working computer gives the location of Vault 13. Now that the power is back on, the middle computer will turn the forcefield at the entrance off. One of the lockers in the storage room has the Vault 15 Computer Parts for Tandi. In the eastern area is Darion. As you approach him, you'll enter a short dialog, then you'll be in combat when you exit. Kill Dorian, and all his guards, then use the computer back there to get a NCR Spy Holodisk.
Once all the bd guys are dead, go back up to Level 1 to tell the doctor that Dorian is dead. Use the ladder to the south to get back to Zeke in the Settlement. He will reward you and ask you to talk to the leader of NCR to work out a deal.
So return to President Tandi in NCR. You will simultaneously give her the computer parts and tell her about the deal Zeke wants to make. Lastly, show her the NCR Spy Holodisk. Show it next to Gunthar for your reward. Feargus walks away as soon as you exit dialog with Gunthar. That's none of your business.
After playing the first game, this place should look like home -- except maybe for the deathclaws who live here now. Anyway, you get 2000 XP just for walking in the door. Gruthar, the leader of this pack, will talk to you. Talk to the the Doctor, as well.
Down on Level 2, talk to everyone to get their take on their living situation. Dave is especially funny. You can free Matt, but you have to kill everyone in the process.
Continue down to Level 3. You'll find Dhalia here. Head east to where the Overseer would be. Use the Computer Voice Module (from Vault City or New Reno) on the machine and fix it, then return to Gruthar for some XP.
Return to Level 3. Loot one of the lockers in the storage room for the G.E.C.K., as well as the NavCom Parts.Talk to Goris. He even wants to join your Party! (see Party Members).
Time for a triumphant return to your village of Arroyo. Have a brief conversation with Hakunin. He points you to Navarro, but you're going to go further -- 6 squares due west of Vault 13.
If Goris was in your party, the trip was so long that he will probably have left you. Return to Vault 13. Meet Goris where you first did. The security footage he refers to can be viewed on the Overseer Computer. Get him back in your Party.
Military Base
Map: Military Base
This place is 6 squares due west of Vault 13. When you arrive, there's a pack of wolves wandering around. They'll attack eventually, so initiate combat first and kill them all. Loot the tents out front for useful stuff. The holodisks here are useful only as fun background info. Find the Metal Pole just south of the mine cart, and attach it to the mine cart. Then attach some Dynamite to the pole, and push the cart. If you don't have any Dynamite on you, there's some in the shed to the north.
Inside, on Level 1, kill everything and loot everything, including the blue boxes. Repair the generator and take the elevator down to Level 2. Unlike other hostile places, you can actually Rest indoors here.
Kill all the mutants on Level 2, and be sure to equip the Power Armor.
On Level 3, you again get to kill and loot stuff. There's a Green Memory Module in the locker near the elevator you came down on. If you wait to attack the mutants, you can watch two of them to the east exchange floating text about a recipe for Rat Surprise.
Level 4 is home to none other than master magician Melchior Senior (remember his son in Redding?). Don't step in the green goo, as it'll hurt you. You'll have no choice but to fight him, and the minions he throws into the goo to mutate. You can kill him quickly, or you can have your Party Members stay behind, and if you can survive all the waves of his creatures, you'll net over 14,000 XP. (There are 4 Deathclaws, 4 Fire Geckos, 4 Floaters, and a Large Mole Rat.) After the fight, loot Melchior's corpse and the crate next to him.
Time to leave. Go to San Francisco.
Next up is Navarro, but first you need to make one quick stop in San Francisco. From the entrance to town, swing around to the south and talk to the BoS representative. Matthew wants you to steal plans to the Vertibird from Navarro, and tells you to pose as a recruit. In exchange, he'll get the Tanker ready for you to take to the Enclave. As a stupid character, this is your only option. If you're planning on the sneaky method, you might want to leave your Party Members here.
Now head out to Navarro. When you first arrive, you'll be confronted by Chris. He'll try to tell you that this isn't the Navarro you're looking for. But you know better. If you've been to the Military Base, or talked to certain folk in San Francisco, you can insist he's wrong. You can also bluff your way in by asking if he's heard of the Enclave, then saying you're a new recruit, and he'll give you access. If none of that works, you'll have to kill him before he can use his radio, otherwise he'll alert the base, and you'll have to kill everyone in it. Wiping out the entire base is the second toughest fight in the game, what with all those turrets.
After you have the password, and/or you've killed Chris, leave all your Party Members here at the Gas Station (if you didn't already leave their hearts in San Francisco), and take the path north through the woods and exit.
At the Vertibird Base, talk to the guards and they'll let you in, with instructions to report to Drill Sergeant Dornan, just northeast of the entrance. Do so, and be compliant while talking to him. The scene shifts to where you're at your duty station. Don't move until Sgt. Dornan enters the screen from the south. He'll patrol clockwise, stopping at each guard to say something. After he's spoken to you, and the guy clockwise from you, you can wander around without reprisals - just make sure he doesn't see you. (When he makes his way back to where you should be, he'll just wonder where you are. If he catches you, you'll be sent back to your post, and there are no real consequences.)
Your fist task is to get some Advanced Power Armor so that you'll fit in better. There's an elevator in the small building just north of the Vertibird. Once Underground, loot the lockers to the northwest. Hold on to the regular Power Armor, as you'll need it for a quest later. There is also a Blue Memory Module in here.
Go back up the way you came. Next to Sgt. Dornan's office are some technicians, who can tell you where to get the Vertibird plans and the K-9 parts, as well as some other useful tidbits. Southwest from there is the mess hall. You should ask Cookie the cook about all sorts of things, especially how to get to the Enclave (you need a fob).
In the large building to the northeast, with the truck in it, you'll find Quincy. Tell him a tech sent you to get the Vertibird Plans and he'll let you loot his lockers, and spout some choice words about Raul. Your next visit should be to Raul, who's hanging out inside the hangar. Tell him what Quincy said about him, and Raul will go off to fight Quincy. While he's gone, pick up the K-9 Motivator, the Cat's Paw Magazine, and other goodies from the lockers there, now that Quincy and Raul are busy putting each other in the infirmary.
Use the same elevator you used earlier and head Underground again. This time, head east and talk to the C.O.'s guard. Tell him you're with the cleaning crew. Run around the corner, rest for 1 hour, then come back and say you're with the cleaning crew (now who has low intelligence?). Once inside the office, either tell the Commander you're there for the Tanker Fob, and he'll tell you it's in the locker next to him, or Sneak past him and loot the locker.
From the elevator, go south through two doors. To the east is the Mainframe. To access it, use the password you got from Cookie, "Snookie," or a high Science skill. You can get coordinates for the Enclave main base, and locations of other places on this base if you didn't know that already.
Across the hall to the west is Dr. Schreber's soundproof office. Talk to him to find out what he's up to, and volunteer to kill the deathclaw, then kill him. Obviously, no one will hear it. Use the K-9 Motivator on the robotic dog here, and he'll join you, and won't even count towards the maximum number of party members (see Party Members). Keep in mind, however, that you cannot tell it to stay, so the only wasy to get rid of it is to get it killed or use a save editor. Loot the Blue Pass Key and the Cat's Paw Magazine from this office.
Down the hallway to the south, tell the guard that you're here on the Doctor's orders. Tell Xorn he can leave, then Use the Blue Pass Key on the locked door. You should leave, too, via the same tunnel, as there's nothing else to do here, unless you plan on killing everyone. As I said earlier, it's a tough fight if you do Gather up your Party Members at the Gas Station, then leave.
[In a previous patch, you could take the Vertibird to The Enclave, but that option was removed. What would be the point?.]
San Francisco
Maps: San Francisco | Hubologists' Stash
All of the containers on this map are empty. Pay a visit to Matthew at the BoS and let him copy the Vertibird Plans. The Tanker is now ready to go, no further action required. As a reward, he'll let you into his outpost, where you can loot to your heart's content. The computer, ACE, can upgrade your Stats if you have the corresponding colored Memory Modules, and can heal you for free, as well.
Next stop: the merchants. The building immediately west of the entrance is Lao Chou's, and in the corner east of the entrance is the weapons shop. Both are great. Dr. Fung, just northwest of the gun shop will heal you.
From the Chinatown map, exit to the northeast to the Shuttle Dock. Admire the space shuttle, then talk to the two guys here. Ask Dave Handy about what brought him down from Canada to learn that he has a crush on Vikki, then go down the stairs. AHS-7, the guy in the grey robe. If you got the alignment in NCR, he'll let you in, otherwise tell him you want to join. Juan Cruz and Vikki Goldman are in the large room in front of a screen. After their speech, tell them you want to join. Talk to Vikki about Dave.
In the big computer room, hack into the computer to the left and check out the Finances section to get the location of the Hubologist Stash. Once you're done reading everything, format the hard drive. In the room to the right with all the desks, in the northwest corner is a hard to see fridge to the left of the window to the computer room. Loot it for the Decomposing Body.
Find the man in the tuxedo in the back. If you attack AHS-9, you'll have to kill all the Hubologists in the base. You can kill him silently, by using 20 Super Stimpaks on him, then Waiting an hour. (Be careful not to Talk to him, as you'll be forced into combat immediately afterwards.) Leave, and never return.
From Chinatown, exit east into the Shi Temple and talk to the man in the second door on your left. Give him the Decomposing Body.
Leave town and go to the Hubologist Stash. When you get there, you will be immediately attacked and will have to kill everyone, gaining Karma for doing so. You may need to use Explosives on the front door. You can now loot every level to your heart's content. When you're sated, return to San Francisco.
From Chinatown, take the southwestern exit to the Dock, then go pretty much straight into the Oil Tanker to the north. There's a gun shop opposite the entrance run by Cal, and a General Store in the middle run by Jenna.
Badger is behind the General Store, next to a computer. Talk to him to learn that his girlfriend, Suze, is missing (he doesn't mention her, but trust me, he's worried about her). Go northwest through a couple doors, around to the northeast, and down the stairs. Suze is in the northeast corner, and is threatened by powerful creatures. Make sure she lives by killing all the creatures. Once you're sure all the creatures are dead, talk to Suze and escort her to the stairs. Her floating dialog will be yellow until she's free, when it turns green. Make sure she disappears up the stairs.
There is a locked door to the south. Use the Tanker Fob on the console next to it, and the door will open. Go in the small room, and up the ladder. Use the NavComm Parts on a computer there.
Go back down the ladder, go back upstairs and tell Badger that his girlfriend is safe. Suze will thank you also.
It's a good idea to be wearing some sort of Power Armor and have at least 150 Stimpaks. I also highly recommend to leave your Party Members on the Dock here in San Francisco, because when you enter the Enclave with them, you will be fired upon. If you really want to kill everyone in there, it's the longest, hardest fight of the game.
When you're ready, go in the Tanker. Go through the bar and up to the bridge. Use the computer, and you get an awesome cinematic of your journey to the Enclave's Poseidon Oil Platform and Presidential Safehouse.
Be sure you have some sort of Power Armor on, then go inside, and you'll be in the Entry Hall, a large room with a bunch of turrets.
Exit east into the Guard Barracks, where there's nothing to do but loot. Have a peek around to familiarize yourself with the layout. If you don't already have some, you should pick up the Explosives in one of the lockers in the northeast corner, and a Tool in the room just south of the entrance. The emergency security door here can't be opened by you from here.
Back in the Entry Hall, take the stairs to the south down to the Detention Cells. In the cells you should talk to both your Elder and Martin Frobisher, who both tell you to blow the place up with Explosives, and to pick up a G.E.C.K. from downstairs if you don't already have one.
Next to the cells to the southwest are some stairs down to the Access Corridor puzzle level. You're confronted with 10 small square rooms, each with a computer. To get through here, you need to use the computers in a certain order. When you use a computer, some doors open and other doors close. We'll label the rooms thusly:
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
10
You start out in room 2. Use the computers in this order to open all the doors at once: 2, 1, 2, 3, 3, 8, 9. Use a Tool on the loose cable in room 9 to shut off the intermittent electrical current that's running through the floor and shocking you all the time. Loot both of the side rooms, and pick up the G.E.C.K. from a locker in the east room, if you don't have one already, or if you want to have two. Exit to the south down the stairs to the Presidential Area.
Take the stairs in the north, behind the President's office, down to the Reactor Level. You can go in the reactor room, but nothing you do here will affect it. Go in the room just northeast of the reactor. Be certain none of the wandering scientists are nearby. Use the move arrow to shove them to the opposite side of the room. Drop any type of Explosives with a short timer -- maybe 20 seconds -- engaged in front of the middle computer in the northeast room, run outside the room to the stairs you came down, wait for them to go off. This starts a timer.
Once the 10 minute timer is started, some security doors will open and close forcing you to take a different path upstairs. If you don't make it out on time, you get to see a cinematic of the platform blowing up, but then you get the death ending. The Vault 13 denizens and your villagers can find their way out without you having to tell them to leave. I'm guessing the security force fields go off when the timer starts, and the docking bolt to the Tanker releases as you board. The way you came down from the security area is now blocked. Take the only other open door up to the Guard Barracks. Exit this to the west and you'll be in the Entry Hall.
Stand just inside the emergency door. Save, and initiate combat with the big guy from a distance, out of range and line of sight of the turrets. You'll maybe recognize him from some security footage, and/or from some random encounters in the desert. You will probably want to use a couple of action points every round to open your inventory to use your Stimpaks and reload your weapon. It is a looooong fight, but you should still have 5 minutes and change left on the timer. When he finally dies, take out the turrets from a distance.
When the room is clear open and walk through the door. Sit back, relax, and watch the ending cinematic, followed by the variable endings, followed by the credits. You even get the chance to keep playing. Here's a list of things to do, if you're so inclined:
last modified 8 March 2026