Part 65: Sneaking Mission: Update 5
Sneaking Mission - Update 5
"So… this is it? I kind of expected more… maybe some kind of giant machine I'd have to take down or something like that."
"I think you might need some help to deal with that issue, Snake, but whatever you do…"
"You snuck in and tried to steal it, didn't you Snake? "Uh… little bit of help, here?" "Give me a second… there. Now, this time get it on the up and up."
Some of you might have noticed the small grey Deathclaw hanging out in the shot above. That's Goris, and these are his stats. Goris is a bit of a strange NPC since you can get him here, but when the Enclave attacks Vault 13 he'll leave you and run back home. You can pick him up again at that point, but that requires a trip back. All that said, Goris is pretty amazing if you go through the trouble of picking him up. He can level up SIX times and he's an absolute monster in combat. He doesn't wear armor, but he does get damage resistance and absorption. For reference, here are his stats:
Level 2
ST: 8
PE: 9
EN: 7
CH: 4
IN: 5
AG: 8
LK: 6
HP: 134
Unarmed: 58%
Melee Damage: 1-30
AC: 28
Carry Weight: 225
AP: 11
Crit Chance: 13%
Level 3
ST: 8
PE: 9
EN: 8
CH: 4
IN: 6
AG: 8
LK: 6
HP: 145
Unarmed: 68%
Melee Damage: 1-32
AC: 28
Carry Weight: 225
AP: 12
Crit Chance: 18%
Level 4
ST: 9
PE: 9
EN: 8
CH: 4
IN: 6
AG: 9
LK: 6
HP: 155
Unarmed: 74%
Melee Damage: 1-38
AC: 29
Carry Weight: 250
AP: 12
Crit Chance: 18%
Level 5
ST: 9
PE: 9
EN: 9
CH: 4
IN: 7
AG: 9
LK: 7
HP: 166
Unarmed: 84%
Melee Damage: 1-41
AC: 34
Carry Weight: 250
AP: 13
Crit Chance: 24%
Level 6
ST: 9
PE: 9
EN: 9
CH: 4
IN: 7
AG: 9
LK: 7
HP: 175
Unarmed: 94%
Melee Damage: 1-43
AC: 34
Carry Weight: 250
AP: 13
Crit Chance: 24%
Level 7
ST: 10
PE: 9
EN: 10
CH: 4
IN: 8
AG: 10
LK: 7
HP: 187
Unarmed: 100%
Melee Damage: 1-47
AC: 35
Carry Weight: 275
AP: 15
Crit Chance: 29%
The most interesting thing to steal in the area is some armor and ammo from the guy in the computer room. Other than that, it's all stuff we've seen before.
"I'm not sure how I feel about this." "You don't have to sneak around all the time, Snake. It's okay to actually deal with people." "I think I'll leave that up to you, and I'll just handle the sneaky parts." "I'm… not that good at that either. We'll work something out. Hey, why don't you go check out that abandoned military base some more? This would be a good time to check for more weapons." "It's a good thing I'm used to backtracking."
"Wait… Skynet? Snake, get out of there!" "Skynet?" "Skynet! It's an artificial intelligence referenced from a movie, where it went crazy and wiped out humanity." "Must have missed that one. Still, this one seems friendly enough…"
On the way there, we can actually disarm the traps in the hallway and avoid a missile to the face. Generally I haven't bothered with that, but with a character who knows their traps it's actually fairly easy.
Once we're done with all the stuff everybody's seen before, it's time to go back to dealing with New Reno for the extra experience points.
Going out to the stables for the Mordenos we can actually steal an access pass to go see Myron. That's not the only thing, however...
"Snake, what are you doing?" "Getting shot down like a fighter pilot in World War II. I guess I'm doing this my way."
We can still get the information to talk about Myron and talk the access pass out of here that way, but stealing it is more fun.
Speaking of Myron, he's got a few goodies you can steal off of him. You'll notice that this is includes a condom, demonstrating the triumph of hope over experience. While we're here, I'll expand the conversation from Myron.
"Otacon, what the hell is he talking about?" "It looks like pharmacology… I think I found the dev notes on this section. Just say what I tell you to. First off, answer me…"
"Two words: Brahmin shit." "As fertilizer, right?" "Very good. And that's all yer ever gonna learn, pal. You wanna know, you figure it out." "Chemical properties in the brahmin shit that affect the nervous system?" "Ah, Christ. Well… when I came across the Mordino family way back when, they were farming peyote cacti and trying to sell it to to rusts as the 'Reno Experience.' Total bullshit." "Heh… bullshit. Anyway, go on."
"You mean like cocaine, or crank? Wait, what the hell is crank?" "Problem is, in the new climate, we can't grow most of the veggies needed for the best drugs. Couldn't grow coca plants, opium poppies -- and man, did we try -- so we figured our best bet was shrooms."
"Ok…" "Plus, hallucinogens have low overhead, so I start experimenting with derivatives of lysergic acid and diethyl amide and psilocybin." "Once you get him started, he doesn't stop does he?" "Still, I really wanted to whip up a hard-hitter that didn't rely on veggie extracts. Man, was I an idiot, 'cause the answer turned out to BE the extracts, or, more precisely, what they were growing IN."
"Wait, are we back to the brahmin shit again?" "Well, wasn't too hard to come up with a good upper. A same of that pre-war protein extract, corrupt it and bam -- decent amphetamine." "Protein extract?"
"Screwed? How?" "The contaminated version acted like an amphetamine when ingested. Little side effect. Don't ask. It's, uh, technical" "You don't know either, do you? How'd you get protein extract?"
"See, we start experimenting with the brahmin shit as fertilizer for the shrooms, except get this; then, we noticed the slaves working fertilizer vats were getting high from the fumes…by putting tons of brahmin shit in the vats, we found out that the fumes give more than enough of a kick. Eureka. Literally. 'Course, we had to test to get the mix right..." "Wait… how much testing?"
"You're insane! And trust me, I should know!" "Well, not on purpose. I mean, slaves are expensive. Still, we made the money back in the first few months, so the Mordino Family wasn't too pissed at me." "Can I kill him NOW?" "Not without having to fight your way out." "Dammit. I'm going to go back to the Wrights before I start trouble."
There's a quest you can access with Mrs. Wright to wreck the stills under the station, and I tried to get it this time...
But I might have taken a wrong turn in the conversation tree. Oops!
Since we're being systematic about this, we might as well go to the Bishops...
"Do girls actually get that excited about boxers?" "Looking for lessons? I don't think you really want all the head injuries." "I guess you're right…"
"On the other hand, drugs are always an option."
While we're here, we can take a look at the Magic Eight Ball. As you can see, some of the advice is actually helpful. Other messages include:
"Go back and talk to Father Tully in New Reno after you have finished the game."
"There is an Easter Egg somewhere in New Reno."
"Yes, we KNOW Descent to Undermountain was crap."
"The code to activate the first terminal in the Vault in Vault City is 3PCF186"
"Somebody buried some cash beneath the cross labeled 'Trash' in Golgotha."
"Look in the first floor men's bathroom toilet in the Mordino casino in New Reno."
"You need a high STR *and* a high END to have a chance of beating Francis in the arm-wrestling contest."
Some of them are a bit more comedic. You need high luck (9-10) to get useful responses.
"Otacon, is going ahead with this going to bring trouble on my head?" "Not if you do it right. I'm just thankful that it's a fade to black to represent sex instead of some kind of crazy virtual experience."
For the curious, this is the alternative method of killing John Bishop. You have to have a high enough skill to succeed at the check before you'll get the dialogue option.
You basically have to use either the Repair of Traps skill to reset the combination, then make your way out of Bishop's top floor. If you've pushed your luck with Bishop this might require some sneaking.
A few minutes later you'll hear an explosion noise and get a message about how much damage the explosion did to Bishop. The first time I did this it crashed the game, so it's a bit risky.
"Kind of weird, he's gone but all of his equipment is there." "Heh, you can't see from my perspective can you? Trust me, he's… kind of all over still." "At this point I've never been grateful for an isometric perspective."