The Eyes of the Mighty Caesar Are Upon You…¶

Leave the Lucky 38 and you’ll be approached by Vulpes Inculta, the leader of the Legion forces which sacked Nelson so long ago. He will bestow upon you the Mark of Caesar, which will give you safe passage through Caesar’s lands. The point of this? Caesar summons you, and you will obey. Soon, Caesar, soon. This starts the quest Render Unto Caesar, the beginning quest of Caesar’s Legion end-game. This is also when you’ll get your Infamy wiped with Caesar’s Legion, as has been frequently mentioned throughout the guide.

Once this bit of business is concluded, enter the Lucky 38 and talk to Mr. House and tell him what happened. If Benny escaped, he’ll tell you to go to Fortification Hill - Caesar’s Camp - and get the Platinum Chip back from Benny. If you have the Platinum Chip, hand it over (don’t get cute and try to blackmail him) and he’ll give you a demonstration revealing exactly what the Platinum Chip does… and why Mr. House and Benny were so keen to get their hands on it. Grab the 9mm Submachine Gun, the 9mm Pistol and the Ammo Box from a table near the display area while you’re in the basement. Afterwards, you’ll be instructed to go to Fortification Hill for reasons that Mr. House won’t reveal just yet (this starts the quest The House Always Wins II). That, then, is the next place which will be explored in this guide, where everybody - save those who want to side strictly with the NCR - will need to head next. Even if you do want to side with the NCR, however, it can’t hurt to do the few quests available at Caesar’s camp.

The Moon Comes Over the Tower¶

There’s still a bit of business you can do with Mr. House if you don’t plan on siding with him yet, but first, leave the Lucky 38 Casino to gain some The Strip Fame (probably enough to raise your reputation to “Liked”). Shortly afterwards you’ll be pestered by a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse named Emily Ortal, who will ask you to bug one of Mr. House’s terminals so the Followers can learn how Mr. House has stayed alive so long… and to use this information to help others. Pass a [Barter 40] check and she’ll offer to compensate you by throwing in some medical supplies. Simple enough quest, return to the Lucky 38 and head upstairs to the west to find a Terminal behind a bar. Access it and pick the “Bug the Lucky 38 Network” option, then return to Emily Ortal outside for your reward.

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After meeting with Mr. House after the quest Ring-a-Ding-Ding, Emily Ortal will ask you to bug Mr. House’s mainframe (left). The terminal in the Casino level of the Lucky 38 is a fine target for this bug (right).

Sadly, her bug wasn’t connected long, but… hey, Mr. House is a pimp like that. Talk to her about what the bug detected, then ask her about the Followers, her previous attempt to get data from Mr. House (pass a [Speech 35] check to actually get her talking). Seems she’s the one who got Yes Man operational for Benny, and while it’s interesting back-story, it’s not terribly useful anymore.

The House Has Gone Bust¶

Caesar beckons, but there’s one last thing you should do concerning Mr. House… if you don’t want to work him, anyways. If you want to side with Caesar’s Legion, the NCR or if you want to make a power play of your own, Mr. House will need to be removed from the picture one way or another.

To do this find a Terminal [Hard] on a wall behind some stairs north of Mr. House’s terminal. If you picked up either of the Lucky 38 VIP Keycards from Camp Golf or the H&H Tool Factory - or if you possess the Platinum Chip - you won’t need to hack the Terminal and can easily access the Antechamber beyond. Activating it will turn all the Securitrons hostile, but they’re not insurmountably strong, and if your Sneak score is high enough, you can always just avoid them, perhaps with the help of a Stealth Boy.

Either kill the Securitrons or sneak into the antechamber and access another terminal on the western wall, which will open the door to the Control Room. Unlock the control room via the terminal, then take the elevator. Cross a bridge and access one final Terminal, which will allow you to dispatch Mr. House in various ways. First, access the Terminal and pick the entry “Unseal LS Chamber” and talk to Mr. House. In the flesh… or what’s left of it. Tell him whatever you wish, including your plans for him, then either kill him conventionally, access the Terminal and select the option to “Sterilize LS Chamber” to give Mr. House a lethal chemical bath, or pick the option to “Disable Cerebral Interface” to cut Mr. House off from his computer network, leaving him functionally entombed in his control room… at least, for as long as he’ll survive now that he’s been exposed to the germs in the outside world. Killing or disabling Mr. House completes The House Has Gone Bust and will cause the quest The House Always Wins (either part) to fail. Get used to failing quests during the last bits of the main story; doing a quest for one side will cause quests for other sides to fail.

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When you reach the Control Room, you can - after chatting with Mr. House - choose to sterilize his life support chamber (left). Of course, doing this while Mr. House is still hooked up to it will… have some rather disgusting consequences (right).

Speaking of which, if you killed Mr. House, have the Platinum Chip and want to try to claim New Vegas for yourself, return to the Lucky 38 Casino and tell Yes Man that Mr. House is now out of the way. You will find Yes Man waiting for you outside of the casino, and upon reception of the news he will head to the Lucky 38, where he will plug himself into the main frame. After this he will occupy the large monitor that Mr. House communicated to you through. You’ll get the note “About that Bunker at Fortification Hill” which encourages you to seek out the hidden bunker, just like Mr. House did. This is, of course, completely optional, but again, there’s no good reason not to go to Fortification Hill and get more Securitrons. If you don’t have the Platinum Chip yet… well, you’ll need to go to Fortification Hill, anyways. Simply put, no matter what you’re doing, it’s time to go to Fortification Hill.