The 188 trading post is a location in the Mojave Wasteland. It is a small outpost made up of makeshift shacks and tents. Veronica Santangelo, a potential companion, can be recruited here. The trading post is located on the intersection of Highway 93 and Highway 95, directly north of El Dorado Dry Lake, west-northwest of Boulder City, and south of Camp Golf.
Background
Originally nothing but an ancient highway interchange, the confluence of Highways 95 and 93 has always seen much traffic, especially after the NCR moved into the Mojave around 2274. However, a trading post wasn't established here until September of 2281, when a pair of traders from Primm set up shop here after the NCRCF prison break forced them to flee the city and the wave of escaped convicts.[1][2] Samuel Kerr and his daughter, Michelle, chose this location after realizing just how much traffic was going to flow up Highway 95 to Vegas now that the I-15 was shut down, adding to the usual troop movements between Hoover Dam and Camp McCarran. Capitalizing on their experience in Primm, they established the 188 Slop 'n Shop, offering food, water, supplies, and repair services to travelers.[3][4]
It was a bullseye. By October, the 188 trading post became a bustling hub of commerce frequented by soldiers, merchants, and Republican citizens either heading to New Vegas with pockets full of caps or limping shamefully back home with naught but the shirts on their backs. Even the Gun Runners took notice and set up shop at the post to coordinate caravans in the field, with an independent arms merchant selling her wares out of the back of her Army truck up top. It's not known which of the Kerrs came up with the ingenious proposition to name the post after the highways (95 added to 93 gives 188), but the name caught on well.[5][6]
Layout
Campfires and vehicles/shacks on an overpass can be seen in this location. There is an arms merchant at the left end of the overpass, and Veronica Santangelo, a recruitable companion, resides near the center of the overpass by the picnic table. Facing Veronica is the merchant Samuel Kerr and his daughter Michelle who runs a small shop cooperatively. Samuel is the bartender and does repairs on customers' equipment.
Above the overpass to the north there is a very small NCR garrison with a tent (a couple of free beds inside are available for sleeping). There are also a few NCR troops wandering around the tent. Later on at high levels, some of these NCR troopers will be replaced with NCR heavy troopers equipped with various high-level weaponry such as heavy incinerators. Underneath the overpass is Alexander, a member of the Gun Runners, his bodyguard and a young boy who sits by the wall.
Inhabitants
On overpass
- Ezekiel: A member of the Followers of the Apocalypse.
- Veronica Santangelo: A scribe with the Brotherhood of Steel. She's also a permanent companion that gives the Scribe Assistant perk.
- Samuel Kerr: Co-owner of the trading post. Sells food, drinks and offers repair services.
- Michelle Kerr: Co-owner of the trading post, together with Samuel. Sells weapons, ammunition, as well as food.
- Arms merchant: A former NCR soldier. Sells weapons, ammunition, weapon mods, armor and clothing and miscellaneous items.
Under overpass
- Alexander: A member of the Gun Runners who sells weapons, modifications, junk, and ammunition if a Guns skill check is passed. His offerings are not as broad as the main Gun Runner shop, but he generally sells items not commonly sold there.
- Gun Runner guard: A mercenary hired by Alexander as a bodyguard.
- The Forecaster: A young fortune teller. Sells various "thoughts" about "You," (the Courier) "Everywhere," and "Here" for 100 caps each.
Notable loot
- Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle cap - lying on the bar.
Notes
The trading post may be attacked by Legionary assassins.
Appearances
The 188 trading post appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.
Behind the scenes
- 188 trading post is similarly located to real-world location Railroad Pass in Henderson, Nevada.
- The 188 is a messy area, with rushed and confusing design, featuring many added, then disabled NPCs and numerous abandoned ideas, consistent with it being one of the earliest locations to be implemented in the game and quickly finished to move on to other ones.
- Alexander has only one bodyguard in the final game. In fact, he was supposed to have at least one more, and their AI packages would cause them to alternate guarding and sleeping so that he has a bodyguard at all times. One works the day shift, the other the night. There are actually two such bodyguards set up for both eventualities (for a total of four altogether), but only one of each kind is actually used in the game (and in the final game the night shift guard is disabled). Possibly these were supposed to be used as a random pool but never were.
- Similarly there are also lots more civilians that were intended to be used here. There are three different NPCs for both "civilianHopeful" and "CivilianUnhappy" dispositions. The different kinds of civilians have different dialogue topics where they either praise or disparage the NCR and Vegas. In the final game there are only one of each present on the game map at the 188. They are both disabled and can never be seen.
- The unhappy civilians have a lot of dialogue, including an interesting topic where they have the ability to beg the player for caps. This dialogue fork has a lot of different options, but it has a tiny chance of ever being seen - it's a random topic like the rest of their dialogue. It's possible these lines were intended for dedicated beggar characters, but this was never finished properly if so.
- The merchants here were supposed to have a water brahmin. For some reason, this was placed on the map but disabled.
- There are two of each kind of NCR trooper (regular or power armour depending on the game's story progression) placed here, but in the final game only one of each kind is enabled.
- There are also several out of work mercenary characters killing time here. In the final game, they are disabled.
- ↑ The Courier: "Who are you?"
Michelle Kerr: "Name's Michelle. My Dad and me run this store. His name's Samuel. I take the day shift and he takes nights. We came here about a month ago, when Primm went to hell on account of the prison break north of there. Found a bin to call home and set up shop."
(Michelle Kerr's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Who are you?"
Samuel Kerr: "Samuel Kerr at your service. Me and my daughter Michelle run this fine establishment. We came here from Primm about a month past. Doesn't look like much, but it's one hell of a location."
(Samuel Kerr's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Why'd you settle in this dump?"
Michelle Kerr: "There's more to the 188 than meets the eye. Troops move back and forth on 93 all the time, and 95 is how NCR folks come and go from Vegas. No shortage of customers... so long as Legion raids south of here don't get worse, anyways."
(Michelle Kerr's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Why's business so good here?"
Samuel Kerr: "When 15 shut down, 95 became the route NCR citizens use to get to the Strip - or limp back home, after the Strip's drained 'em of caps. We get 'em coming and going. Coming, the suckers flush with caps they saved to gamble on the Strip... ...and going, the same folks, but now they're losers who'll trade you the shirt off their backs so they don't starve before they make it back home. Add in the troopers marching back and forth from McCarran and the Dam, and well, let's just say we don't miss Primm."
(Samuel Kerr's dialogue) - ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.396-397: "[5.02] 188 Trading Post
Formed after the Powder Ganger break-out down at Primm [4.17] forced traders northward, the intersection of the 95 and 93 (hence "188") is now a bustling Trading spot, catering to the NCR from Boulder City [3.32] and Hoover Dam [3.33] as well as offering good connections down the 95. Start on the eastern side of the intersection."
(Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition Tour of the Mojave Wasteland) - ↑ The Courier: "Why's this place called the 188?"
Michelle Kerr: "You do know these old roads were numbered, right? We're standing where the 95 and 93 meet. And 95 plus 93 equals... 188."
(Michelle Kerr's dialogue)
