Coming Out of Her Shell is a side quest in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Side Quest: Coming Out of Her Shell | |||||
| Complete Welcome to the Big Empty and speak with Doctor Dala during Picking Your Brains. | |||||
| Bring Dr. Dala a teddy bear or pass a Perception check of 8, or use Lady Killer/Cherchez La Femme to allow her to "open up" to you. | |||||
| Reward: Variable XP Dala will serve as 1 of 3 required "votes" for the peaceful ending of Old World Blues Encourage Dala: Various energy weapon ammunition every 24 in-game hours Blackmail Dala: 1 conductor, wonderglue, and pre-War money every 24 in-game hours | |||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
After completing Welcome to the Big Empty, speak with Doctor Dala in the Think Tank's Dome chamber as part of the guiding quest Picking Your Brains; Dala resides to the slight left of the staircase in the center, opposite from Doctor 0, with the purple coloration on her think tank shell. Right away, Dala waxes into her state of peculiar interest and borderline intimate interest in the Courier's organic-ness as a lobotomite, requesting them to speak a verbal phrase slowly so she can observe and record their physical movements for "research."
Starting this quest requires either passing a Perception 8 attribute check, using the Lady Killer/Cherchez La Femme perk, or obtaining a teddy bear to bring to Doctor Dala. In the latter case, other than any brought over from the Mojave Wasteland, two teddy bears can be found in Dr. Dala's upstairs in the Think Tank (the second door on the left upstairs), as well as in her house (House #104) in Higgs Village. Another can be found at the X-13 research facility in the same room as the X-8 kennel key (requires completing Sonic Emitter Upgrade).
Once Dala is caught with her biological urges exposed, she tries to deny it but the Courier has three options to "serenade" her with their own biology. After making a third choice, Dala will break and admit that a part of her misses the feeling of existing in an organic body with all of its sensory functions, for which she is grateful that someone was willing to suitably satisfy her. The following choices have no effect other than what kind of reward one can receive:
- Encourage Dala. If one emphasizes that she should not hide her organic affections, Dala embraces the idea, offering to share her "de-energized" spoils if they'd return and be her biological muse now and then. Choosing this option grants the ability to ask Dala for supplies every 24 in-game hours, garnering varied small amounts of drained SECs and MFCs.
- Blackmail Dala. If one emphasizes that she should be ashamed as a synthetic pining for organics and threatens to out her secret urges, Dala wilts at the idea, finding an awkward sense of exhilaration at her "filthy" formography being exposed to the others. Choosing this option grants the ability to ask Dala for supplies every 24 in-game hours, garnering 1 conductor, 1 wonderglue, and a "tip" of around 10 Pre-War money.
With the former option, the player character can return once a day for another "breather"; subsequently repeating the three actions will suffice, and no additional dialogue options are required.
Quest stages[]
Notes[]
- Completing this quest before the main quest Old World Blues will cause Doctor Dala to speak up in the Courier's defense against Doctor Klein during that quest's peaceful path (choosing the non-skill dialogue option), serving as 1 of the 3 required "votes" to get the Think Tank leader to back down.
- The phrase the Courier speaks at Dala's request, "The quick scribe jumped over the lazy paladin," previously appeared in the Dead Money add-on, spoken by Christine after healing from her surgery to receive Vera Keyes' vocal cords.
Behind the scenes[]
The quest name comes from the idiom "coming out of your shell", referring to when a previously shy and reserved person becomes more friendly and sociable to others; it is also a play on the fact that even after completing the quest, Dala still resides in a "shell" of her robotic body.
Gallery[]
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