Dead Money

Narration[]

Synopsis[]

Characters[]

Creatures[]

Robots and computers[]

Items[]

Locations[]

Quests[]

Radio stations[]

Perks[]

Achievements/Trophies[]

Challenges[]

Notes[]

Behind the scenes[]

Bugs[]

Gallery[]

Official trailer[]

References[]

Mentioned-only[]

Sierra Madre Casino[]

The Villa[]

Regular perks[]

Companion perks[]

Special perks[]

Inspirations[]

“You've heard of the Sierra Madre Casino. We all have, the legend, the curses. Some foolishness about it lying in the middle of a City of Dead, a city of ghosts buried beneath a blood-red cloud... a bright, shining monument luring treasure hunters to their doom.”— Father Elijah, Dead Money ending

Dead Money is the first add-on for Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks.

“You've heard of the Sierra Madre Casino. We all have, the legend, the curses. Foolishness about it lying in the middle of the City of the Dead, buried beneath a blood-red cloud. A bright, shining monument luring treasure hunters to their doom.

The world's most famous stars and entertainers were invited to its Grand Opening. An invitation was a sign of... exclusiveness.

The opening was supposed to symbolize a road to a brighter future, not just for the world... ... but for all who came to its doors. A chance for anyone to begin again. Except - the Sierra Madre never opened.

The war froze it in time, like a big flashbulb going off. The Grand Opening - one big ending of humanity. It's still out there, in the Wastes, preserved, just waiting for someone to crack it open. But getting to it. That's not the hard part. It's letting go.
”— Father Elijah, Dead Money intro

Dead Money is set in the Sierra Madre, an opulent and extravagant resort that would have been the greatest casino in the west, had it ever been opened. The bombs fell before the grand opening gala event, and the Sierra Madre froze in time, its state of the art security system locking the place up tight. Nothing could get in, and none of the guests could escape. The security holograms then activated and the once glorious event turned into a slaughter. After many years, the climate control and air conditioning systems within the facility began to spit strange toxins into the surrounding city, causing a red cloud to form over the area - which proved lethal to anyone who tried to explore the city. Only a mysterious group called the ghost people survived to call the city home, trapped inside what appears to be hazmat suits, they wander the streets never speaking to their victims, only capturing them alive and dragging them away to the depths of the city deep within the Cloud. The Sierra Madre attempted to send out a distress signal on the day of the War, but the system did not broadcast an alert signal, having been hooked up to the gala event to broadcast adverts for the casino, so help never came.^[1]

And so the Sierra Madre faded from memory, only occasionally being seen in posters across the wastes, until it took on mythic ghost story status, a supposed "City of Gold" in the wasteland where all the treasures of the Old World were rumored to be held. It was kept alive as a late-night saloon story by prospectors who'd claimed to have found maps leading there and were willing to part with the map for a few caps... or a drink... or a warm place to sleep.^{[verification needed]}

The Sierra Madre is a place in the wastes, with travelers risking their lives to find it. Only one man truly "found" it and lived. After the fall of HELIOS One, Father Elijah, formerly an elder of the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel, set out to find new weapons to eradicate the NCR, and in the process, he discovered the Sierra Madre. In doing so, he lured others, including the Courier, to the resort, forcing them to navigate the hazards of the Madre and play the pawns in his game to crack open the casino's vault, long since lost to time. If the Courier wished to escape this hellish place, they would have to be clever, and use their new allies as Father Elijah did. The real question is, what really mattered to them? The treasure? Revenge? Survival? Or their humanity?

Automated turret (Fallout: New Vegas)

Dean hologram

Hologram (Fallout: New Vegas)

Hologram vendor

Starlet hologram

This section is transcluded from Fallout: New Vegas locations. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.

Main article: Sierra Madre

This section is transcluded from Fallout: New Vegas quests. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.

Name	Location(s)	Given by	Reward	Quest ID
Sierra Madre Grand Opening!	Abandoned BoS bunker	Sierra Madre Broadcast	Holorifle Dead Money jumpsuit Dead Money collar (cannot be removed until completing Dead Money)	xx005229
Find Collar 8: "Dog"	Villa (Villa police station)	Father Elijah	Dog and God as a companion	xx0139DF
Find Collar 12: Christine	Medical District (Villa clinic)	Father Elijah	Christine as a companion	xx0139E1
Find Collar 14: Dean Domino	Residential District	Father Elijah	Dean Domino as a companion	xx139FE0
Fires in the Sky	Salida del Sol South	Father Elijah	800 XP	xx013A3F
Strike Up the Band	Puesta del Sol South	Father Elijah	800 XP	xx013A40
Mixed Signals	Puesta del Sol North (Puesta del Sol switching station)	Father Elijah	800 XP	xx013A04
Trigger the Gala Event	Salida del Sol North (Campanas del Sol)	Father Elijah	1600 XP	xx000FC0
Put the Beast Down	Sierra Madre Casino & Resort (Cantina Madrid)	Father Elijah	XP Karma gain or Karma loss (depending on choices made)	xx013A03
Curtain Call at the Tampico	Sierra Madre Casino & Resort (Tampico)	Father Elijah	None	xx013A43
Last Luxuries	Sierra Madre Casino & Resort (Executive suites)	Father Elijah	None	xx013A44
Heist of the Centuries	Sierra Madre Casino & Resort (Sierra Madre vault)	Father Elijah	37 gold bars (optional) Abandoned BOS bunker as player character housing Unlimited supply of Sierra Madre chips (delivered in batches of 100 to the dropbox in the BOS bunker every 3 in-game days) Unlimited supply of complimentary vouchers (delivered as a single instance to the dropbox in the BOS bunker every 3 in-game days; usable only if 7,500 chips were won in the casino before leaving the Sierra Madre)	xx000FC1

This section is transcluded from Fallout: New Vegas perks. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.

Name	Level req	Other requirements	Ranks	Benefit	Form ID
In Shining Armor	2	Repair 20, Science 70	1	The perk is not implemented properly and does not function at all. It is supposed to grant +5 DT against energy weapons while wearing metal armor, with a further +2 DT while wearing reflective eyewear or helmets.	xx00F216, xx00F217
Junk Rounds	2	LU 6, Repair 45	1	You can craft ammunition using scrap metal and tin cans.	xx00FB6A
Light Touch	2	AG 6, Repair 45	1	While wearing light armor you gain +5% critical hit chance and your enemies suffer a -25% critical hit chance.	xx00E87B
Old World Gourmet	2	EN 6, Survival 45	1	+25% addiction resistance. +50% health bonus from snack foods. Scotch, vodka and wine now give you health in addition to their normal effects.	xx00F96F
And Stay Back	10	Guns 70	1	Shotguns have a 10% chance, per pellet, of knocking an enemy back.	xx00F218
Heavyweight	12	ST 7	1	Weapons with a weight of more than 10 are cut in half. This does not affect weapons modded to under 10 wg.	xx011468
Hobbler	12	PE 7	1	Your chance to hit an opponent's legs in V.A.T.S. is increased by 25%.	xx011469

Name	Follower	Benefit	Form ID
In My Footsteps	God	Traps do not activate and you are given a stealth increase.	xx013B26
Ravenous Hunger	Dog	Dog will devour the limbs of any Ghost People, preventing them from resurrecting.	N/A
Signal Interference	Christine	+50% time to escape signals.	xx008A2E
Unclean Living	Dean Domino	Temporary cloud protection, take 25% less damage.	xx008A2F

Name	Unlock conditions	Ranks	Benefit	Form ID
Coin Operator	Dialogue with Christine	1	Adds recipe. 1 fission battery + 2 scrap metal = 50 Sierra Madre chips	xx01039B
Ghost Hunter	Dialogue with Dog	1	Ghost people are more likely to die outright without needing to be dismembered or disintegrated.	xx01039A
Sierra Madre Martini	Dialogue with Dean Domino	1	Adds recipe to create Sierra Madre martinis with 2 junk food, 1 tin can, and 1 jar of Cloud residue.	xx01039E
Elijah's Last Words	Give Veronica holomessage from Elijah.	1	Boosts Veronica's melee attack speed 150% & gives her a 25% chance for melee attacks to knock down enemies.	xx00D4A8
Elijah's Ramblings	Keep holomessage from Elijah after Veronica unlocks it.	1	Boosts melee critical damage by +50% (the description incorrectly states the bonus is 150%)	xx00D4A9

This section is transcluded from Fallout: New Vegas achievements and trophies. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.

Name	Requirement	Achievement points
Assemble Your Crew	Recruit Dean Domino, Christine and Dog	20
Cash Out	Confront Father Elijah in the Sierra Madre vault	30
Having a Ball	Complete the Sierra Madre Gala Event	20
Safety Deposit Box	Trap Father Elijah in the Sierra Madre's vault	40
Sierra Madre Souvenir Aficionado	Collect 500 Sierra Madre chips	30

This section is transcluded from Fallout: New Vegas challenges. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.

Name	Requirement	Amount to do	Perk Given	XP	Form ID
All For One	Save all companions	1	-	100	xx011F34
Assemble Your Crew	Recruit Dean Domino, Christine, Dog... and what's inside Dog.	3	-	100	xx011F2D
Authority Issues	Alerted Sierra Madre holograms.	20	-	50	xx011F2B
Big Winner	Use Sierra Madre Vending Machines.	50	-	75	xx0103B2
Cash Out	Confronted Father Elijah in the Sierra Madre's Vault.	1	-	200	xx011F30
Dean's Secret Stash	Found Dean's secret suitcases.	15	-	100	xx011B27
Dead Man's Hand	Collect Sierra Madre Cards of the Dead Man's Hand.	5	-	100	xx0134FB
Ghost Eater - Harvesters	Kill Harvesters.	10	-	100	xx0103B4
Ghost Eater - Seekers	Kill Seekers.	10	-	100	xx0103B5
Ghost Eater - Trappers	Kill Trappers.	10	-	100	xx0103B6
Having a Ball	Completed the Sierra Madre Gala Event.	1	-	100	xx011F2F
History's Sake	Hear the entire history of the Sierra Madre.	8	-	100	xx012FB3
Kiss of Death	Use Poisons	10	-	100	xx010EB2
Loose Ends	Destroy All Companions.	3	-	100	xx011F35
Safety Deposit Box	Sealed Father Elijah in the Sierra Madre's Vault.	1	-	200	xx011F31
Sierra Madre Souvenir Aficionado	Collect a lot of Sierra Madre Chips.	500	-	150	xx0103B0
The Whole Sad Story	Listen to Companions' and Elijah's stories.	4	-	100	xx012FB1
Things to Come!	Discover what the future holds in Dead Money.	5	-	75	xx012FB2

Installing Dead Money raises the level cap by 5, as with all story add-ons.
It is recommended that first-time players reach level 20 or higher before beginning this add-on.
Despite the warning received at the first door in the bunker, one can stay in the Mojave even if choosing to proceed; the actual point of no return is at the end of the bunker with the radio.
Because of the explosive collar with which the Courier is fitted, one will be unable to leave the Sierra Madre until having completed the story. In addition, it will become important to avoid or disable radios and speakers found around the Villa to avoid a premature and fatal detonation.
Companions cannot follow the player character to the Villa; they will be dismissed upon reaching the end of the hall.
One can explore the Sierra Madre as much as they like after completing the story, but will not be able to return after leaving. You can return using console commands; using noclip with tcl through the radio at the abandoned BoS bunker, one will find a "Door to Villa." Using that door will take the player character back to the Villa, with all the ghost people still alive, holograms working, etc. One even gets to keep their items. One can also use player.moveto ref id to teleport any living companions, though they won't be approachable as they disappear after a certain point in the story.
The player can still spend Sierra Madre chips after returning to the Mojave Wasteland at a Sierra Madre vending machine in the abandoned BoS bunker. One can still turn in cartons of cigarettes, packs of cigarettes and items of apparel to receive more chips and buy cheap supplies. There is also a dropbox near the door, which provides a complimentary voucher (a value of 1,000 chips) and 100 chips every three days. The chips will stockpile: for example, after 6 days, there will be 2 complimentary vouchers and 200 chips.
If a player turns in an item of apparel that raises Agility while wearing it, the Agility increase will remain. This can be repeated indefinitely; although the Courier's Agility will not increase above 10, additional points will offset any effects that would normally reduce Agility. While this increased Agility improves skills affected by Agility and increases AP, it does not allow the Courier to take perks otherwise unavailable, unlike an increase from an implant.
The add-on focuses more on skills than combat, often placing you into Speech, Explosives, Science, and Barter checks that have a large bearing on how companions will treat the player. It also focuses on scavenging as well, mainly due to the lack of shops that sell ammo and materials for weapon repair kits.
Fast travel cannot be used while inside the Sierra Madre.
If playing in Hardcore mode, the sleep meter does not advance, unless the Courier sleeps. There may be a considerable delay before this happens, however. This persists even after completing the DLC, so long as one does not sleep at any point after first starting it.
Since the player does not keep their items when entering the Sierra Madre, low-Endurance characters will have a tough time, because healing items are limited to snack foods and the odd stimpak. All quest items will be kept, including items such as the Rebreather.
- A recipe for stimpaks can be found during one of the first quests, inside the Clinic. This can make it much easier to survive when dropped here without sufficient gear. Additionally, if one manages to find the snow globe - Sierra Madre, they will be rewarded with 2000 Sierra Madre chips that can be used to purchase around 20 stimpaks.
Once Dead Money is completed, the radio signal of the Sierra Madre will remain, but Vera Keyes has different dialogue at the end.

Chris Avellone wrote a blog detailing the thought process behind design decisions that went into the game.
The original title for the add-on was Dead Man's Hand, but the developers were unable to secure a license to use that name, so they had to rename it Dead Money, a result that Chris Avellone was disappointed with.^{[citation needed]} This title is referenced in the achievement of the same name.^{[citation needed]}
"Dead Money" is a slang term used in poker to refer to numerous things. Most commonly, it refers to money that is already in the pot and goes only to the winner of the hand. For example, if two players each bet $5 on the first betting round, in the second betting round, there will be $10 in the pot in "dead money." Additionally, it also refers to money bet out but is now facing a reraise. If one player bets $5, and another player raises to $15, the original player cannot retrieve his original $5 without winning the pot - the money is now dead. The term can also refer to a player who believes they have a chance at winning, but in reality, they have almost no such chance due to a lack of skill or experience: "Bob wants in. Let him join, he's dead money." Therefore a tournament with many unskilled players can be said to have a lot of "dead money." It is also a reference to how Father Elijah treats the player character and the other NPCs, existing only to get him the technological riches of the Sierra Madre - to him, they are all "dead money."
The praying skeleton illustration on the playing card is from Osteographia by William Cheselden.

The add-on as a whole is a reference to the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, in which two people who are down on their luck meet a prospector, and strike it rich after finding gold in the remote mountains. One of the main themes of the film is mistrust, a theme it shares with the add-on.
According to Jason Fader, the add-on was also inspired by films such as Battle Royale (2000), Cube (1997), and Lifeboat (1944).^[2]
Chris Avellone also included inspirations for Dead Money in his presentation at the 2012 Game Developers Conference, "A 4 Hour Story in 400 Simple Steps: Fallout DLC." In addition to the above, Avellone also listed the film Lifepod (1993) and the video games BioShock, Infidel, and Suspended: A Cryogenic Nightmare.

See: Dead Money bugs

Fallout_New_Vegas_-_Dead_Money_-_Debut_Trailer_(HD_1080p)

Mojave Wasteland

Abandoned BoS bunker

Sierra Madre

Medical district (Villa clinic) · Puesta del Sol (Puesta del Sol switching station · Ruined building · Ruined cafe · Ruined store · Service route) · Residential District · Salida del Sol (Campanas del Sol · Salida del Sol courtyard) · Villa · Villa police station

Sierra Madre Casino

Sierra Madre Casino & Resort (Cantina Madrid · Executive suites · Sierra Madre casino · Sierra Madre lobby · Sierra Madre vault · Tampico)

↑ The Courier: "What do you mean about the Sierra Madre broadcast?"
Dean Domino: "Well, Vera's beautiful voice doesn't run on casino power, exactly. Her broadcast is tied into the emergency broadcast signal for the Sierra Madre. You know, in case of attack? Well, guess what - the night of the Gala Event, the emergency signal went out all right. But because the broadcast had been hooked up to the Gala Event, instead of an emergency signal, you get Vera's voice on the radio. Great, huh?"
The Courier: " So... it's not a invitation, it's a call for help."
Dean Domino: "Yeah. The Sierra Madre's last song, one only a few people are ever going to hear. A little sad, but what can you do?"
(Dean Domino's dialogue)
↑ Jason Fader's Reddit AMA

Dead Money

Quests

Sierra Madre Grand Opening! · Find Collar 12: Christine · Find Collar 14: Dean Domino · Find Collar 8: "Dog" · Fires in the Sky · Mixed Signals · Strike Up the Band · Trigger the Gala Event · Curtain Call at the Tampico · Last Luxuries · Put the Beast Down · Heist of the Centuries · Big Winner, Sierra Madre · Return to the Fountain

Achievements

Assemble Your Crew · Having a Ball · Cash Out · Safety Deposit Box · Sierra Madre Souvenir Aficionado

Items	Weapons	Automatic rifle · Bear trap fist · Cosmic knife (Clean · Super-heated) · Demolition charge · Gas bomb · Holorifle · Knife spear (Clean) · Police pistol · Throwing knife spear · Starlet's hand wraps

	Armor	Assassin suit · Dead Money collar · Dead Money jumpsuit · Dean's tuxedo · Dean's glasses · Father Elijah's robes · Sierra Madre armor · Sierra Madre armor, reinforced · Vera's outfit

	Consumables	Cloud Kiss · Ghost people flesh · Ghost Sight · Pre-War steak · Sierra Madre martini

	Miscellaneous items	Auto. rifle upgr. internals · Bear trap fist HD springs · Embalming fluid · Entertainer pass · Ghost harvester remains · Gold bar · Holorifle focus optics · Holorifle adv. calibration · Holorifle reinf. components · Jar of Cloud residue · Maintenance pass · Sierra Madre cards · Sierra Madre chip · Sierra Madre snow globe · Sierra Madre vending machine

Characters

Christine Royce · Dean Domino · Dog and God · Elijah · Vera Keyes · Frederick Sinclair

Creatures

Ghost people (Harvester · Seeker · Trapper) · Holograms

Perks

And Stay Back · Coin Operator · Elijah's Last Words · Elijah's Ramblings · Ghost Hunter · Heavyweight · Hobbler · In My Footsteps · In Shining Armor · Junk Rounds · Light Touch · Ravenous Hunger · Old World Gourmet · Sierra Madre Martini · Signal Interference · Unclean Living

Fallout: New Vegas add-ons and downloads

Story add-ons		Dead Money · Honest Hearts · Old World Blues · Lonesome Road

Item packs		Courier's Stash (Caravan Pack · Classic Pack · Mercenary Pack · Tribal Pack) · Gun Runners' Arsenal

Editor

Garden of Eden Creation Kit

[1] The Courier: "What do you mean about the Sierra Madre broadcast?"
Dean Domino: "Well, Vera's beautiful voice doesn't run on casino power, exactly. Her broadcast is tied into the emergency broadcast signal for the Sierra Madre. You know, in case of attack? Well, guess what - the night of the Gala Event, the emergency signal went out all right. But because the broadcast had been hooked up to the Gala Event, instead of an emergency signal, you get Vera's voice on the radio. Great, huh?"
The Courier: " So... it's not a invitation, it's a call for help."
Dean Domino: "Yeah. The Sierra Madre's last song, one only a few people are ever going to hear. A little sad, but what can you do?"
(Dean Domino's dialogue)

[2] Jason Fader's Reddit AMA

[1]

[2]