Don't Tread on the Bear!

 

Don't Tread on the Bear!^[1] is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Quick walkthroughEdit

Detailed walkthroughEdit

The exact contents of this quest vary per actions. It can result in one of five outcomes:

• The NCR has a robust network of informants. Continued work with Mr. House makes the NCR neglect help.
• The NCR has a robust network of informants. Same as above, but when working with Yes Man.
• Little escapes the eyes of NCR Rangers. Continued to work with Caesar's Legion gives the NCR's brand of a terrorist.
• The NCR has declared the Courier a terrorist. Wherever the NCR has jurisdiction, be prepared to be shot on sight.
• The NCR knows that the Courier is working against its interests and will no longer accept the Courier's help.

The first three actions are, obviously, the result of aiding an opposing faction. The fourth is a result of gaining general NCR infamy, usually through killing their troops or launching the missile against Long 15. In the case of opposing faction quests, it will first activate as a warning upon the completion of a certain quest in the series. Completing another quest will fail the mission. The Courier will no longer be able to take on NCR quests once this happens, and any NCR quests active will immediately fail, as well. In the latter two cases, the entire faction will be enemies with the Courier giving a preparation to die. The NCR-based ending is no longer possible to achieve.

Quest stagesEdit

Stage	Status	Description
5		Little escapes the eyes of NCR Rangers. If you continue to work with Caesar's Legion, the NCR will brand you a terrorist.
10		The NCR has declared you a terrorist. Wherever the NCR has jurisdiction, you will be shot on sight.
15		The NCR has a robust network of informants. If you continue to work with Mr. House, the NCR will no longer accept your help.
25		The NCR has a robust network of informants. If you continue to work with Mr. House or Yes Man, the NCR will no longer accept your help.
30		The NCR knows that you are working against its interests and will no longer accept your help.

NotesEdit

• Each faction quest has a specific trigger and failure point.
  • The Independent path will trigger it upon the completion of either Wild Card: Change in Management or Wild Card: Side Bets, then fail upon the completion of the other.
  • House's path will trigger it after completing The House Always Wins III, then fail it on part IV.
  • Caesar's Legion will trigger it after the third part of Render Unto Caesar, and fail it after the fourth.
  • Like the quest Beware the Wrath of Caesar!, almost anything can be done against the faction before the representative of the faction arrives, as long as they come to no harm, reputation should be reset to neutral, if the reputation is higher than neutral, then it will not be reset. Quests like this are triggered after meeting them, unless the specific NPC is killed that will automatically fail the quest.
• NCR Ranger hit squads will be sent out to warn or kill the Courier.
• If Ambassador Crocker or Colonel Moore dies, the NCR will instantly be hostile.
• Failing this quest will remove Ambassador Crocker and Colonel Moore from the game world, to reinforce that the NCR quest line can no longer be continued.
• As noted in the messages, reputation with the NCR will not be lowered if this quest is completed via House or Yes Man (unlike the Legion, the NCR does not consider them hostile). In fact, so long as nothing else to antagonize them is done, it is possible to breach the El Dorado substation and get them to agree to a truce with the Brotherhood of Steel (in Yes Man's path) without dropping reputation below Idolized. They will even still accept help in preventing President Kimball's assassination.
• If the Lucky 38 is exited for the first time and the unnamed NCR trooper approaches, it is possible to fast travel before the conversation starts. The trooper will follow the Courier until he is able to tell them that Ambassador Crocker wishes to talk. This can lead to problems if having entered Nellis Air Force Base and the trooper catches up, as when he walks out of Nellis, the Artillery Barrage will annihilate him. This will result in failing "Don't Tread on the Bear!" and may result in the label as a terrorist.

Behind the scenesEdit

"Don't Tread on the Bear!" is a reference to the "Gadsden Flag", a historical flag that depicted a coiled rattlesnake over the phrase "Don't Tread on Me."

ReferencesEdit