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The NCR knows that you are working against its interests and will no longer accept your help.— Quest description

Don't Tread on the Bear! is an NCR side quest in Fallout: New Vegas. This quest serves as the NCR counterpart to Beware the Wrath of Caesar! for Caesar's Legion and The House Has Gone Bust! for Mr. House: failing it indicates that the associated faction's questline is permanently locked out and their ending no longer possible to achieve (Yes Man has no such quest and is always available as a faction).

Quick walkthrough[]

Side Quest: Don't Tread on the Bear! 
Gain negative reputation with the NCR or side with its enemies. 
Gain negative reputation with the NCR or continue supporting its enemies. 
Reward: NCR permanently hostile
NCR Ranger hit squads appear in the world
NCR questline lock-out 

Detailed walkthrough[]

The quest can only be triggered after receiving Ambassador Crocker's note from an NCR trooper messenger (which resets any negative NCR reputation to Neutral) outside either the Tops or the Lucky 38 on the Strip, depending on which was entered and exited first; the former after completing Ring-a-Ding-Ding!, the latter during The House Always Wins I. The quest itself will only appear in the quest log either at the same time it fails, or based on main quest arc progress; for this reason, the specific triggers are all listed below under the next section.

Failure conditions[]

Receiving and/or failing the quest can occur in the following ways:

  • Progressing the main quest arc of any non-NCR major faction (Caesar's Legion, Mr. House, Independent/Yes Man).
  • Decreasing NCR reputation to Vilified after receiving Ambassador Crocker's note.
  • Starting combat with any major NCR character in the NCR main quest arc (the NCR trooper messenger, Ambassador Crocker, Colonel Moore, Ranger Grant, or President Kimball).
    • For Ranger Grant and President Kimball, this will also happen on death, but only if the player killed them.
    • For the NCR trooper messenger, Ambassador Crocker, and Colonel Moore, this will also happen if they die for any reason, even ones not due to player actions.
  • During You'll Know It When It Happens, having a weapon unholstered within radius of the speaker stage and visitor center at Hoover Dam while President Kimball arrives but before he starts his speech.
    • Binoculars and the Codac R9000, which are technically implemented as weapons, do not trigger this. Unarmed weapons also do not trigger this.
    • This can also be avoided by using a Stealth Boy (even if detected) or by having the highest level of NCR Fame (Idolized or Good-Natured Rascal).

If triggered by questline progression, the quest will first trigger to act as a warning about going further against the NCR; completing one more non-NCR faction quest afterwards will fail this quest and permanently lock out the NCR main quest. The trigger and failure points are as follows:

Faction Trigger Failure
Caesar's Legion Dealing with the Boomers and reporting back to Caesar during Render Unto Caesar Dealing with the White Glove Society and reporting back to Caesar during Render Unto Caesar
Mr. House Completing The House Always Wins III Completing The House Always Wins IV
Independent Complete either of Wild Card: Change in Management or Wild Card: Side Bets Complete both of the aforementioned quests

If triggered by Vilified reputation, NCR main quest character combat/death, or weapon violations during President Kimball's speech, the quest will activate and fail on the spot.

Consequences[]

In any case, once failed, Things That Go Boom, Kings' Gambit, and/or For the Republic, Part 2 will fail if any of them are active. Any further consequences will depend on how the quest was failed. If it failed due to Mr. House or Yes Man quest arc progress, there will be no effect on the Courier's hostility status and Fame with the NCR. However, the other cases will lead to the following effects:

  • 9999 points of NCR Infamy will be received, changing the Courier's NCR reputation to the highest Infamy level (Vilified through Wild Child).
  • All NCR members will permanently become hostile to the Courier if they were not already.

As a side effect of low NCR reputation, NCR Ranger hit squads may also begin to appear throughout the game world. This is guaranteed to happen if the Courier is working with the Legion or Vilified with the NCR, but may not necessarily happen if on the Mr. House or Yes Man questlines. The NCR Ranger hit squads can also appear before this quest if negative NCR reputation was gained; their overall behavior is described in the unmarked quest Most Wanted.

Quest stages[]

StageStatusDescription
5 Little escapes the eyes of NCR Rangers. If you continue to work with Caesar's Legion, the NCR will brand you a terrorist.
10Quest failedThe 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.
20 The NCR has a robust network of informants. If you continue to work with Yes Man, 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.
30Quest failedThe NCR knows that you are working against its interests and will no longer accept your help.

Notes[]

  • Failing the quest will cause Ambassador Crocker and Colonel Moore to be removed from the game world if they are still alive.
  • As with Beware the Wrath of Caesar!, almost anything can be done against the faction before receiving Crocker's note. As long as the NCR trooper messenger delivering the note is not harmed, faction reputation should be reset to neutral; if reputation is higher than neutral, it will not be reset. However, as mentioned above, killing the messenger at any point (even before he gives the message) will fail Don't Tread on the Bear!.
    • If the Lucky 38 is exited for the first time and the unnamed trooper messenger approaches, it is possible to fast travel before the conversation starts. The trooper will follow the Courier until he is able to deliver his message. This can lead to problems if trooper follows the player character into areas such as Legion territory, hostile wilderness, or even Nellis Air Force Base, as he may then die to enemies or environmental damage (in the case of Nellis, the artillery barrage). This will fail Don't Tread on the Bear!.
  • On the "hostile NCR" failure path, it is possible to prevent the appearance of NCR Ranger hit squads when failing this quest by becoming Idolized with the NCR beforehand. This way, failing Don't Tread on the Bear! will result in a Wild Child reputation, higher than the threshold for NCR Ranger hit squads to spawn in the game world.
  • As noted in the summary, NCR Infamy will not be given if this quest is failed via House or Yes Man (unlike the Legion, the NCR does not consider them hostile). In fact, so long as nothing else to antagonize the NCR is done, it is possible to breach the El Dorado substation and get them to agree to a truce with the Brotherhood of Steel during Wild Card: Side Bets without dropping reputation below Idolized. They will even still accept help in preventing President Kimball's assassination during You'll Know It When It Happens.
  • Don't Tread on the Bear! is also scripted to fail once President Kimball arrives at Hoover Dam during Arizona Killer. However, by this point in the Legion questline, the quest should have already failed, so the script should not make an impact.

Behind the scenes[]

References
  • The quest name is a reference to the Gadsden flag, a historical flag dating back to the American Revolution that depicts a coiled rattlesnake over the phrase "Don't Tread on Me." The flag was made to serve as a symbol of unity among the Thirteen Colonies against the British during the Revolutionary War and famously replicated by Benjamin Franklin for his political cartoon Join, or Die.
Technical
Main quests
Act 1Ain't That a Kick in the Head · Back in the Saddle · By a Campfire on the Trail · They Went That-a-Way · Ring-a-Ding-Ding!
Act 2Wild Card (Wild Card: Ace in the Hole, Change in Management, You and What Army?, Side Bets, Finishing Touches) · The House Always Wins (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII) · Render Unto Caesar · Et Tumor, Brute? · Things That Go Boom · Kings' Gambit · For the Republic, Part 2 · You'll Know It When It Happens/Arizona Killer
Act 3No Gods, No Masters · All or Nothing · Veni, Vidi, Vici · Eureka!
Side quests
New California RepublicAnywhere I Wander · Back in Your Own Backyard · Bitter Springs Infirmary Blues · Boulder City Showdown · Can You Find it in Your Heart? · Climb Ev'ry Mountain · Don't Tread on the Bear! · Emergency Radio · Eye for an Eye · Flags of Our Foul-Ups · Hard Luck Blues · I Don't Hurt Anymore · I Put a Spell on You · Keep Your Eyes on the Prize · Medical Mystery · No, Not Much · Pressing Matters · Restoring Hope · Return to Sender · That Lucky Old Sun · The White Wash · There Stands the Grass · Three-Card Bounty · We Will All Go Together · You Can Depend on Me
Caesar's LegionBeware the Wrath of Caesar! · Caesar's Favor · Caesar's Foe · Caesar's Hire · Cold, Cold Heart · I Hear You Knocking · The Finger of Suspicion · We Are Legion
The StripBeyond the Beef · Bye Bye Love · Classic Inspiration · How Little We Know · Pheeble Will · Talent Pool · The House Has Gone Bust! · The Moon Comes Over the Tower
Freeside & Outer VegasBirds of a Feather · Bleed Me Dry · Debt Collector · G.I. Blues · High Times · Someone to Watch Over Me · The Coyotes · Wang Dang Atomic Tango
BoomersAnt Misbehavin' · Sunshine Boogie · Volare! · Young Hearts
Great KhansAba Daba Honeymoon · Cry Me a River · Don't Make a Beggar of Me · Oh My Papa
Powder GangBooted · I Fought the Law · Run Goodsprings Run · Why Can't We Be Friends?
Brotherhood of SteelEyesight to the Blind · Still in the Dark · Tend to Your Business
OtherCome Fly With Me · Crazy, Crazy, Crazy · Ghost Town Gunfight · Guess Who I Saw Today · Left My Heart · My Kind of Town · The Legend of the Star and A Valuable Lesson · Unfriendly Persuasion · Wheel of Fortune
Companion questsED-E My Love · For Auld Lang Syne · Heartache by the Number · I Could Make You Care · I Forgot to Remember to Forget · Nothin' But a Hound Dog · One for My Baby
Unmarked questsA Bit of Slap and Tickle · A Final Plan for Esteban · Access Powers · All Fired Up! · An Ear to the Ground · Andy and Charlie · Arachnophobia · Arizona Scavenger · Barton the Fink · Bear Necessities · Big Winner (Atomic Wrangler, The Gomorrah, The Tops, Ultra-Luxe, Vikki & Vance) · Bounty Killer (I, II) · Brotherhood Bond (I, II) · Caching in at the Cove · Cajoling a Cudgel · Claws Mended · Claws Out · Dealing with Contreras · Defacing the Humble Stone · Democracy Inaction · Eddie's Emissary · Exhumin' Nature · Fight Night · Flogging a Dead Corpse · Friend of the Followers · Gland for Some Home Cooking · Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger · Hat's Entertainment · Help for Halford · Hidden Valley computer virus · Highway to the Danger Zone (I, II) · Honorary Rocketeer · I Love Bananas · Iron and Stealing · Keith's Caravan Charade · Laurifer Gladiator · Lenk's Bad Debts · Lily and Leo · Long-Term Care · Malleable Mini Boomer Minds · Maud's Muggers · Meeting an Equal · Missing a Few Missiles · Most Wanted · Not Worth a Hill of Corn and Beans · Old School Ghoul · A Pair of Dead Desperados (I, II) · Papers, Please · Pistol Packing · Playing on the Old Joana · Powder to the People · Power to the People · Razzle Dazzle! · Reach for the Sky, Mister! · Rest and Resupply · Ringo's Caravan Rules · Rotface's Loose Lips · Saving (or Savaging) Sergeant Teddy · The Screams of Brahmin · Silus Treatment · Short-Term Treatment · Smooth-Talking Criminal · The Star Showdown · Strategic Nuclear Moose · Straus Calls · Strip Search · Suits You, Sarah · Tags of Our Fallen · A Team of Moronic Mercenaries · Thought for the Day · Tourist Traipse · Trudy's Radio Repair · A Trusted Aide · Useless Baubles or Fancy Trinkets? · We Must Stop Beating Like This · We Must Stop Meeting Like This · Wind-Brahmin Wrangler · You Gotta Break Out a Few Eggs · You Make Me Feel Like a Woman
Cut contentCut questsAuto-Inject Quest · Bright and Shiny · Chip Provenance · Debug Topics · Exploring Vault 74 · Jailhouse Rock · Meat of Champions (quest) · TempMan · Underpass Water Purifier · Viva Las Vegas! · Welcome to Fabulous New Vegas · World Changes Post-Endgame
Add-on quests
Dead MoneySierra Madre Grand Opening! · Find Collars (8: "Dog", 12: Christine, 14: Dean Domino) · Fires in the Sky · Strike Up the Band · Mixed Signals · Trigger the Gala Event · Put the Beast Down · Last Luxuries · Curtain Call at the Tampico · Heist of the Centuries · Big Winner, Sierra Madre · Return to the FountainCut content
Honest HeartsA Family Affair · Arrival at Zion · Bighorners of the Eastern Virgin · Chaos in Zion · Civilized Man's Burden · Crush the White Legs · Deliverer of Sorrows  · Departing Paradise · Flight from Zion · Gathering Storms · Gone Fishin' · Happy Trails Expedition · Prisoners of War · Retake the Bridge · River Monsters · Rite of Passage · Roadside Attraction · Sanctity of the Dead · The Advance Scouts  · The Treacherous Road · The Grand Staircase · Tourist Trap
Old World BluesAll My Friends Have Off Switches · A Brain's Best Friend · Coming Out of Her Shell · Field Research · He Came... And Went · Influencing People · Midnight Science Fiction Feature! · Old World Blues · On the Same Wavelength · Picking Your Brains · Project X-13 · Sonic Emitter Upgrade · Welcome to the Big Empty · What's in a Name? · When Visitors Attack! · X-2: Strange Transmissions! · X-8 Data Retrieval Test · X-8: High School Horror! · X-13: Attack of the Infiltrator!
Lonesome RoadThe Reunion · The Silo · The Job · The Launch · The Tunnelers · The Divide · The Courier · The End · The Apocalypse