Help for Halford[Non-game 1] is an unmarked quest in Fallout: New Vegas.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Unmarked Quest: Help for Halford | |||||
| Reach Camp Guardian southeast of Ranger Station Bravo and ascend the cliffs to Guardian Peak. | |||||
| Enter the caves and locate Pvt. Halford; pass a 50 Medicine skill check or use a doctor's bag to treat his wounded leg. | |||||
| Eliminate the lakelurks inside the caves and obtain four NCR dogtags from the dead troopers' bodies; pass a 50 Speech check to persuade the healed Halford to assist as a temporary companion. | |||||
| Speak with Halford. | |||||
| Reward: Halford's note Dog tag fist schematics Service rifle | |||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
The quest is started by first traveling to the area of Camp Guardian located southeast of Ranger Station Bravo. Upon getting near the altered pre-War metal sign, one will pick up the Camp Guardian Radio on the Pip-Boy and listening to it reveals, in looping sound bites, that one Pvt. Halford is the sole survivor of an attack on the NCR encampment when mutant monsters dragged them into the nearby caves and slaughtered the rest, while he escaped but injured his leg.
To reach the caves, one must ascend the rolling cliffs to Guardian Peak. There will be 3-4 radscorpions encountered on the mountain path as well as several giant rats near the camp itself. From the start of the mountain path up to the camp, one will be able to pick up scattered pages from the Camp Guardian daily log, revealing the history and fate of the camp and its inhabitants, including how the monsters came from a cave entrance located behind one of the tents. near the entrance, there is a crate with several C-4 plastic explosives and a 9mm pistol.
Inside the caves, follow the path past the deserted campsite, down the decline until coming to a T-junction with a dead lakelurk, where to the left side one will find the injured, but alive Pvt. Halford. He will be thankful to see another human face, and one can agree or choose a humorous option to scare him, which he is less thankful for. After questioning and realizing they are the only backup that came for him, Halford is frustrated but emphasizes getting out of the caves quickly before they're overwhelmed by the lakelurks living there. Since the private cannot go anywhere with an injured leg, one can either use a doctor's bag or pass a 50 Medicine skill check to mend the damage so he can walk again. When Halford again insists they escape, one can either let him leave from the main entrance or tell him they should eliminate the lakelurks; for the latter, Halford will refuse and one can pass a 50 Speech skill check to persuade him to honor his comrades' deaths by saving others from their fates, making him a temporary companion.
In the deeper parts of the caves, there will be around 5-7 lakelurks scattered in the various chambers. One will also discover the dead bodies of Halford's former contingent, of which one can retrieve a total of four NCR dogtags from them. Once all lakelurks have been wiped out, speak with Halford again, and he will express gratitude for their help avenging his friends, then state his intent to desert and return to New California. He may also suggest bringing the collected dogtags to NCR command to make sure that their deaths are not forgotten (as part of Tags of Our Fallen for Quartermaster Mayes at Camp Forlorn Hope), also handing over a note to prove it as well as his service rifle and a set of schematics for creating an improvised weapon.
Notes[]
- The messages played on the Camp Guardian Radio have no set order in which they broadcast, which means one may hear the same message two or three times in a row.
- If all lakelurks are killed and all four dogtags are collected before first talking with Halford, he will still thank the player character, but in some cases, there will be no opportunity to heal his leg and he will stay in the cave indefinitely.
- Halford has a tendency to attempt exit via the underwater cave in Lake Mead. If one entered the caves via the entrance near Guardian peak, this will most likely result in his death from drowning.
- If the player character exits the caves without having cleared it from lakelurks or collected all of the dogtags, Halford will remain in the cave indefinitely.
Behind the scenes[]
- This quest was designed by Robert Lee, who was the area designer on Camp Guardian. Joshua Sawyer devised the basic idea for Halford's unmarked quest, while Lee designed and implemented it.[Non-game 2]
- According to Robert Lee, Private Halford was named after Rob Halford, the lead singer of heavy metal band Judas Priest.[Non-game 3]
References[]
Non-game
- ↑ Quest name from Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide pp. 364–365
- ↑ Question: "Who's idea was that cool unmarked quest at Camp Guardian with the Lakelurks?"
Joshua Sawyer: "I think the basic idea was mine but Rob Lee designed and implemented the whole thing."
(Joshua Sawyer Formspring posts/2011) - ↑ "Camp Guardian" on Robert Lee's website
