For Lily before she was a nightkin, see Lily Bowen (test cell character). |
Lillian Marie Bowen is a nightkin living in Jacobstown in 2281.
Contents
Background
Born in 2078,[Non-game 1][5] just a year after the Great War, Lily lived a simple life[6] in Vault 17, until the Unity raided her vault in 2153. The 75 year old grandmother was dragged outside, where she saw the sun for the first time.[5] She was taken to the Mariposa Military Base and dipped into the vats of Forced Evolutionary Virus. She would emerge as a nightkin and was then on used as a spy or an assassin,[7] with Tabitha as her squad leader.[8][9]
It was during this time that Lily made her sword from a blade of the Vertibird that crashed near Klamath. It was also during this time that she developed dissociative identity disorder, and an alter named "Leo" taught her how to craft the blade.[10] With the fall of Unity, the destruction of the Cathedral and the death of the Master, whom she didn't like,[11] she decided it was time to go home.[12]
Eventually, she made it to the settlement known as Jacobstown, led and watched over by super mutant Marcus, where she now lives, tending to the bighorners.[Non-game 2][13] Recently, however, the local night stalkers had developed a stealth mutation, managing to hunt the domesticated bighorners as prey. Should the Courier choose to intervene, Lily would like to become involved.[14][15]
While living at Jacobstown, she began receiving help from Doctor Henry for her schizophrenia, brought on by excessive Stealth Boy usage and manifesting itself as an alter named "Leo," with anti-psychotics drugs.[16] The side effects of the drugs however are most evidently memory loss. Unwilling to forget her past, in particular her grandchildren Jimmy and Becky,[2][3][4] she chooses to take her medicine at half-doses.[17][18][19][20] An act personified by listening to a holotape of the last time she visited her grandchildren.[21]
The "Leo" alter manifests itself as a malicious deviant and sociopathic voice she can communicate with, he will give instructions in battle and tell her to do "terrible things." [18][19] He in turn doesn't like being called a voice in her head.[22] In stark contrast is Lily's natural personality, friendly, helpful,[23] and pleasant.[24] Due to her nightkin training, she can help the Courier with their stealth. While she claims to not like guns that doesn't mean she is incapable of doing so, just that she and "Leo" prefer to use bladed melee weapons.[25][26]
When Doctor Henry began his work on developing a cure for the nightkin schizophrenia she asked his permission to help.[23] She even still wishing to help after he informed her of the risk of permanent brain damage.[27][28][29][30][31][32] Should the Courier help her and Doctor Henry with the completion of the cure, Jacobstown will prosper.[33] Furthermore should the Courier help convince her that she was correct to take her medicine at half doses she will eventually leave Jacobstown to seek the remnants of her past. However, if she is convinced that she should take the entire dose every time she will forget the importance of her past and throw away her holotape. Or, if she is convinced to stop taking her medicine then she will be consumed by the Leo alter, becoming nothing more than a ravening beast.[34]
Interactions with the player character
Interactions overview
This character is essential. Essential characters cannot be killed. Status expires when Hardcore mode begins. | ||
This character is a permanent companion. They grant the Stealth Girl perk. | ||
This character starts quests. | ||
This character is involved in quests. |
Quests
- Lily and Leo: At a certain point, if Lily Bowen is the active companion, the player character may begin to hear a recording of children greeting their grandmother. This signals the start of Lily's unmarked quest.
- Guess Who I Saw Today: Lily is asked to come into the Jacobstown lodge so Dr. Henry can do a couple of experiments on her, concerning the effects of Stealth Boys.
Other interactions
- She has unique idle dialogue for locations around the Mojave:
Lily Bowen's comments | |
---|---|
Location | Comment |
LilyTabitha | "Tabitha! You naughty, naughty girl! Leo remembers what you did!" |
LilyVault | "My, my, this reminds me of when I was a girl. Right over there would have been where your grandpa and I had our first kiss!" |
LilyTheStrip | "My, aren't all these lights fancy?" |
Novac, by Dinky the T-Rex | "Ooh, look, pumpkin! A dinosaur! Do you want to ride the dinosaur?" |
LilyDogs | "Nice puppies - do doggies want treats?" |
LilyBoomers | "Ahh! Loud! Onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightninetenonetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnineten!" |
LilyBlackMountain | "I wonder if Marcus knows about this place...." |
- Non-player characters make comments around Lily, such as:
Non-player character comments | |
---|---|
Character | Comment |
Nightkin | "Head voices say someone close. Someone like us." |
NCR civilian | "The Supermutant's under control, I hope." |
NCR tourist | "I've seen what those creatures do, and I don't know how you trust them." |
Gun Runners | "I had no idea there was such a thing as a friendly Nightkin. Look at that thing." |
Boomers | "I like you big mutants. You're easy to sight." |
Fiends | "Is that Mean Sonofabitch? They all look the same to me." |
Legion | "How does one get that blue monster to obey?" |
Brotherhood of Steel | "Keep that mutant in line, or we'll put it down." |
Powder Gangers | "Holy fuck. Never seen a mutant like that before." |
Great Khans | "Holy hell, is that a Nightkin?" |
Followers | "Look at that - a friendly Nightkin. What's it doing here?" |
Freesiders | "Odd company you keep. I thought all Super mutants were crazed cannibals." |
The Kings | "Whoa. That's a whole lotta mutant you got with you there. Still, long as it doesn't cause trouble it's all good." |
Strip Securitrons | "Be advised, visitors will be held responsible for the behavior of any non-human sapients accompanying them." |
Strip MPs | "What's a mutant doing in the Strip?" |
Omertas | "Uh, I don't think we allow her kind in here. I'll let it go this time though." |
Outer Vegas denizens | "Another Supermutant roaming outer New Vegas, huh?" |
Endings
# | Slide | Voice-over narration | In-game condition |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Lily's long life finally came to a close in the Mojave Wasteland. As the life faded from her, her last thoughts were of her grandchildren.![]() |
Lily dies. | |
2 | Encouraged by the Courier to take her medication regularly, Lily's mind eventually attained a semblance of clarity. Her memories dulled by the pills, she cast aside the recording of her grandchildren, no longer remembering its significance.![]() |
Encourage Lily to take her medication regularly in her unmarked quest, Lily and Leo. | |
3 | Lily continued to take her medicine at half-doses, and although she remembered her grandchildren, her mind remained muddled and confused. Eventually, she parted ways with the Courier and traveled west, seeking the remnants of her past.![]() |
Encourage Lily to continue taking her medicine at half-doses in her unmarked quest, Lily and Leo; or do not complete the quest. | |
4 | Encouraged by the Courier to stop taking her medication altogether, Lily's instabilities grew worse with each passing day. Eventually she became little more than a ravening beast, the kindly old grandmother subsumed beneath the rage.![]() |
Encourage Lily to stop taking her medication altogether. |
Inventory
Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
---|---|---|---|
Lily's Vertibird blade Lily's assault carbine |
Additionally, Lily has a third companion weapon, a power fist variant called Lily's gauntlet. This weapon is not initially in Lily's inventory but may be given to her as part of a script that ensures all companions retain their special weapons.
Lily is limited in the weapons she can use, and can only equip weapons from the following list. Lily's default assault carbine's high DPS effects which weapons she will equip. There are only two holdout weapons which Lily is capable of using: frag grenades and plasma grenades.
- Assault carbine
- Assault carbine (GRA)
- Baseball bat (GRA)
- Bumper sword
- Frag grenade
- Gatling laser
- Sprtel-Wood 9700
- Mercy
- Light machine gun
- Lily's assault carbine
- Lily's Vertibird blade
- Lily's gauntlet
- Minigun
- CZ57 Avenger
- Nail board
- Plasma grenade
- Rebar club
- Nuka Breaker
- Sledgehammer
- Super sledge
- Mean super sledge
- Oh, Baby!
Notes
- Her husband used to make a particularly strong moonshine, of which she partook from time to time.[1]
- If one enters with Lily inside the cafeteria of Vault 3, she will comment about herself when she was a small girl and she will remember her first kiss. This will also occur upon entering Vault 11, Vault 19 and Vault 22.
- As a nightkin, Lily is also significantly faster than the player character. It is not uncommon for her to charge ahead to engage a target, which can be problematic when dealing with creatures like deathclaws.
- When Lily is a companion, if she is reduced to one half of her hit points, she will suffer a "psychotic break" and will be in aggressive mode until it fades. The player character is unable to give Lily commands or interact with her until this break subsides. She will also repeat a mantra, quickly counting to ten repetitively to calm herself down.[35][36]
- While Lily is not a companion, cazadores may attack Jacobstown and kill her.
- If the player character asks her to be aggressive she will comment saying, "That's exactly what Leo told me to do!"
- During the quest Beyond the Beef, Mortimer will reject a suggestion to use her as a replacement for Ted Gunderson, as she is non-human. The same applies to Raul Tejada.
- When one travels to Novac with Lily, she asks if they want to ride Dinky the dinosaur.
- While approaching tribal village with Lily, she will ask, "Oh dear, did I do all of this?"
- When enemies are identified, Lily will frequently state "Get behind Grandma" and then place herself between the player character and the enemies.
- When crouched, Lily enters her own sneak mode, where she activates a permanent Stealth Boy until the player character stops sneaking. When in this mode, it is hard to see Lily in front, or between the player character and an opponent, and one can frequently shoot her accidentally, because of her tendency to stand between the Courier and their enemies. This can sometimes be countered by telling her to "back up."
- The super mutants at Jacobstown may comment on Lily, in which they whisper to the player character, "Better watch out. Lily's been babbling about her grandkids again."
- Lily is noticeably shorter than other nightkin, such as Keene.
![]() | The following is based on developer test content cut from Fallout: New Vegas. |
---|
- In the GECK editor, there is a character model for Lily before she was made into a super mutant, as well as models for her grandchildren, Becky and Jimmy.
![]() | End of information based on developer test content cut from Fallout: New Vegas. |
---|
Notable quotes
- "What's the matter, dearie? Afraid grandma will embarrass you in front of your little friends?"
- "Grandma's got a present for you!"
- "Hush, Leo, it's medicine time now!"
- "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's polite to help an old lady carry her bags?"
Appearances
Lily Bowen appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.
Behind the scenes
Lily Bowen was written by Travis Stout.
Bugs
- Lily's vertibird sword and assault carbine may occasionally clip into one another, causing whichever one she's using to have the other hanging from it. The sword may also be replaced entirely by the gun. She will not shoot with the gun, however; she will continue to use it as a melee weapon. Opening her companion wheel and forcing her to switch between melee and ranged attacks a couple times will fix this glitch. [verified]
- Sometimes when going into stealth mode, Lily will say her normal line, "Oh, don't you worry about me dearie, your grandma knows how to stay quiet," but will repeat it every 20–30 seconds. [verified]
- Even before recruiting, if you talk to Lily, she will comment on things like Lucky 38 or Benny being killed. [verified]
- After killing the mercenaries that are at Jacobstown she may randomly attack the player then fall unconscious. [verified]
- On rare occasions, Lily may die before she is recruited as a companion in a non-hardcore game. [verified]
- Sometimes, when Lily is equipped with Oh, Baby! she will randomly lose the weapon. It will no longer be in her hands or in her inventory, where it would normally go if it were to break from use. [verified]
- bumper sword if it is in her inventory. Even if switched back to melee, she will still stand near the courier, trying to use a melee weapon as a ranged weapon. This can be fixed by switching her back to ranged, then back to melee again; however, there is not a fix to make her use her Assault Carbine, because the next time you switch her to ranged, the bug occurs again. [verified] If Lily is asked to use ranged weapons, she may not take out her assault carbine, and instead stay with her vertibird sword, or
- If the player dismisses Lily to the Lucky 38 penthouse, she will not always make it there, but instead found in the Casino section, able to recruit again and dismiss to the penthouse without issues. [verified]
- When the player character is sneaking, Lily may not enter sneak mode along with the player, and instead will walk along as if the player was not sneaking. [verified]
- If the player dismisses Lily while they are sneaking, Lily will remain in stealth mode until recruited again.[verified]
- Guess Who I Saw Today, if she is sent to the Lucky 38 and then asked to take Doctor Henry's test for the Stealth Boy Mark II without re-hiring her. However, it will still be possible to complete the mission regardless of whether or not she's actually there, though she may not be hirable again unless somehow found. [verified]
- To fix this, either access the dismissal terminal and dismiss all companions, or reload a previous save. The former should bring Lily back to the Lucky 38's presidential suite.
Lily may disappear on the way to Jacobstown during
Gallery
References
|
- Non-game
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Meet the Companions
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide p. 44: "Part 3: Other Factions: Mojave Wasteland; Super Mutants"
"Unfortunately for Marcus, not all of the Nightkin were content to live under his rules. Davison (who currently talks to a Brahmin Skull named Antler in the bowels of the REPCONN Test Site) and Tabitha (who broadcasts her particular brand of insanity from Black Mountain) broke off on their own, eventually winding up with their own dysfunctional Super Mutant communities. Though Marcus is disappointed at how things turned out, he does the best he can to take care of Lily and the other Super Mutants and Nightkin at Jacobstown."
|
|