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{{Quotation|You may know me as the Head Chief First Researcher of Labs Z-9 and Z-14. There I fought valiantly to preserve rattlesnake DNA, and put it right where it belongs, in the husk of another feared predator. Oh, and the tarantula hawk. Can't splice enough, I always say, Especially if you can make a magnificent Cazador!|[[Borous|Doctor Borous]]|sound=FNVOWB Borous YouMayKnowMe.ogg}} |
{{Quotation|You may know me as the Head Chief First Researcher of Labs Z-9 and Z-14. There I fought valiantly to preserve rattlesnake DNA, and put it right where it belongs, in the husk of another feared predator. Oh, and the tarantula hawk. Can't splice enough, I always say, Especially if you can make a magnificent Cazador!|[[Borous|Doctor Borous]]|sound=FNVOWB Borous YouMayKnowMe.ogg}} |
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− | Night stalkers are the creations of Dr. Borous in the [[Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation lab]] of the Big MT, and are genetic hybrids of rattlesnake and [[Coyote (Fallout: New Vegas)|coyote]] DNA. They growl, howl, and whimper like regular coyotes, but hiss, rattle, and inject venom into their prey like snakes. Their bodies are mostly dog-like, covered in a combination of fur and scales. Their heads and tails, however, are more like that of a rattlesnake, including fangs and a forked tongue. Night stalkers' right eyes are blue with a round pupil, while their left eyes are yellow with an elliptical pupil, like a rattlesnake's. They lay [[Nightstalker egg|eggs]], like a snake, |
+ | Night stalkers are the creations of Dr. Borous in the [[Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation lab]] of the Big MT, and are genetic hybrids of rattlesnake and [[Coyote (Fallout: New Vegas)|coyote]] DNA. They growl, howl, and whimper like regular coyotes, but hiss, rattle, and inject venom into their prey like snakes. Their bodies are mostly dog-like, covered in a combination of fur and scales. Their heads and tails, however, are more like that of a rattlesnake, including fangs and a forked tongue. Night stalkers' right eyes are blue with a round pupil, while their left eyes are yellow with an elliptical pupil, like a rattlesnake's. They lay [[Nightstalker egg|eggs]], like a snake, but raise their pups similar to a coyote nursing their young in cave nests. |
Night stalkers nest in caves across the Mojave Wasteland and can be found both inside the cave or in the nearby area. Packs of night stalkers can be frequently seen hunting at night east of [[Morning Star cavern]] near the nest with the [[Radscorpion (Fallout: New Vegas)#Radscorpion queen|radscorpion queen]], south of the [[broc flower cave]], and northwest of the [[cap counterfeiting shack]]. Their original breeding ground is the Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation lab, located in the Big MT. |
Night stalkers nest in caves across the Mojave Wasteland and can be found both inside the cave or in the nearby area. Packs of night stalkers can be frequently seen hunting at night east of [[Morning Star cavern]] near the nest with the [[Radscorpion (Fallout: New Vegas)#Radscorpion queen|radscorpion queen]], south of the [[broc flower cave]], and northwest of the [[cap counterfeiting shack]]. Their original breeding ground is the Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation lab, located in the Big MT. |
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+ | As their name suggests, night stalkers are largely nocturnal,<ref>[[Fallout: New Vegas loading screen hints]]: ''Nightstalkers are fearsome nocturnal predators created by splicing together coyote and rattlesnake DNA.''</ref> hunting in packs at night for unware or sleeping prey. However, it's still possible to encounter night stalker packs in the day. |
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+ | Night stalker eggs can be used to prepare [[Mushroom Cloud]]. Their [[Nightstalker blood|blood]] is also used as an ingredient in [[antivenom]], [[hydra]] and [[nightstalker squeezin's]]. |
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===Gameplay attributes=== |
===Gameplay attributes=== |
Revision as of 16:50, 12 November 2019
Night stalkers are creatures living in the Mojave Wasteland and Big MT in 2281.
Background
Night stalkers are the pre-war creations of Dr. Borous at Big MT, being genetic hybrids of rattlesnake and coyote DNA. Dr. Borous created night stalkers in order to preserve the DNA of rattlesnake, which he believed to be on the verge of extinction. However, his memory was unclear, and he also suggested that it may have been because of a dare with Dr. Calis at X-13.[1]
The creation of night stalkers proved to be a risky gamble. The shipping department of the X-8 research center suffered a large number of fatalities; all but one employee (Skippy) was killed by the night stalkers.[2] However, Dr. Adam Figgis thought the executives in charge of X-8 could salvage the mishap in shipping and decided to let the night stalkers loose into the X-8 testing area to study their behavior.[3] Sometime after the bombs dropped many night stalkers escaped and have spread across the Mojave and beyond, with some even reaching as far as Baja.[4] Night stalkers occasionally clash with cazadores (which were also created at and escaped Big MT) over prey.
Characteristics
Biology
Night stalkers are the creations of Dr. Borous in the Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation lab of the Big MT, and are genetic hybrids of rattlesnake and coyote DNA. They growl, howl, and whimper like regular coyotes, but hiss, rattle, and inject venom into their prey like snakes. Their bodies are mostly dog-like, covered in a combination of fur and scales. Their heads and tails, however, are more like that of a rattlesnake, including fangs and a forked tongue. Night stalkers' right eyes are blue with a round pupil, while their left eyes are yellow with an elliptical pupil, like a rattlesnake's. They lay eggs, like a snake, but raise their pups similar to a coyote nursing their young in cave nests.
Night stalkers nest in caves across the Mojave Wasteland and can be found both inside the cave or in the nearby area. Packs of night stalkers can be frequently seen hunting at night east of Morning Star cavern near the nest with the radscorpion queen, south of the broc flower cave, and northwest of the cap counterfeiting shack. Their original breeding ground is the Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation lab, located in the Big MT.
As their name suggests, night stalkers are largely nocturnal,[5] hunting in packs at night for unware or sleeping prey. However, it's still possible to encounter night stalker packs in the day.
Night stalker eggs can be used to prepare Mushroom Cloud. Their blood is also used as an ingredient in antivenom, hydra and nightstalker squeezin's.
Gameplay attributes
When they detect the Courier, they may strike with a leaping attack and a venomous bite or snap at them without leaping. While the venom is not as potent as that of their main competition, the cazador, it can pose a serious problem if multiple bites are received and aren't promptly treated. However, this can be avoided with the Animal Friend perk, as night stalkers will not attack the Courier.
- Coping with the poison
- Endurance, antivenom
- Datura antivenom, blood shield, Tribal Wisdom
- Heartless, Cardiac Arrest
- Snakebite tourniquet
Night stalkers can pose a particular threat in areas of low visibility, at night (when they are active) or in caverns. They are especially dangerous inside their dens; packs are usually large in numbers, and twisting corridors make it difficult to detect exactly where they are.
Night stalkers found in Charleston cave and the lower level of the X-13 research facility have the ability to cloak, making them especially dangerous. The ones in Charleston cave gained this ability from chewing on a Stealth Boy, while the ones in the X-13 testing facility had the ability granted by an unknown scientist. As with any other cloaked enemy, these night stalkers can only be targeted in V.A.T.S. with the Enhanced Sensors companion perk provided by ED-E. It should be noted that their invisibility will not prevent them from causing ripples in any body of water they move in, hindering their ability to execute an ambush attack.
Night stalker packs can be found in:
- Bloodborne cave
- Charleston cave
- Morning Star Cavern
- Walking Box Cavern
- Great Khan supply cave
- Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation lab
- Sulfur caves
Variants
Night stalker
Night stalkers are the size of coyotes with a canine body and the head and tail of a rattlesnake. Night stalkers nest and hunt in packs and are found in or near their cave nests.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
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Night stalker 00156788 0012BD37 |
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Night stalker (Jacobstown) 00144BC4 |
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Night stalker (pit fighter) 00144BC4 |
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Young night stalker
In appearance, young night stalkers are visually identical to fully grown night stalkers, but are smaller in size and have weaker attacks and less Hit Points. Although relatively weak, they are a nuisance when fought in groups of other young night stalkers and their fully grown brethren.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
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Young night stalker 0014F476 0015678B 00164A6C 00164EF7 001616EC 00166DFD |
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Young night stalker 001689D8 |
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Legendary night stalker
The legendary night stalker is a very large and very strong night stalker found in Bloodborne cave, which is west of Bitter Springs. In appearance, it is visually identical to standard night stalkers but differs only in size, being about the size of a bighorner. It is normally encountered in a pack with several regular night stalkers and young night stalkers and can kill a low level character in seconds.
It has the least amount of health out of all of the legendary creatures, but can kill a player character under level 20 with about two to three bites. It is also the only legendary creature in the game that can be friendly towards the player character if they have acquired the Animal Friend perk.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
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Legendary night stalker 00167EFE |
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Den mother
In some night stalker nests, such as Morning Star Cavern, the pack will be led by a den mother, a slightly larger female night stalker who looks after the young, and has a much stronger attack than standard night stalkers. If her young are harmed, she may go into a frenzy similar to that of the deathclaw mother.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
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Den mother 001532FF |
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Notable night stalkers
Related quests
- Bleed Me Dry: Red Lucy at the Thorn asks the Courier to collect various eggs from Mojave creatures, including some night stalker eggs.
- Guess Who I Saw Today: The Courier can help Doctor Henry at Jacobstown to study how local night stalkers developed a natural stealth field.
- Fight Night: Up to three night stalkers can be challenged in the arena at The Thorn.
Notes
- All night stalkers, including named ones, are affected by the Animal Friend perk, despite being classified as abominations. With this perk, the player character can pickpocket them, but they hold no items.
- Similar to other canine enemies, night stalkers have a stationary bite attack. During this animation, night stalkers will not move, allowing one to easily backpedal and avoid the attack.
- Night stalkers share few characteristics with coyotes aside from general body shape and pack hunting (something reptiles, snakes in particular, are not known for).
- Night stalkers lay eggs, even though coyotes and rattlesnakes both bear live young.
- Night stalkers tend to rattle their tails and hiss when nearby, giving away their location.
- Similar to cazadores, night stalkers found in the Big MT are tougher than their Mojave counterparts.
- Night stalkers found in The Thorn's pit do not have any venom.
Appearances
Night stalkers only appear in Fallout: New Vegas and its add-on Old World Blues.
Bugs
- Walking through the Mojave Wasteland, it is possible that the player may see a night stalker with several heads and legs. This is actually a bug in the respawn. It happens when several spawn in the same place, resulting in a number of night stalker models within each other and bound in place. Because they cannot walk they can easily be killed. [verified]
- Sometimes while encountering a night stalker, they will randomly die. [verified]
- evolved centaurs. For best results (and to avoid all shots missing in V.A.T.S.), target the body instead. [verified] Attempting to aim at a night stalker's head (in realtime or V.A.T.S.) often results in missing shots. Possibly there is something off with the night stalker's collision/hit detection around its head, similar to what happens with
- X-8 research center will panic if the player has Strength of 8 or higher. They'll be hostile, run to and fro, but not attack. A "normal" fearless variety is found inside Z-9 and X-13. [verified] Big MT night stalkers in the open air and the
Sounds
- A conscious night stalker
- Chasing night stalker
- Biting night stalker
Gallery
- ↑ The Courier: "So Nightstalkers were created for what purpose, then?"
Borous: "-To preserve coyote... no, no, wait. The snake DNA was important because... the snakes with the rattles were dying out, and...- -Or maybe it was a bet from Calis in X-8? He had some mountain lion... eagle... condor... idea. "Bet you can't breed this," he said. Showed HIM.- -Then it... spliced itself into a coyote...-y, snake thing. Which was eventually successful. Kept that DNA where it belonged - spliced.-"
(Borous' dialogue) - ↑ X-8 research center terminal entries; X-8 Observatory Terminal, Shipping Department in Lockdown
- ↑ X-8 research center terminal entries; X-8 Observatory Terminal, Regarding Shipping Department Lockdown
- ↑ Hanlon: "Word got back to one of our stations that raiders had been attacking the place. I went out with six rangers. We must have been on the trail for a week before we got to Rattletail. We lost one woman to Night Stalkers and another almost died of dehydration."
(Hanlon's dialogue) - ↑ Fallout: New Vegas loading screen hints: Nightstalkers are fearsome nocturnal predators created by splicing together coyote and rattlesnake DNA.