Render Unto Caesar is a main quest in Fallout: New Vegas.
Synopsis[]
Matthew 22:21 of the Bible instructs those to "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's"; as Caesar sees it, the Mojave shall be rendered unto him after he allies with or destroys certain tribes around New Vegas.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Main Quest: Render Unto Caesar | |||||
| Travel to Cottonwood Cove. | |||||
| Talk to Caesar. | |||||
| Destroy Mr. House's bunker and army under the weather station. | |||||
| Kill Mr. House. | |||||
| Forge an alliance between the Legion and the Boomers, or eradicate them, in Volare! | |||||
| Bring the offer of allegiance to the White Glove Society in Beyond the Beef. | |||||
| Destroy the Brotherhood of Steel in Still in the Dark. | |||||
| Meet with Caesar privately. | |||||
| Cure, or kill, Caesar in Et Tumor, Brute? | |||||
| Report to Legate Lanius and begin the battle of Hoover dam in Veni, Vidi, Vici. | |||||
| Reward: XP, Legion fame Achievement / Trophy | |||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
Upon arriving at Caesar's camp, the player character will have their weapons removed (with the option to keep holdout weapons). All weapons will be returned upon leaving the camp. With a Speech skill of 35, the player character can ask what items are banned, and keep aid/chems, saying they suffer from a heart problem.
Travel up the hill and enter through the gate to the inner area of the Fort. Here one will find the Legion arena and Caesar's tent. Enter Caesar's tent and talk to him. Caesar will tell the Courier that he has heard a lot about them and will talk about what they have done depending on the Courier's past decisions, he will then tell the Courier that there is a vault underneath the camp with the markings of the Lucky 38 Casino. He asks the player to enter the vault and destroy it. He then returns the platinum chip.
If Benny is alive, Caesar will inform the player character they will get to choose his manner of death. At this point, the player character can speak to Benny and decide what they want to do. If the player character releases Benny, the Legion becomes hostile towards the player character and the quest cannot be completed. Leave the tent and head down to the training grounds.
The vault is located within a concrete bunker behind Caesar's tent. Upon entering, a Legionary will return all of one's confiscated items. Putting the platinum Chip in the computer will provide subterranean access to the irradiated vault.
Once the player character is inside the vault, one will see a large screen on which Mr. House is displayed. In conversation, he will tell the player character the purpose of the chip and of Victor's objectives before asking the player character to finish the job by upgrading the computer's security protocol. One can agree to cooperate or defy him. Either way, he will inform the player character that he has no control over the vault's defenses and that one will have to fight their way to the computer. If House was killed previously, Yes Man will instead be displayed on the screen, though no interactions will be available.
Down the stairs one will encounter a hostile protectron, a door, and the rest of the path. Behind the door one will find three computers, two of which are locked. The difficulty of the locked computers are average and hard respectively, once hacked they can be used to disable the vault's defenses. The average difficulty computer disables the automated turrets, while the hard difficulty computer disables the protectrons. The terminal controlling the sentry bots is broken, and cannot be used. If one is able to hack both, the player character's path is clear, for now.
Head down the hall. If the player character's Repair skill is 60, they can open the door on the right and disable the sentry bots to prevent them from becoming hostile. In the next room, one will encounter two turrets and two protectrons.
The next room is protected by four protectrons. If the player character plans on following Caesar's orders, destroy the three generators located in this room by shooting them. Once they're destroyed, the facility will destabilize and radiation will be released. This option will set off the facility's security system, which at this point should only consist of four sentry bots, unless the player character chose to disable or destroy them.
Before one leaves the bunker, the player character's weapons will once again be taken away from them, with the exception of their holdout weapons if the player character does not wish to be fully disarmed. Go back and talk to Caesar. The player character will then receive 500 XP and Legion Fame.
No matter what the player character has decided, Caesar will not know what they did inside the vault. He will have felt the vibrations from either the blast or the update and assume that the player character did what he asked. If the player character wants to remain friendly to both Mr. House and Caesar, it is best to simply activate the Securitrons using the chip.
Part 2: Mr. House[]
Caesar orders the player character to kill Mr. House. Make one's way to the Lucky 38. If the player character blew up Mr House's secret bunker, the Securitrons inside the Lucky 38 will be hostile. Use the elevator to go to the penthouse. There are five Securitrons in the main room of the penthouse and they will all be hostile towards the player character. In the same area with Mr. House's big screen on the left there will be a computer tucked behind the stairs, use the computer to open the antechamber and there will be two more Securitrons waiting for the player character. If the player character is not already hostile with Mr. House, opening the antechamber will turn the Securitrons against the player character. The terminal to the rear-right of the antechamber will allow the player character to perform a "Security Override" rendering the Securitrons non-hostile.
On the left wall in the antechamber will be another computer. Use this to access the elevator door next to it and take the elevator down to the control room. Use yet another computer to open Mr. House's medical pod. Talking to Mr. House gives two options:
- One can kill Mr. House outright.
- Or one can disconnect him from the mainframe (with the same results as killing him).
Regardless of one's choice, the player character will receive 500 XP and the objectives will update. Return to Caesar for Legion Fame and 100 XP.
If House was killed previously (such as for installing Yes Man onto the Lucky 38's mainframe), this part of the quest will be skipped.
Part 3: Boomers[]
Caesar wants the Courier to get the Boomers to use their artillery cannons against the NCR when he attacks Hoover Dam. However, the problem lies in that the cannons blast anyone that gets close to their base (if the player character is already idolized with them then this section can be skipped). While heading to their base, George will stop the player character and offer information on how to get past the shells. One can use a Speech check or pay him, but all it boils down to taking a left turn as soon as one sees the houses and following the house line until one reaches the end
Make a beeline for the fence, and once one is close enough, enter the gate. Talk to the Boomers and follow directions until one completes the Boomer questline (see the Volare! article for more details) and have support from the tribe. After all this return to Caesar and let him know that the Boomers are on his side.
If the player character has turned the Boomers hostile, there is also the option to kill their leaders (Pearl, Loyal, and Jack), which will satisfy Caesar and complete this part of the quest. If the Boomers leaders have already been killed, the player character can inform Caesar right away and skip this section.
Part 4: White Glove Society[]
The player character must bring Caesar's offer of allegiance to the White Glove Society. After learning about the society by talking to Marjorie and Mortimer, one can either tell Caesar they do not want his alliance (which ends this part of the quest) or go to Mortimer after talking to Marjorie and help revert the society to cannibalism (see Beyond the Beef). Once the mission has been completed by either reverting them to cannibals or not, return to Caesar.
- One may encounter a problem with converting the White Glove Society to cannibalism if the player character has a good Karma rating and/or neutral Strip reputation. Mortimer might tell the player character that one wouldn't have the stomach to help him or one is not well-known enough. To get around this, the player character either needs to have a high enough Speech rating (62 Speech), be a cannibal or have evil Karma and a non-neutral Strip reputation in order to convince him one can help.
- This mission can be averted altogether if one has foiled Mortimer's plan and rescued Ted Gunderson previously or attacked the White Glove Society. The player character can tell Caesar that the society will not revert to cannibalism, so the plan to blackmail them into an alliance will not work. This seems to have little to no detrimental effects to the Legion actually conquering the Mojave, and although Caesar will berate the player character for their failure, they will not be punished.
- If one has killed Marjorie and Mortimer, Caesar can be informed that the cannibals in the society are dead. He will warn the player character to do better on their next assignment, and give the next part of the quest. If this was already done prior to receiving Render Unto Caesar, he will say that he planned on asking the player character to forge an alliance with the society, but with their leaders dead they will not be usable in time for the Battle of Hoover Dam. This will skip to the next part of the quest.
Once the player character reports to Caesar, Don't Tread on the Bear! will fail and the NCR will become permanently hostile. Since the NCR controls many places, it will result in loss of quests, merchants, and repairmen. One should prepare themselves before reporting to Caesar.
Part 5: Brotherhood of Steel[]
Caesar orders the player character to go to the Hidden Valley bunker and enter to destroy the Brotherhood of Steel in the area. If one has not interacted with the Brotherhood, the player character must go through an orientation by convincing a Ranger in an adjacent bunker to leave (which can be avoided if Veronica is in the player character's party). Due to the last quest causing Don't Tread on the Bear! to fail, the Ranger will not talk to the player character and will be hostile. The player character will have no further option than killing him.
The Brotherhood will confiscate the player character's weapons, so it is recommended to carry some holdout weapons before entering. From here, one can decide to destroy the bunker entirely or just kill all the Brotherhood of Steel personnel in and around the bunker. To destroy the bunker, the player character will need 100 Science to destruct the bunker from the terminal. If one does not have 100 Science, one will need to obtain keycards from Edgar Hardin, Lars Taggart and Nolan McNamara by either killing or pickpocketing them. Once the player character has all the keycards, use the terminal next to the Self-Destruct terminal, generate the self-destruct password, go to the Self-Destruct terminal and begin the bunker self-destruct sequence.
There is not an option to let them live. Once completed, return to Caesar.
Part 6: Caesar's Illness[]
Caesar will now explain that he suffers from painful headaches, caused by a tumor in his brain, and tells the player character he needs them to find a cure. One can either choose to find the cure, attempt surgery themself (which may or may not kill him depending on the player character's Medicine skill level or Luck), or get help from Arcade Gannon to cure Caesar. Be warned; what happens in this quest will greatly affect the ending of the game.
Part 7: President Kimball's Assassination[]
After completing the previous quest, the player character will learn that the NCR president is making a speech at Hoover Dam. The player character is ordered to meet with Cato Hostilius to plan the assassination. One must now complete the quest Arizona Killer. Failing Arizona Killer will still allow one to complete Render Unto Caesar.
Part 8: Legate's Camp[]
Report to Legate Lanius, where the player character will be teleported to the Legate's camp automatically. The second battle for Hoover Dam will begin.
Quest stages[]
Notes[]
- This quest will begin once you exit the Tops Casino after completing Ring-a-Ding-Ding! Vulpes Inculta will approach you and inform you that Caesar wishes to meet with you. If you previously killed Vulpes Inculta at Nipton, Alerio will be there in his place. Either way, you will be given the Mark of Caesar, which allows you to safely travel through Legion territory. This is essential if you have a poor reputation with Caesar's Legion. He will also mark Cottonwood Cove on your map, if the location was not already found.
- Upon receiving this quest, depending on your progress so far, you should have received invitations to the three main factions' quests and you will have to make decisions as to which you will support. Proceeding too far down this questline will prevent you from completing House's and the NCR's questlines. See main quest arcs for more details.
- If you become vilified by the Legion at any point during this quest, it will fail and the free quest Beware the Wrath of Caesar! will start.
- The Courier has the option to tell Caesar off by saying "I am done working for you." Caesar will give you a stern warning. If you choose that dialogue option a second time, everyone in the tent will become hostile.
- You cannot go back to the Mojave after completion of this quest.
- The quest at one point in development had an option to talk Caesar into a temporary alliance with the Brotherhood of Steel rather than destroying them. The option was dropped in the final version of the game but some dialogue related to it still exists in the game files. The dialogue indicates that the Brotherhood would attack Helios One as a distraction during the battle at Hoover Dam.
- Depending on your past decisions towards the NCR and the Legion, Caesar will have unique dialogue upon first speaking to him.
- If you have equal rep towards the NCR and possibly helped the Legion leading up to this quest, Caesar will say "So I finally get to meet the courier who's accomplished so much in so little time. That is why I summoned you here, right?"
- If you did damage towards the Legion leading up to this quest, Caesar will say "But you - of all people - dare to come here and stand before me, the mighty Caesar. What were you thinking?" Then there is the possibility to start a fight by a Terrifying Presence speech.
- If you did damage towards the NCR leading up to this quest Caesar will say "So I finally get to meet the courier who's caused so much trouble for the New California Republic."
- Upon first meeting Caesar, he will list several major actions performed by the player.
- Aggressive
- If the Courier has killed Vulpes Inculta, Caesar will say "Vulpes Inculta, the best of my frumentarii, is dead."
- If the Courier has killed Dead Sea, Caesar will say "The garrison I established at Nelson has been wiped out."
- If the Courier has killed Nero and Big Sal, Caesar will say "All the bribes I sent to the Omertas ended up buying me nothing."
- If I Put a Spell on You was completed with the Courier siding with the NCR, Caesar will say "Years of meticulous scheming to place a mole at Camp McCarran - wasted."
- If Oh My Papa was completed, Caesar will say "The Great Khans aren't exactly clamoring to fight for my Legion now."
- If Kings' Gambit was completed with the Courier successfully stopping the violence, Caesar will say "The Kings of Freeside are cooperating with the NCR now, which frees up soldiers to defend the dam."
- If Birds of a Feather was completed, Caesar will say "You even disrupted a promising weapons deal with the Van Graffs."
- Positive
- If Cold, Cold Heart was completed with the Courier spreading the word of Legion atrocities, Caesar will say "You spread word of the massacre of Nipton, just like Vulpes asked you."
- If That Lucky Old Sun was completed with the Courier activating ARCHIMEDES I, Caesar will say "Beams of light shot down from the sky over HELIOS One, killing who knows how many Profligate troops."
- If the Courier has killed Silus, Caesar will say "Silus, the Centurion who let himself get captured, died at McCarran before he could reveal sensitive information."
- If the Courier has freed Silus, Caesar will say "You freed the Centurion Silus from McCarran so that he might be punished for his cowardice."
- If I Put a Spell on You was completed with the Courier siding with the Legion, Caesar will say "The monorail that the Profligates rode from McCarran to the Strip has been destroyed."
- If the Courier has killed everyone in Camp Forlorn Hope, Caesar will say "You turned Camp Forlorn Hope into a mass grave."
- If Hanlon killed himself during Return to Sender, Caesar will say "Chief Hanlon, a nemesis of my Legion, died the humiliating death he deserved."
- If the Courier killed all the NCR soldiers during Boulder City Showdown, Caesar will say "In Boulder City, you let the renegade Khans go free, but left NCR troopers gurgling on the ground, drowning in their own blood."
- If the Courier simply has a bad reputation with the NCR, Caesar will say "A number of NCR Ranger stations have been wiped off the face of the Mojave, thanks to you."
- Aggressive
Behind the scenes[]
The name of this quest refers to a Gospel story in which Jesus is asked whether or not the Jews should have to pay taxes to their Roman rulers. Jesus responds by asking whose image is on the denarius. His challenger replies "Caesar's," thus admitting that the Jews are, after all, using Roman money. Jesus then instructs the crowd to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's."
Bugs[]
Completing Beyond the Beef by stopping Mortimer's plans before accepting the White Glove Society portion of this quest may render it unable to be completed. Dialogue to Caesar will not include an option to indicate the White Glove Society will not revert to cannibalism, and speaking to Marjorie will direct you to speak to the dead or missing Mortimer. [verified]- During part one of the quest if the player character chooses to fight Benny in the arena, some of the player character's weapons may not be returned. [verified]
- If the player character has Arcade Gannon as a companion while first travelling to The Fort, his dialogue about avoiding speaking with Caesar will override the Gate Guard, preventing him from taking the Courier's chems. This is a useful workaround if the player plans to assassinate Caesar and cannot pass the Speech check to keep their chems.[verification overdue]
- If you try to blow up the weather station guard by placing a grenade or similar in his pocket using a Stealth Boy, the game may freeze when it explodes. [verified]
- If you decide to do as Mr. House asks, you may not be able to return to the strip. Entering The Strip will result in a black screen with the game music playing. [verified]
- If a companion is taken into the vault and becomes unconscious, by leaving the unconscious companion in the vault they will be stuck there. You will not be allowed to enter Caesar's tent. [verified]
- The Legion may remain hostile even after receiving the 'Mark of Caesar.' Equipping NCR armor, exiting the Pipboy screen, then removing the armor again may fix this. (You must UNEQUIP the NCR armor. Equipping non-faction armor without first unequipping the NCR armor might not work.)[verified]
- If you Fail the Wrath of Caesar, using Legion Armor you may be able to reach Caesar and initiate the first steps of the previously failed quest, Render unto Caesar. Upon exiting the dialogue all Legion members become hostile. [verified]
- If you start the quest, but kill all of the guards inside the weather station and leave The Fort before opening the vault, the platinum chip will be removed from your inventory when you try leaving and it will be impossible to get it back. The guards in the weather station will not respawn to give it to you again. [verified]
- If you want to leave with the platinum chip before you open the weather station vault, you will have to kill all of the legionaries at the exit to the Fort, which will not earn Legion infamy unless you kill Lucullus (or the other ferryman) and will fail the Legion quest.
- If you have not spoken to Mr. House at all yet and you lose the platinum chip this way, he will tell you to go collect the chip from Benny's corpse (Benny had been killed already in this instance) and will make it impossible to start/finish the Mr. House quests.
- If you start Beyond the Beef, then talk to Marjorie about supporting the Legion, she will reject the offer and your objective will be to talk to Mortimer. However, there will not be any relevant dialogue option with him. The solution is to complete Beyond the Beef per Mortimer's instructions, then wait until after the dinner (at the next 7:00pm) when Mortimer will confirm that he has converted the White Gloves back to cannibalism and your reputation with the White Gloves will be raised to Idolized. Then talk to Marjorie about the Legion again, and this time she will support you. [verified]
- There is a potential bug where the quest can get stuck on stage 40: after you first speak to Marjorie and the objective is completed, you will not get the next objective (to talk to Mortimer). The only known solution, other than using console commands to advance the quest, is to kill White Gloves (or otherwise lower the Courier's reputation with them) until the new objective "Inform Caesar that the White Gloves will not support the Legion" appears. Successfully completing Beyond the Beef at this point will not allow you to continue with Render Unto Caesar. [verified]
