Rhonda is a robot and companion of the nightkin Tabitha at Black Mountain in the Mojave Wasteland until her deactivation in the past. She appears in Fallout: New Vegas.
Background[]
Sometime after the fall of the Master and the destruction of the Unity, a remnant group of super mutants led by the nightkin Tabitha happened upon an abandoned Mister Handy that she took on as a companion, giving it the name "Rhonda." Rhonda's subservient protocols consequently helped to stabilize Tabitha's mental state and help her manage her schizophrenia brought on by Stealth Boy overuse.
Tabitha's group, including Rhonda, later joined the mutant enclave set up by Marcus at Black Mountain, a pre-War military outpost. Around August 28, 2275,[1] an unspecified incident led to Rhonda suffering severe (but not fatal) damage. However, it caused her systems to go into standby mode and leave her chassis inert, where it was subsequently recovered and placed inside the storage building at Black Mountain until Tabitha could find a way to bring Rhonda back.[2]
The loss of Rhonda caused Tabitha's previously stable mental state to deteriorate, and although she asked the other mutants for help, none knew how to fix Rhonda.[3] Marcus put Tabitha on a journaling project and gave her access to the Black Mountain broadcast building to take her mind off of Rhonda,[4] but this backfired. In her deteriorating mental condition, Tabitha began to develop delusions that Rhonda was still active and talking to her, and even encouraging her towards more extremist beliefs of mutant separatism and nightkin supremacy. Being in the broadcast building, Tabitha soon realized that the Black Mountain Radio network could be used to broadcast her and "Rhonda's" beliefs across the wastes, and committed herself to doing so.[3][5] Marcus, realizing what Tabitha was doing, tried to persuade her to stop and foster cooperation, but "Rhonda" dissuaded Tabitha, causing her to view Marcus as simply fearful of her power.[6] Eventually, in 2279, Marcus chose to leave and found Jacobstown elsewhere, giving Tabitha and "Rhonda" full rein over Black Mountain and its radio network.[7] The "duo" quickly took to spreading their ideology for the mutant-controlled State of Utobitha over the radio; by this point, "Rhonda" had become an alternate personality of Tabitha, who would hold entire conversations between herself and "Rhonda" on the radio.[8][9][10]
Tabitha's hopes to fix Rhonda were renewed when the ghoul mechanic Raul Tejada was drawn to Black Mountain, where he was subsequently enslaved as Tabitha's personal repairman to fix Rhonda as well as the radio systems damaged by Marcus before he left. While Raul was able to mend Rhonda's physical damage, his inexperience with the robot's more complex software meant Rhonda remained inactive, and Tabitha's spiral into madness was left unchecked.[2][11] At this point, Tabitha was even starting to forget that Rhonda was broken at all, viewing her alternate personality "Rhonda" as the real one.[12] However, she still remembered enough to keep Raul alive based on his reminders of a "special robot" that only he might be able to repair for her.[8]
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
  |
This character is a temporary companion. | |
  |
This character is involved in quests. | |
Quests[]
Crazy, Crazy, Crazy: During their exploration of Black Mountain to find a way to stop Tabitha, the Courier can enter the storage building where Rhonda is stored. Passing a Science 60 skill check allows the player character to complete the repairs on Rhonda and restore her to function; upon exiting, Tabitha will appear and peacefully depart with Rhonda, completing the quest.
Effects of player's actions[]
- Repairing Rhonda and allowing Tabitha to leave peacefully with her is required for the peaceful ending for Black Mountain. The ending slide for Black Mountain will reveal that the duo traveled east into Caesar's Legion territory, with their adventures eventually becoming popular children's stories.[13]
- If Tabitha dies before Rhonda is repaired and the Courier informs her about Tabitha's death, Rhonda will accuse them of killing her and immediately turn hostile.[14]
- Killing Tabitha while she is walking away with Rhonda after completing Crazy, Crazy, Crazy will result in Rhonda staying by her body and waiting for medical help, unaware that she is dead.[15]
Inventory[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy cell Scrap metal Flamer fuel |
Notes[]
- If one intends to complete the peaceful ending to Crazy, Crazy, Crazy, it is advisable to not allow three in-game days to pass between first entering the storage building and passing the Science check to repair her. After that period has elapsed, Rhonda's deactivated body will disappear from the game if one leaves the room without completing the repairs as her body is scripted to not respawn once despawned.
- Reactivating Rhonda and spending too long in the supply room will summon Tabitha and both will initiate combat.
- If Rhonda is repaired, the robot and Tabitha will walk down the mountain, taking the shortcut under the broken pylon and down the man-trapped path. They will pass through the first checkpoint, guarded by a hostile super mutant, and will disappear at the point where the road turns towards Neil's shack.
- After reuniting Rhonda and Tabitha, it is possible to sneak up to Rhonda and deactivate her with the Robotics Expert perk. Tabitha will not be hostile and will simply stand behind Rhonda and still talk as if she is following her.
- Rhonda becomes a temporary companion after reactivating her. However, Tabitha will always talk to the Courier before they leave Black Mountain or even engage in combat, removing this status immediately.
Appearances[]
Rhonda appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.
Behind the scenes[]
- Rhonda was written by area designer Jesse Farrell, who worked on much of the content at Black Mountain and the quest Crazy, Crazy, Crazy.[Non-game 1][Non-game 2]
- Rhonda, as she appears in audio for Black Mountain Radio, is voiced by Fred Tatasciore, who also voiced Tabitha and is listed as such in the in-game credits. However, the Mister Handy voice lines of Rhonda after being re-activated use the generic Mister Handy voice type, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.
- According to Mikey Dowling, before recording dialogue for Tabitha and Rhonda, voice actor Fred Tatasciore silently read through the entire script once before declaring that he was ready. He then read the script from top to bottom, "effortlessly" flowing in and out of both characters, making it one of Obsidian's favorite recording sessions.[Non-game 3]
Bugs[]
When Rhonda and Tabitha travel together from Black Mountain after the end of the quest Crazy, Crazy, Crazy, the duo may pass down a steep incline that may cause Rhonda's robot body parts to glitch out. The game will then constantly attempt to rebuild the character with eventual success.[16]
- Rhonda's entire body may appear pitch black except for one of her sawblades. Exiting and restarting the game will fix this.[verification needed]
References[]
- ↑ Rhonda: "Thank you very much. My internal clock says it's been 6 years, 52 days, 40 minutes, and 13 seconds since I last spoke to her. I hope she hasn't gotten lonely."
(Rhonda's dialogue)
Note: The Pip-Boy's clock always lists the date of the Courier's awakening in Goodsprings as 8:00 a.m., October 19, 2281 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fallout: New Vegas message box transcriptions; Black Mountain (Rhonda): "You quickly ascertain that the robot's current AI state is set to hibernate, likely a self-defense mechanism after the unit suffered catastrophic damage. Whoever repaired it probably didn't know how to reset its AI. After flipping the right switch, the robot jumps to life."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Black Mountain terminal entries; Tabitha's terminal, It's a radio station!
- ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; Tabitha's terminal, Marcus made me type this
- ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; Tabitha's terminal, On the air!
- ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; Tabitha's terminal, The elite!
- ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; Tabitha's terminal, Alone at last!
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Black Mountain Radio
- ↑ The Courier: "What makes this a 'dangerous place?'"
Neil: "You must've heard her radio broadcasts? Though why a human would follow her invitation here is beyond me... unless you didn't listen very closely. The voice on the radio belongs to Tabitha, the 'supreme commander' of Black Mountain - or, as she calls it, the 'State of Utobitha.' She took control of this place almost two years ago. The Super Mutants here do whatever she says - and she says humans are to be killed on sight."
(Neil's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "How did Tabitha end up in control?"
Neil: "For years, Black Mountain was a peaceful community. Its leader, Marcus, broadcast an invitation to Mutants throughout the wasteland. That's how I found Black Mountain. So did others, most of them second generation Mutants. Marcus welcomed everyone - that was his mistake. The community ended up being mostly second gen - not very bright, but easy to influence. Fine, until the Nightkin came along, led by Tabitha... In a week she had most of the second-gens thinking she was some kind of prophet - and that she should be broadcasting her 'truth,' not Marcus. Marcus saw what was coming and decided to leave before things got out of hand. He smashed the radio and left to found Jacobstown."
(Neil's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "You say Marcus smashed the radio. Not very well, apparently?"
Neil: "Heh. There's a sad story behind that. Marcus smashed it just fine, but while we were gone some Ghoul named Raul came along. Tabitha turned him into her personal mechanic. A slave, really. See, if I'd been standing down here, I could've warned him before it was too late."
(Neil's dialogue) - ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; Tabitha's terminal, Lucky!
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas endings; Black Mountain
- ↑ The Courier: "I hate to tell you, but Tabitha's dead."
Rhonda: "And I suppose you're taking credit for the deed, fiend! I will avenge her!"
(Rhonda's dialogue) - ↑ Rhonda's dialogue; BMRhondaBadReunion
- ↑ Gameplay footage of the body part glitch
- ↑ Gameplay footage of the invisible nightkin causing the duo to become hostile
Non-game
- ↑ Question: "Who designed Crazy, Crazy, Crazy? It was a pretty simple but well-designed quest, with some of the most fun combat of the game."
Joshua Sawyer: "Jesse Farrell"
(Joshua Sawyer Formspring posts/2010) - ↑ Q&A session with Josh Sawyer during a live charity stream. (reference begins at 8:27:31)
- ↑ Q&A session with Josh Sawyer during a live charity stream. (reference begins at 8:27:56)
| |||||||||||||||||
