3) House's promise of "colony ships in space in 50 years" is most likely a bluff. Unless he already knows a habitable planet (and what are the chances of that?), it will take centuries to actually locate one. Moreover, it's a solution for SOME of the people, but he cannot put the entire population of the Mojave, let alone the rest of the planet, into those ships, can he? So a small group may (or may not) be saved, at tremendous cost to the rest. How's that helpful?

House has no reason whatsoever to stop the FotA from getting valuable health technology, but he still does it.

i doubt the NCR are keeping a horde of health tech away from the public for any reason.
Ceaser might be, but he believes that using drugs or machines is wrong and for the weak. So atleast he has a reason
BoS might be, because they dont want advanced tech in the hands of locals. But they have a reason

House has no reason whatsoever to stop the FotA from getting valuable health technology, but he stil does it.

@ Farbautisonn

Not to beat a dead horse, I agree with most of what you’ve said, mostly there are evil actions, not evil people (with a few exceptions). However, when you operate on a grand stage like House, your actions effect a wide swath of people, and thus your karmic effect is multiplied. I think dictators like Stalin or Kim Jong il or House are evil – they aren’t cartoon evil, but cartoon evil is just silly – yet they are evil none-the-less. They cause unnecessary misery mainly to further their own ends.

However, assigning morality to a group like the legion or the NCR is different than assigning morality to an individual. A group is full of different individuals who each have their own alignment, some may be good, others not so good – it’s meaningless to say North Korea or the USSR or whatever are/were evil. Nations and organizations are full of people with different motives and different moralities.

However, assigning morality to a group like the legion or the NCR is different than assigning morality to an individual. A group is full of different individuals who each have their own alignment, some may be good, others not so good – it’s meaningless to say North Korea or the USSR or whatever are/were evil. Nations and organizations are full of people with different motives and different moralities.

House is an egomaniacal tyrant who lacks empathy. If he isn't "evil" than no one is.

His medical technology is of no use to the common people, but someone else having access to his network and that medical knowledge is a threat to himself.

@ farbautisonn

Fair enough.

House’s power has yet to have been challenged by an internal enemy (Benny aside). If he were challenged by the Kings or by another group of NV natives do you really think he would abdicate any of his absolute power? Don’t you think he would setup his own “gulags” or order his robots to exterminate all dissent?

I believe that his ending depicts an almost Orwellian state.

@Vukodlak

Aren’t there mobsters you sympathize with? What about ones who fell into that line of work because it was part of their “family?” What about gangsters we think of as having “honor?” The mobs goals may be evil, but is everyone in it evil by extension?

There are also probably members of the legion who do not believe in its ideology. They are forced to fight or be executed.

House may have built the strip, but so what? Kim Jong il built Pyongyang. House lacks empathy to human suffering and doesn’t care about anyone or anything else than his plan. If he thought killing anyone (including you) would further his ends he’d do it in a heartbeat. If he thought the strip had become disloyal, he’d gladly kill everyone living there and start from scratch.

People are insects to him. I for one wouldn’t want him as my leader.

-Come now... listen to yourself. Mobsters do business by use of murder, [censored], selling drugs, violence ect. There are no "godfathers" in the world. There never were.

The mob is a stretch - but they aren't a government or a "nation" like legion / NCR.

But. . .where has there been a truly benevolent dictator? You seem to put a lot of faith in House. . .

Oh come now, Singapore is a (one-party ) democracy.

You mean Washington or Lincoln? Both were willing to abdicate power, something that House seems to see as anathema.

I respect your European status, but most of the "Houses" in Europe had a peculiar problem with my ethnicity (along with most minority groups). Their crowning achievements were often reached by methods you'd find deplorable (slave labor and the like). While we see them as great now - it would have been awful to live under them.

Its sad that more empathetic, rational people didn't gain power, but power-hungry people are rarely empathic.

But, as a fellow (comparative) political science major, I have enjoyed our lively little debate. :tops:

. He was just a typical old man who wanted to rule the world kind of a guy, not sure that's so bad, sounds like the Legion and NCR to me.

I've explained it in the other threads, but here it goes:

1) House's choice of people to run the strip: two mafia-like gangs one of which specializes in sixual slavery (if you talk to the Gomorrah prosttutes Dazzle and Joanna, both of them mention having been bought as opposed to hired) and a bunch of cannibals. What does it tell you about his methods? What kind of people do you think he will put in charge of the rest of the Mojave if he ends up in control?
Cannibalism was a breach of thier contract, anyone doing so if he finds out is executed, and the only one to relapse was mortimer and phileppe. There is no slavery in the tops, also the tops arent a mafia gang.
And what dose that tell you about his methods ? It tells me he rehabilitates people, and makes them productive members of society, ncr and legion just shoot them.


2) The absolutely worst-off areas in the Mojave are those immediately adjucent to the Strip. Compare the relatively isolated Goodsprings to Freeside or the New Vegas Square and you'll see my point. This is way beyond neglect.
Yes its house's fault that the weak gathered around a rich place. They could have went somewhere and did something priductive, but no they just wait. Not houses problem, thats like saying its my fault there are people in my area less well off, its not my job to help them.

3) House's promise of "colony ships in space in 50 years" is most likely a bluff. Unless he already knows a habitable planet (and what are the chances of that?), it will take centuries to actually locate one. Moreover, it's a solution for SOME of the people, but he cannot put the entire population of the Mojave, let alone the rest of the planet, into those ships, can he? So a small group may (or may not) be saved, at tremendous cost to the rest. How's that helpful?
Be3cause its better than everyone dying ? The earths resources are deplted, your not going to be able to do much, enjoy scvavenging in ruins, when there are places with untapped resources, and no radiation.

4) House's attitude to technology isn't far removed from that of BoS. He is sitting on a wealth of medical knowledge- which, unlike weapons tech, cannot threaten his rule- and he won't share with the Followers so that they could save lives. Again, what does that tell you about him?
Yes technology that wont help anyone due to how advanced it is, as far as we know he was the only one with that tech, in pre war times, so these days not a chance anyone would benefit.
Edit- Also, the only genuinely good faction in the game, the Followers of the Apocalypse- do not get the best possible ending under House. They're able to help more people if the NCR wins.
Yeah despite vegas not under his control puts even more of a strain on them, oh and it gets better if you dont get the followers to join ncr, because then its basically "hey your not with us gtfo our land" yay no followers.

I would add to this:

Pushing tribes out...Beatrix will tell you that many people died when he pushed his way into New Vegas. It sounded like he was very ruthless.
Pushed his way in ? Despite the fact he was there before them, if anyone they pushed in. And you relise the people he was pushing out were warring tribes.
He also allows slavery and that's a deal-breaker for me. My character is anti-slavery to her core. See the slave collars on the girls in front of the Gomorrah and Dazzle will tell you they bought her. Any slaver doesn't deserve to be in the company of other human beings and has to go. It was easy to be against House for me.
No they arent wearing slave collars, atleast not the fallout ones, and they are hokers so I assume they are bdsn collars, hardly slavery. Besides legion enslaves people, NCR enslaved vault city, and yes man probobally wont kick them out. Either way your going to have slavers.

I'd have to vouch for this. He called me a Hore just before I disconnected him and strolled away to better things. What a mathematical sweetie.

i doubt the NCR are keeping a horde of health tech away from the public for any reason.
Ceaser might be, but he believes that using drugs or machines is wrong and for the weak. So atleast he has a reason
BoS might be, because they dont want advanced tech in the hands of locals. But they have a reason

House has no reason whatsoever to stop the FotA from getting valuable health technology, but he stil does it.

How do you know that? I did a house playthrough, told house about the bug i put in for the FotA and he just said lol, good luck. Not caring just dismissing the idea of him helping others. Also there is no way of knowing that the medical tech is of no help to others. He must have had amazing stuff to keep himself alive during the war, i bet there is SOMETHING of use to the Followers.

And with houses securititrons and other security systems he has, im sure he can afford to give the followers the information

Why is House evil? If for no other reason than he forces you to destroy the Brotherhood of Steel. He forces you to commit mass murder.

Whatever his reasons may be, whatever his justifications, mass murder is nothing other than evil. And he requests it be done without batting a virtual eyelash. And he can't be persuaded to any other course of action.

Mass murder = evil. The end.

In a way, I could agree. But as I see it, if he had asked you to stomp into the Old Mormon Fort and take out the FotA, then yes, that would be mass murder. But the Brotherhood of Steel? It's made painfully clear by both House and Yes-Man the BoS would be a threat to New Vegas should either two be in control of the Vegas region, going so far as to likely assault New Vegas and The Strip, with countless innocent lives slain at Brotherhood hands, unlike the Brotherhood, who are all connected to any war effort, save maybe the Initiates. As I see it, House just asks you to make the pre-emptive strike against a known enemy.

Best thing that could ever happen to Vegas, the people and casino's being fed up with House and deciding to end his reign by way of a nice revolution.

Right then they can enjoy the strip, despite the only reason its enjoyable is because house stopped the place becoming a nuclear hell.
People owe everything to him.
Those saying about the kings, if it wasnt for house they would be dead anyway.