I'm getting a little bored with my NCR and Independent New Vegas characters so I've decided to create a new character allied with Caesar's Legion who's so powerful he makes even Caesar's Legate run away with her petticoats held up high while screaming like a woman at the mere mention of his name. So, with that in mind I was wondering if I could gather the thoughts and opinions of the other members of the Fallout community on how to create the ultimate legionary of Caesar. Here's my thoughts so far.

1.) My special points are going to go 2 to Strength and Endurance and 1 to Intelligence for both the bonuses to Melee and Unarmed as well as the added carrying capacity until I get the Strong Back perk and the added health bonus should give me a greater chance for survival especially given that I'll probably be shot more than once if I decide to go melee and extra skill points never hurt anyone. Also I've lost count of how many options 7 strength and 6 Intelligence have opened up in NPC conversations.

2.) Tags are initially going to be Barter, Speech, and one other (feedback on third Tag choice appropriate for character would be appreciated). I'll mostly be building up Barter for increased rewards and Speech for the gazillion different options to choose from in NPC convos and Lockpick and Science for....well.....picking locks and hacking terminals. I'll keep Guns, Medicine, Repair, Unarmed, and Survival at necessary levels until the above skills are at 50 to 55 and then really start bringing them up at that time. Really the only skill I don't see myself using very much with this char (as opposed to my Indie and NCR chars which I went nuts with) is Energy weapons as I see my char as more of a former tribal like the rest of the Legion and all the blinking bright lights and high-tech nature of energy weapons would seem like techno-sorcery (plus I don't want to tempt my character with any possible big red buttons that he really shouldn't press). Discussion of my above choices and when and what to advance and to what level would be much appreciated.

3. Perks wise none of the level twos are very appealing but I guess I'll go with Heave, Ho! as Throwing Spears are kinda like the Pilums Roman Legionaries used (although to be perfectly honest I've very rarely found throwing spears except off Legion corpses which as a Legionary myself would definitely be off limits for my char and the inability to reuse them after throwing them makes that even more frustrating). At level 4 I'm immediately getting Educated as more Skill points is a must and at level 6 Comprehension for that one point from skill books and because I'm always taking advantage of that +20 with skill books. At some point I'm getting Cannibal because in addition to the health advantages it gives me (and I'll need everything I can get) as a bonus it really reinforces that "Savage Beast" look I'm going for with my char. Other perks I'm looking to get are both levels of Toughness (because I'm going to need every advantage I can get if I'm charging into melee) and probably Commando as I will be using two-handed Guns too (I'm not going totally Roman as even Caesar's Legion uses rifles and there is NO WAY I'm going up against Deathclaws with just Melee, Unarmed and Throwing weapons (that's why God gave us players This Machine with Armor Piercing ammo). I previously mentioned Strong Back above and I'll probably get Super Slam as it gives benefits for Melee and Unarmed and Terrifying Presence (as I expect that Human predator aura to be sensed by weak human prey although if all it does is turn people hostile and benefiting me by making them meekly accept my demands like the little sheep they are let me know as I'd prefer not to kill every single person in the Mojave Wasteland). I'll also be getting Finesse and Math Wiz as I live and breathe VATS and critical hits although if someone could tell me how they work with Melee and Unarmed or if they are useless with them I'd appreciate it as I don't want to take any unnecessary perks.

Phew! Sorry about this but I got a few more to go. I'm debating Ghastly Scavenger as while I'm going with a "Human Beast" persona I'm debating whether my character is a "human supremacist" or not and that ghoul/super mutant meat is inferior to "pure" (although the Brotherhood of Steel and Vault Dwellers might disagree on his definition of pure with all that radiation people absorb) human flesh so tell me if the benefits are worth it or not. I'll probably pick up Piercing Strike for the negation of 15 pts of DT with Melee and Unarmed attacks would be useful and DEFINITELY Unstoppable Force so I can do damage through all those annoying blocks. To wrap it all up for the higher level perks tell me if Jury Rigging would be worth it for this char enough because if I'm going to be raising Unarmed and Melee up to the high points where I can get all those perks I mentioned getting repair up to 90 might mean neglecting essential skills although honestly if I'm going to be wearing Legionary armor a lot like I hope to Jury Rigging will be very useful as I can't repair Legionary armor without more armor and knocking off Legionaries wouldn't go over to well with Caesar I think. The only other two I can think of are Ninja (or maybe not given the high sneak requirement as I expect to be bull-rushing opponents not sneaking around like some cowardly pansy) and Slayer (although in that case can someone tell me if it's possible to increase Agility by one after game start as the only way I know is to get the Agility implant and if I go with my preferred setup that would mean that barring other ways of increasing Agility I'd be one point short of the requirement for the +30 speed to melee and unarmed that Slayer confers). That's it. Sorry for the long list but I felt it necessary to include my own reasons for choosing these perks. Any feedback on any choices made or not made would be greatly appreciated.

Now I have a few questions for topics I don't know how the answer to. Please bear with me and any opinions/comments would be again gladly recieved (except for the "you write to much!" ones).

A.) To trait or not to trait? Are any of the traits worth taking for this character type? The only one that vaguely interested me was the Heavy Handed one but the -Crit damage was a no no to me. Like I said I'm not exactly sure how Melee and unarmed work for VATS and critical damage and so someone fill me in on that too.

B.) Best Companion. Unfortunately, unlike in the DC Wasteland the Mojave Wasteland has no companions that actually mesh well background wise with Caesar's Legion (Charon and the ex-Raider should have been in this game as you had no choice but to be a hero in Fallout 3). Lamentable as that may be (I mean come on the NCR has Boone and Gannon favors an independent Vegas) which companion would be best for a close combat juggernaut? Also Bandito Raul or Mr. Handy Raul? My first thought was go Bandito as my character's primary thoughts are "Kill! Maim! Burn!" but the Mr. Handy-style Raul also has the benefit of slowing item degradation which is cool.

C.) Character interactions with Factions. This one is by far the most important to me. Given that the majority of vendors/civilization land squarely in NCR territory (on a side note one of my biggest criticisms of the game is that very few spots are controlled by the Legion and the Brotherhood of Steel which only has one measly little bunker hopefully Bethesda/Obsidian will release DLC adding more quests and areas for both factions so that we can actually get a glimpse of what life is like in Legion-controlled territory rather than second-hand info and first-hand observations of Legion military operations). How am I supposed to trade with the vendors if they are surrounded by a sea of NCR troopers and (later on) Rangers and Heavy Troopers as well? First answer that comes to mind is put on an NCR uniform but then the NCR has the rather annoying habit of using dogs trained to sniff out my Legionary ass. Basically I'd have to go through a whole lot of trouble getting anywhere in NCR territory if I happen to be on bad terms with them. And with so many quests being NCR-related I'd be missing out on great XP opportunities. Also who do I side with the good people of Goodsprings or the Powder Gangs. Evil my character may be but last time I checked the Powder gangers didn't have any vendors (especially ones that sell mods) that would give huge discounts for being idolized with them (even though I rarely visit Goodsprings with my other chars I have found good stuff from time to time). If my troubles weren't enough to start with most of the few Legion quests there are end up giving me bad rep with other valuable factions as well. So could I get some opinions on how to interact with other factions with a Caesar-aligned character?

D.) Lastly what items would you guys recommend I get for my character? This Machine seems mandatory no matter what style you play and also powerful melee and unarmed are obviously important as well but any specific weapons you guys can think of? Also what type of armor should I use? I was thinking that when I'm finally able to equip power armor the T-45d would be best given its bonuses to strength (and switched out for something else when I'm shooting) but what do you guys think? Oh and whats the best Legionary armor you can get without offing anybody (although I might just off Silas to prevent him from spilling the beans to the NCR but that only nets me a Centurion armor where can I get the helmet without bloodshed)?

Thanks for reading such a large post. I would be thankful for any feedback on these topics as well as anything else I may have forgotten to include.

Well, you've got the sixism right, so rock on!

Sounds like a swell idea.





Wait, what?

You are trying to make a Legion badass, and you are going barter, speech, lockpick, science?

....

What?

Lol. Yeah forgot about their view that childbearing capable women are basically baby factories (which in reality I abhor but what the heck it just makes them more evil). Actually that and all the other quirky comments I often put in my posts are just me being melodramatic by nature and my own habit of trying to make my posts more lively and minimize as much dullness as possible. Come to think of it, an overexposure to Looney Tunes episodes in general and episodes with grown men running away in Southern Belle type clothing while screaming in very feminine voices in particular during childhood might have something to do with that particular comment lol.

Exactly. A legionnaire is a tribal warrior. Science is basically black magic to them, so no tags or points into science. No points in medicine, either, given that even the humble stimpak is banned by the legion.

You should be tagging melee weapons and survival at the least. Your third tag can be barter to represent the legion's skill at resupply and logistics, or speech to represent Caesar's charisma and your desire to emulate him.

Energy weapons should be anathema to any self-respecting Legionnaire, as well as power armor and complex firearms like miniguns. Even finicky guns like fancy silenced sniper rifles and stuff should be avoided, so that there are no questions as to the character's physical superiority over the legion's enemies.

Melee weapons, especially swords (gladii) and spears (pilli), are the legionnaire's weapon of choice.

Never could play the legion, they seem to be the cliched evil just to be evil badguys.

A few tips for being a good servant of the Legion.

1. Treat women like crap and slaves.

2. Use kids as boobytraps by giving them explosives and instructing them to detonate them when the NCR troops are near.

3. Kill people for using drugs and painkillers.

4. Kill people just cause you can.

5. Kill people who are physically weak.

6. Make deals with people and then betray them.

7. Be a general jerk to everyone you meet. (see 1-5)


There's just a few of the things you'll need to do, generally just be an ass to everyone and act like your typical egomaniacle two dimensional bad guy.

Sounds like half the stories I hear from your typical Fallout player, Legion ally or not.

If we're talking about a typical Legion grunt, you are right. But even the Legion makes use of spies and the like. If you talk to the guy who burned that town at length, you'll discover he is quite a smart and adaptable guy.

Hey, I may be making a Legion badass but that doesn't make him necessarily stupid. Background wise, he may no rocket scientist (all of those either died in the Great War or think they're really ghouls) but tribals understand the meaning of barter (otherwise how is tribal Peter gonna get tribal Paul to give him a Brahmin from his herd so he can feed his family?). Good Speech can be explained by our alpha predator having developed a knack for reading people and telling whether the best way to get what he wants (if getting it from there cold, dead hands isn't it) is through either charming, intimidating, or threatening people (although the preference if violence is out of the question is threatening). He'd also have to be extremely adept at survival through scavenging and many of the best goodies are those behind locked doors/safes explaining lockpick. Science can be best explained by looking at the two druggies at the Red Rock Drug Lab and because creating combat enhancing drugs would be incredible useful for a guy who will use any edge he can take to ensure he reaches the top. Also even just because most of civilization was obliterated in a two-hour time period numerous examples of working technology still exist and those who know how to use them have an edge over those who don't (as the Brotherhood of Steel knows well) which covers hacking terminals. Basically you don't become the top of the food chain by being stupid....being stupid gets you killed.

More important than any background considerations is that the rewards boosting those skills are simply too good to ignore and I'm not going to cripple my character by ignoring them just because "I'm a Legion badass."

Being stupid in large numbers, however, nearly gets you the Hoover Dam apparently. :hubbahubba:

Lower Charisma and Luck to 1.

Put Strength and Endurance to 9.

Concentrate on melee, medicine (you'll need to heal a lot for a little while), and unarmed.

Get all damage resistance perks, the anti-knock down perk, and the perk that allows your hits to knock down an opponent.

Get the block-breaking perk / DR avoiding perk (need unarmed at 90 for this)

Good weapons include: Oh Baby (does 80 DAM), rebar club, bumper sword, and the 9-iron for fun (melee) and any power fist variant (unarmed).

You'll be a tank. Keep Boon's hat and you'll recoup all that sacrificed luck. If you leave your intelligence at 6-7 initially you can build up other skills later.

Thank you for the suggestions. Better than the "be a jerk and do stuff that you can't do in game." I mean hey, even cliched evil is entertaining once in a while (so long as it doesn't lapse into camp).

I definitely am going to be putting points into Survival as putting poison on weapons is an added edge and the tribal warrior vibe is definitely felt in the stuff you can cook up using Survival. And obviously points into Melee.

As far as drugs go I never did like the whole "no drugs" whining that most Legionaries go on and on about. I can see why the ordinary grunt wouldn't be trusted with stuff like Psycho but the more veteran and trusted officers should be trusted to have enough self-control not to become some junkie or take enough to suffer 'roid rage.

I already mentioned that energy weapons were anathema to my char in my initial post as they are too sophisticated to use (even included a reference to the movie the Fifth Element with the red button comment don't know if anybody got that) and besides projectile rounds with their feelable recoil and loud boom are much more satisfying for the char to use and leave rather spectacular results on impact compared to an energy weapon with a high pitched whine, a bright light, and then just a pile of ashes or goo to disappointedly rub your shoe in. In regards to power armor remember that a Brotherhood Elder/Paladin or Enclave Remnant veteran has to show you how to use power armor and once shown I'm sure he's not going to forget how to use it (and I assume he is also shown how to take care of it as well since you can repair it with replacement parts or by getting creative if you happen to be McGyver with the Jury Rigger perk). Miniguns....well....I assume there are manuals out there otherwise nobody except the Brotherhood would be using them although the weight as well as maintanence would be a drag. Silenced weapons for the most part I think you are dead on your comment on physical superiority views is correct for the char however I'd expect him to be cunning as well as strong and thus know when its best to remain disguised while among the sheep. Heck Vulpes Inculta is the head of a special group of Legionaries created by Caesar to do cloak and dagger missions.

I know about swords and throwing spears but can you tell me where to get throwing spears for sale and which melee weapons in particular to obtain?

In the end I think its best to remember that the character is an unknown at the beginning of the game. He definitely did not come from Caesar's Legion as the guy at the docks at Cottonwood Cove calls him a "Profligate" which covers people including NCR personnel. You are treated and even referred to as an outsider by Legionaries and Caesar himself uses you as his agent because you are an outsider. That could explain medical and scientific knowledge. Besides I have definitely decided that my character privately scorns the Legion policy on combat drugs as foolish and weak as only a fool would deny himself an edge. His motivation for aligning with the Legion when he most likely came from NCR territory taken from what scant knowledge is given about the Courier's background......well wierd stuff happens when people survive a 9mm slug to the head.

Caesar hates drugs. Heck, he even crucified one guy for dealing them. If you go to the fort to meet with Caesar, all your drugs are taken away at the entrance right off the raft, even stimpacks.



Then your guy isn't a Legion badass. He's just a man in a skirt cosplaying as a Legion badass.

Like the concept, however not the design.

Oh yes, very savage right there.

Maybe you should just throw the Deathclaws a teaparty ya pansy. A manly man would wrastle Deathclaws with his barehands while drinking booze and having six with at least 3 women (the deathclaw doesn't count).

I can't think of going up against a Deathclaw with anything other than Melee. I only started killing them with the correct melee attributes (plus weapon and armour).

Oh Baby! + Melee skill/perks = 5 Dead Deathclaws.

You should be using unarmed, not melee.

Speech isn't a horrible idea, rp-wise as long as you mostly take it for the terrifying presence perk.

Raul would make a fine slave, er, I mean companion.