Survival in This Wonderful World
Stepping out in to the Mojave for the first time was a daunting experience in hindsight, but in the moment it was exhilarating. The smell of sand and dust was a downer but that meant that this was all real! No waking up or no people messing with me about me being crazy. Just sand and old pre-war buildings. I stepped forward and headed to the Goodsprings Bar to meet Sunny and her pooch Cheyenne.
DING
Multiple quests added
And there it was i could already see the DLC thrown onto my plate. Good stuff, and another note?
Dear Courier,
It's me, your benevolent Godd. You may ask yourself why do I keep getting notes from god? The reason is the Wild Wasteland perk of course! That way i can make you buy Skyrim on your Pipboy... But seriously, This is so we can tell you of everything that is changed and if I want to, give you hints on how to progress. And if you need help just call and maybe we will help.
Yours, Godd Howard, Esq.
Why is Godd an Esquire? Well no point in asking stupid questions, lets go to the bar. As i am walking I see a giant robot in the distance towards the top of a hill. That looks like our robotic savior Victor. Well let's not talk to him until we meet in Novac. As I made my way down Doc's little road i saw that there were alot more than 10 or 12 houses like in the game. There was an entire village here, maybe bordering on a town with how big it was. That was amazing to think that the world could be so much bigger. As I walked down the road towards the Bar I see the character a lot of people were obsessed with, Easy Pete. The elderly black man was walking down the road with a steady gait and had a big wood box in hand. I ran up, "Need some help, Old timer?"
"Awfully kind of ya to help an old man, so would ya carry this to the house in front of the Saloon?" he said in his stereotypical Texan drawl.
As we walked I introduced myself as the Courier and asked if he knew where the man in the checkered suit went. "Far as I know he came into the saloon and went up to the old graveyard and that was the last I saw of 'em. Probably gotta ask Trudy at the saloon she'd know." We arrived at his front door and I headed across the street to Trudy's Saloon.
I opened the door, not greeted by the dog but an angry Joe Cobb, "What the hell you looking at?"
"One angry schmuck with a chip on his shoulder." I retorted.
"You fuck with me chump, and you fuck with Powder Gangers." He snarled.
" Oh like I'm scared of a two-bit wanna-be gangster, get the hell outta my way," I said while shouldering past him.
He turns around to say something but with the glare I give him he thinks better of it and runs out of the bar with his tail between his legs. I hear from over my shoulder, "Got a lot of nerve messing with a "two-bit gangster" by yourself there, slim." I turn around to see a tan freckle faced young woman with a husky by her side, "You sure you are gonna be ok with his friends coming to kill you?" she asks slightly concerned.
"I could snap him in half with one hand," I joke, extending my hand, "I am the Courier but you can call me Chase, Cutie."
She takes my hand nonplussed "Sunny Smiles and this here is Cheyenne."
"Good to meetcha, now Doc Mitchell sent me to you to help me relearn how to survive this wasteland." I say.
"Well it is surprising that you survived being shot in the head so i don't mind teaching you a few things." She said while grabbing a rifle from off the pool table and handing it to me. "Take this old Varmint Rifle and meet me out back."
She walks out of the pool room and heads towards the back of the saloon. I go up through the doorway to my left and see Trudy, the pillar of the Goodsprings community.
"Heya there kid, Glad to see you made it through being shot and all. need anything from the bar?"
"Nope just wanted to Introduce myself, my nickname is Courier. Hope you don't mind me patronizing you from time to time." I say with a wink.
"Buy as much as you want, and we get supplies every week so be sure to check back then." She says cleaning off the top of the bar.
As I went out the back door saw it, The settlement workbench. I went up to it,
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO BE IDOLIZED TO BUILD ADDITIONS TO THE TOWN.
Well that answers that. Wait would I be allowed to do this in New Vegas if I get my reputation up? That would be so damn cool. But see Sunny waving me over and handing me box of ammo. "Ready to learn?"
"Learn what," I ask.
" We are gonna head to the Source to take out some Geckos, then I will show you some good trail recipes and get you ready for the wastes." She said.
We headed to the source and I have to say having seven Endurance is amazing. She was lightly winded and I was standing there just like i was when we left. "Geez what were you before you came to Goodsprings? A soldier? A Legionary?" she asked slightly reserved.
"Nope, a courier just like my nickname. Ran all across the Mojave according to my Journal, so that is why my endurance is so high." I said, covering up the fact that i just kinda showed up here.
"Well lets get to it, you see those Geckos down by the pump? Take them out, Cheyenne and I will back you up."
That's it? No motivational speech? No encouragement? Just like this I am thrust into this wasteland, forced to kill some creature? Wait why am I freaking out? It's just some lizards. I started to sneak up as close as possible and take aim with my rifle. BOOM, the first Gecko's head exploded and I am left at a loss for words, the blood and gore surprise me with how it splattered everywhere, and I am roused out of my shock with a bite to the shin.
"Ow shit!" I scream and I switch to my Broad Machete not realizing I just kind of made it appear in front of Sunny. I hack down onto the poor lizard and feel the blade pass through the scaly skin. The feeling of that sickens me until the other comes and I feel everything slow down tremendously. I see the gecko mid lunge and I don't hesitate to stab him right through the throat all the way out of his back. I fall to my butt and sit there panting with a giant bite mark on my left leg.
"Christ are you alright Chase?" Sunny says running to my side. "Why the hell did you freeze up like that are you some sort of baby who can't handle a bite like that?"
I look at my toes in shame and embarrassment and mumble "Well this the only thing I have had to kill my entire life..." In my previous life the only death he had to deal with was his first dog when she had cancer. But the pain, blood, and gore shocked him back into the reality of the Wasteland.
"Quit being a baby, here let me show you how to make some healing powder." she walked over to the fire pit by the well-house and started it up. She brought out a round earth colored plant that kind of looked like a beet and an orange flower. She took a mortar and pestle out of her little backpack and shaved off the bottom part of the Xander Root and crushed it and put the mortar by the fire to heat up and after a little bit there was a dried up powder in the mortar and put the petals of the Broc flower in and ground it all together then motioned for me to get closer.
"Rub this on your wound and it should be healing in a few minutes." She said.
As I was rubbing the powder in I could feel my skin burning and healing itself very fast and in 10 minutes i was healed like nothing had happened, as I was mulling over some thoughts I looked up onto the cliff face and saw a man sitting in a chair slumped over and a zany music played in my ears informing that the Wild Wild Wasteland perk had activated meaning that it mostly occurred the same way as the game. Sunny walked back with a happy expression, "So wanna learn how to skin a Gecko?"
Ugh, more blood and gore, but let's try it, "Sure lets do it..." I walked over to the corpse and a menu popped up
[Gecko (dead)]
Gecko Meat 1x
Gecko Hide 1x
What? The menu is here??? I look at Sunny, "Can i do this alone?"
She looked at me skeptically, "Sure... you sure you can handle all the blood like when you killed them?"
"Yep, so let me get to it."
As soon as she left I picked up everything, and was left with a fully skinned corpse of a gecko. Well survival in this world would be fun.