Render Unto Caesar is a main quest in Fallout: 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 will have their weapons removed (with the option to keep holdout weapons). All weapons will be returned upon leaving the camp. With a Speech of 35, the player can ask what items are banned, and keep aid/chems, saying they suffer a heart problem.
Travel up the hill and enter through the gate to the inner area of the Fort. Here you will find the Legion arena and, most notably, Caesar's tent. Enter Caesar's tent and talk to him. Caesar will 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 they will get to choose his manner of death. At this point, the player can speak to Benny and decide what they want to do. If the player releases Benny, the Legion becomes hostile 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 your confiscated items. Putting the Platinum Chip in the computer will provide subterranean access to the irradiated vault.
Once you are inside the vault, you will see a large screen on which Mr. House is displayed. In conversation he will tell you the purpose of the chip and of Victor's objectives before asking you to finish the job by upgrading the computer's security protocol. You can agree to cooperate or defy him. Either way, he will inform you that he has no control over the vault's defenses and that you'll have to fight your way to the computer.
Down the stairs you will encounter a hostile protectron, a door, and the rest of the path. Behind the door you will find three computers, two of which are locked. The difficulty of the locked computers are average and hard respectively, and one 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. If you are able to hack both your path is clear, for now.
Either way, head down the hall. If your Repair skill is 60, you can open the door on the right and disable the sentry bots to prevent them from becoming hostile. In the next room, you will encounter two turrets and two protectrons.
The next room is protected by four protectrons. If you plan 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 you chose to disable or destroy them.
Before you leave the bunker, your weapons will once again be taken away from you, with the exception of your holdout weapons if you do not wish to fully disarm. Go back and talk to Caesar. The player will then receive 500 XP and Legion Fame.
Note: No matter what you've decided, Caesar will not know what you did in the vault. He will have felt the vibrations from either the blast or the update and assumed that you did what he asked. If you are trying 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 you to kill Mr. House. Make your way to the Lucky 38. If you 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 toward you. 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 you. If you are not already hostile with Mr. House, opening the antechamber will turn the Securitrons against you.
On the wall in the antechamber there 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 three options:
- You can kill Mr. House outright.
- You can disconnect him from the mainframe (with the same results as killing him).
- You can put him back in his pod, however he will be dead within a year from microbial infection.
Regardless of your choice, you will receive 500 XP and your objectives will update. Return to Caesar for Legion Fame and 100 XP.
Part 3: Boomers
Caesar wants you 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 you already are idolized with them then this section can be skipped). While heading to their base, George will stop you and offer information on how to get past the shells. You can use a Speech check or pay him, but all it boils down to taking a left turn as soon as you see the houses and following the house line until you reach the end
Make a beeline for the fence, and once you are close enough, enter the gate. Talk to the Boomers and follow directions until you complete 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. There is also the option to kill the leaders of the Boomers (Pearl, Loyal and Jack) which will complete this part of the quest as well.
Part 4: White Glove Society
You must bring Caesar's offer of allegiance to the White Glove Society. After learning about the society by talking to Marjorie and Mortimer, you can either tell Caesar they do not want his alliance (which ends this part of the quest) or go to Mortimer without 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.
- 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.
- You may encounter a problem with converting the White Glove Society to cannibalism if you have a good Karma rating and/or neutral Strip reputation. Mortimer might tell you that you wouldn't have the stomach to help him or you are not well-known enough. To get around this, you either need to have a high enough Speech rating (62 Speech), or be a cannibal yourself, to convince him you can help.
- This mission can be averted altogether if you have foiled Mortimer's plan and rescued Ted Gunderson. You can tell Caesar that the society will not revert back to cannibalism, so the plan to blackmail them into an alliance will not work. This though seems to have little to no detrimental effects to the Legion actually conquering the Mojave, and the player is not punished by Caesar for failure.
- If you have killed Marjorie before starting this quest you can still complete it; Caesar will just move on to the next stage of the quest.
Once you report to Caesar, NCR will become permanently hostile. Since NCR controls many places, it will result in loss of quests, merchants, and repairmen. You should prepare yourself before reporting to Caesar.
Part 5: Brotherhood of Steel
Caesar orders you to go to the Hidden Valley bunker and enter to destroy the Brotherhood of Steel in the area. If you have not interacted with the Brotherhood, you must go through an orientation by convincing a Ranger in an adjacent bunker to leave (which can be avoided if Veronica is in your party). Due to the last quest causing Don't Tread on the Bear! to fail and the NCR to name you a terrorist, the Ranger will not talk to you and will be hostile, so you are going to have to kill him.
The Brotherhood will confiscate your weapons, so it is recommended to carry some holdout weapons before entering. From here, you can decide to destroy the bunker entirely or just kill all the Brotherhood of Steel in and around the bunker. 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 you he needs you to find a cure. You can either choose to find the cure, attempt surgery yourself (which may or may not kill him depending on your skill level), 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, you learn that the NCR president is making a speech at Hoover Dam. You are ordered to meet with Cato Hostilius to plan the assassination. You must now complete the quest Arizona Killer. Failing Arizona Killer will still allow you to complete Render Unto Caesar.
Part 8: Legate's Camp
Report to Legate Lanius, where you 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.
- 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 the others. For more details see the Ring-a-Ding-Ding! quest page.
- 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.
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
- 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] Completing
- During part one of the quest if the player chooses to fight Benny in the arena, some of the player's weapons may not be returned. [verified]
- 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 dialog all Legion members become hostile. [verified]