Honest Hearts side quest Civilized Man's Burden
	Tell Follows-Chalk to stay with his tribe or that he should see civilization
	location Zion Canyon given by Follows-Chalk reward Variable XP base id xx010c83 Related quests previous: Deliverer of Sorrows leads to: -

 

Civilized Man's Burden is a side quest in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts.

Quick walkthroughEdit

Detailed walkthroughEdit

After the player begins the quest Deliverer of Sorrows, a new dialogue option opens up with Follows-Chalk regarding his interest in seeing civilization. If asked, Follows-Chalk says that one day a "man with a big mustache and guitar" came to the Dead Horses camp. If the player has completed the quest Talent Pool, they can remark that they know that man, the Lonesome Drifter, and that they got him a job, thus confirming his identity. Follows-Chalk goes on to say that he was intrigued by the man's professed occupation; traveling the wasteland as a wandering entertainer, being paid simply to make music.

Follows-Chalk then confesses that he is afraid to ask Joshua Graham for advice about whether or not he should see civilization for himself, and asks the player to speak with Joshua on his behalf. When asked, Joshua states that he does not wish to interfere further in Follows-Chalk's decisions, leaving it to the player to provide guidance one way or the other. The player can then either lie to Follows-Chalk about what Joshua said, or tell the truth and provide their own opinion of whether Follows-Chalk should stay in Zion for his family's sake, or see more of the world. Regardless of using the lie or truth Speech options, the outcomes are the same for Follows-Chalk based on the implied "go" or "stay" option given.

If the player advises Follows-Chalk to explore civilization, his ending involves returning to Dead Horse Point, and then quarreling with his family and other tribe members about his ambitions. "One morning, they awoke to discover that Follows-Chalk had set off alone, westward, into the wilderness. He was never seen again."

If the player chooses to tell Follows-Chalk to stay with his tribe, he does. "Though he sometimes dreamed of distant lands, he continued to support his family at Dead Horse Point, and eventually his wanderlust faded."

Journal entriesEdit

Stage	Status	Description
10		Talk to Joshua Graham about Follows-Chalk's desire to see civilization.
20	Quest finished	Tell Follows-Chalk your opinion of civilization.

NotesEdit

• The quest can be completed any time before the Gathering Storms quest is completed, whether or not Follows-Chalk is in the player's party. If he is not, simply speak to him at Angel Cave to initiate the quest.
• If the player does not complete this quest, Follows-Chalk will not be mentioned in the end scenes.
• No matter what choice you make, you will always get Chalk's headdress after you complete the add on.
• If the player has completed the quest "Talent Pool" and hired the Lonesome Drifter at The Tops, there will be a dialogue option for the player to tell Follows-Chalk "I know that guy! I got him a job!" This confirms his belief that one can make a living by singing, but does not change the quest outcome in any way.

Behind the scenesEdit

The name of this quest references Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden", which has been interpreted in different ways: one is that the poem laments the slippery slope of imperial colonialism and was critical of British colonization; another suggests that the citizens of these colonies were not sufficiently grateful for the benefits of British imperialism; others consider it racist.