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You've heard of the Sierra Madre Casino. We all have, the legend, the curses. Some foolishness about it lying in the middle of the City of Dead, a city of ghosts. Buried beneath a blood-red cloud, a bright, shining monument luring treasure hunters to their doom...— Father Elijah, Dead Money intro

Dead Money is the first add-on for Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks.

Release

A timed exclusive,[1] Dead Money was released on December 21, 2010 for Xbox 360 and was later released for PC and PlayStation 3 on February 22, 2011.

Plot

Dead Money is set in the Sierra Madre, an opulent and extravagant resort that was to be the greatest casino in the west, except that it never opened. The bombs fell before the grand opening, and the Sierra Madre froze in time, its state of the art security system locking the place up tight. Nothing could get in, and none of the guests could escape. The security holograms then activated and the once glorious event turned into a slaughter. After many years, the climate control and air conditioning systems within the facility began to spit strange toxins into the surrounding city, causing a red cloud to form over the area - which proved lethal to anyone who tried to explore the city. Only a mysterious group called the ghost people survived to call the city home, trapped inside what appear to be Hazmat suits, they wander the streets never speaking to their victims, only capturing them alive and dragging them away to the depths of the city deep within the Cloud.

And so the Sierra Madre faded from memory, only occasionally being seen in posters across the wastes, until it took on mythic ghost story status, a supposed "City of Gold" in the Wasteland where all the treasures of the Old World were rumored to be held. It was kept alive as a late-night saloon story by prospectors who'd claimed to have found maps leading there and were willing to part with the map for a few caps. Or a drink. Or a warm place to sleep.

The Sierra Madre is a mythical place in the wastes, with travelers risking their lives to find it. Only one man truly "found" it and lived. After the fall of HELIOS One, Father Elijah of the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel set out to find new weapons to eradicate the NCR, and in the process he discovered the Sierra Madre.

Characters

Mentioned-only

Creatures

Robots and computers

Items

Armor and clothing

Cut armor and clothing

Consumables

Weapons

Cut weapons

Weapon mods

World objects

Other Items

Locations

This section is transcluded from Fallout: New Vegas locations. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.
Main article: Sierra Madre

Sierra Madre Casino

The Villa

Quests

This section is transcluded from Fallout: New Vegas quests. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.
Icon Name Location(s) Given by Reward Quest ID
Icon gray x
Sierra Madre Grand Opening! Abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker Father Elijah Holorifle
Dead Money jumpsuit
xx005229
Assemble Your Crew
Find Collar 8: "Dog" Villa police station Father Elijah Dog as a companion, Ravenous Hunger xx0139DF
Assemble Your Crew
Find Collar 12: Christine Villa clinic Father Elijah 200 XP, Christine as a companion xx0139E1
Assemble Your Crew
Find Collar 14: Dean Domino Residential District Father Elijah Dean Domino as a companion xx139FE0
Having a Ball
Fires in the Sky Salida del Sol South Father Elijah 800 XP xx013A3F
Having a Ball
Strike Up the Band Puesta del Sol South Father Elijah 800 XP xx013A40
Having a Ball
Mixed Signals Puesta del Sol switching station Father Elijah 800 XP xx013A04
Having a Ball
Trigger the Gala Event Salida del Sol North Father Elijah 1600 XP xx000FC0
Icon gray x
Put the Beast Down Cantina Madrid, Sierra Madre Casino Father Elijah XP/Karma vary amongst decisions xx013A03
Icon gray x
Curtain Call at the Tampico The Tampico, Sierra Madre Casino Father Elijah None xx013A43
Icon gray x
Last Luxuries Executive suites, Sierra Madre Casino Father Elijah None xx013A44
Icon gray x
Heist of the Centuries Sierra Madre vault, Sierra Madre Casino Father Elijah 37 gold bars xx000FC1

Perks

This section is transcluded from Fallout: New Vegas perks. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.

Regular perks

Name Level req Other requirements Ranks Benefit Form ID
In Shining Armor 2 Repair 20, Science 70 1 The perk is not implemented properly and does not function at all. It is supposed to grant +5 DT against energy weapons while wearing metal armor, with a further +2 DT while wearing reflective eyewear or helmets. xx00F216,
xx00F217
Junk Rounds 2 LU 6, Repair 45 1 You can craft ammunition using scrap metal and tin cans. xx00FB6A
Light Touch 2 AG 6, Repair 45 1 While wearing light armor you gain +5% critical hit chance and your enemies suffer a -25% critical hit chance. xx00E87B
Old World Gourmet 2 EN 6, Survival 45 1 +25% addiction resistance. +50% health bonus from snack foods. Scotch, vodka and wine now give you health in addition to their normal effects. xx00F96F
And Stay Back 10 Guns 70 1 Shotguns have a 10% chance, per pellet, of knocking an enemy back. xx00F218
Heavyweight 12 ST 7 1 Weapons with a weight of more than 10 are cut in half. This does not affect weapons modded to under 10 wg. xx011468
Hobbler 12 PE 7 1 Your chance to hit an opponent's legs in V.A.T.S. is increased by 25%. xx011469

Companion perks

Name Follower Benefit Form ID
In My Footsteps God Traps do not activate and you are given a stealth increase. xx013B26
Ravenous Hunger Dog Dog will devour the limbs of any Ghost People, preventing them from resurrecting. N/A
Signal Interference Christine +50% time to escape signals. xx008A2E
Unclean Living Dean Domino Temporary cloud protection, take 25% less damage. xx008A2F

Special perks

Name Unlock conditions Ranks Benefit Form ID
Coin Operator Dialogue with Christine 1 Adds recipe. 1 fission battery + 2 scrap metal = 50 Sierra Madre chips xx01039B
Ghost Hunter Dialogue with Dog 1 Ghost people are more likely to die outright without needing to be dismembered or disintegrated. xx01039A
Sierra Madre Martini Dialogue with Dean Domino 1 Adds recipe to create Sierra Madre martinis with 2 junk food, 1 tin can, and 1 jar of Cloud residue. xx01039E
Elijah's Last Words Give Veronica holomessage from Elijah. 1 Boosts Veronica's melee attack speed 150% & gives her a 25% chance for melee attacks to knock down enemies. xx00D4A8
Elijah's Ramblings Keep holomessage from Elijah after Veronica unlocks it. 1 Boosts melee critical damage by +50% (the description incorrectly states the bonus is 150%) xx00D4A9

Achievements/Trophies

Name Requirement Achievement points Trophy type Image
Assemble Your Crew Recruit Dean Domino, Christine and Dog 20 Gamerscore Bronze Assemble Your Crew
Cash Out Confront Father Elijah in the Sierra Madre vault 30 Gamerscore Silver Cash Out
Having a Ball Complete the Sierra Madre Gala Event 20 Gamerscore Bronze Having a Ball
Safety Deposit Box Trap Father Elijah in the Sierra Madre's vault 40 Gamerscore Gold Safety Deposit Box
Sierra Madre Souvenir Aficionado Collect 500 Sierra Madre chips 30 Gamerscore Silver Sierra Madre Souvenir Aficionado

Notes

  • Installing Dead Money raises the level cap by 5, as with all story add-ons.
  • It is recommended that first-time players reach level 20 or higher before beginning this add-on.
  • Despite the warning you receive at the first door in the bunker, you can stay in the Mojave even if you choose to proceed; the actual point of no return is at the end of the bunker with the radio.
  • Companions cannot follow you to the Villa; they will be dismissed when you reach the end of the hall.
  • You can explore the Sierra Madre as much as you like after completing the story, but will not be able to return after leaving. You can return using console commands; if you noclip with tcl through the radio at the abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker, you will find a "Door to Villa." Using that door will take you back to the Villa, with all the ghost people still alive, holograms working, etc. You even get to keep your items. You can also use player.moveto ref id to teleport any living companions, though they won't be approachable as they disappear after a certain point in the story.
  • The player can still spend Sierra Madre chips after returning to the Mojave Wasteland at a Sierra Madre vending machine in the abandoned BoS bunker. You can still turn in cartons of cigarettes, packs of cigarettes and items of apparel to receive more chips and buy cheap supplies. There is also a dropbox near the door, which gives you a complimentary voucher (a value of 1,000 chips) and 100 chips every three days. The chips will stockpile: for example, after 6 days, there will be 2 complimentary vouchers and 200 chips.
  • If a player turns in an item of apparel that raises Agility while wearing it, the Agility increase will remain. This can be repeated until the Courier's Agility reaches 10. While this increased Agility improves skills affected by Agility and increases AP, it does not allow the courier to take perks otherwise unavailable, unlike an increase from an implant.
  • The add-on focuses more on skills than combat, often placing you into Speech, Explosives, Science, and Barter checks that have a large bearing on how companions will treat you. It also focuses on scavenging as well, mainly due to the lack of shops that sell ammo and materials for weapon repair kits.
  • You cannot Fast Travel while inside the Sierra Madre.
  • If playing in Hardcore mode, the sleep meter does not advance, unless the Courier sleeps. There may be a considerable delay before this happens, however.
  • Since you do not keep your items when entering the Sierra Madre, low-Endurance characters will have a tough time, because healing items are limited to snack foods and the odd stimpak. Do note, however, that you will keep all Quest Items including items such as the Rebreather.
    • A recipe for stimpaks can be found on one of your first quests, inside the Clinic. This can make it much easier to survive when dropped here without sufficient gear.
  • Players may also want to note that if they steal the Van Graff combat armor from the weapon container outside of the Silver Rush, the armor will remain in their inventory when waking up inside of The Villa so long as the Birds of a Feather quest is active. This is very useful for low Endurance characters.
  • If you don't wish to go through the trouble of glitching to get gear, you may also use the Courier's Stash DLC. Start the DLC normally and when the cutscene is over and you have spawned in, pause the game and download Courier's Stash. After it is done downloading you should receive the items, this will significantly help you in the quests that follow in the Sierra Madre.
  • Once you complete Dead Money, the radio signal of the Sierra Madre will remain, but Vera Keyes has different dialogue at the end.

Behind the scenes

  • The add-on as a whole is a reference to the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, where two people who are down on their luck meet a prospector, and plan to prospect in the remote mountains in search of gold, dealing with fierce locals and personal greed.
  • Chris Avellone discussed some of the design decisions behind Dead Money. [1]
  • "Dead Money" is a slang term used in poker to refer to numerous things. Most commonly, it refers to money that is already in the pot, and goes only to the winner of the hand. For example, if two players each bet $5 on the first betting round, in the second betting round, there will be $10 in the pot in "dead money." Additionally, it also refers to money bet out, but is now facing a reraise. If one player bets $5, and another player raises to $15, the original player cannot retrieve his original $5 without winning the pot - the money is now dead. "Dead Money" can also refer to a player who believes they have a chance at winning, but in reality they have almost no such chance due to a lack of skill or experience. Therefore a tournament with many unskilled players can be said to have a lot of "dead money".

Bugs

Gallery

Videos

References

Dead Money
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