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Then allow me to explain our situation. This bunker is currently locked down, allowing no entry or exit, with you being one of the few exceptions.Elder McNamara

The Hidden Valley bunker is an unmarked location within Hidden Valley in the Mojave Wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background[]

The four individual bunkers are situated in a cardinal direction of Hidden Valley and protected by the pre-War DERVISH camouflage system which serves as a cloaking mechanism for the bunkers within.[1] In the event that the location was threatened, the bunker's DERVISH camouflage system would make targeting the site impossible for automated systems.[2] These bunkers contain the CANDLE fusion power system, providing power for an estimated 752 years.[2]

Post-War[]

Over the next two centuries following the Great War, the bunkers were abandoned and fell into disrepair, with large parts of the installation caving in due to lack of structural maintenance, salvaging, or design. It was not until the 2260s and the arrival of the newly founded Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel, under the command of their then-elder, Father Elijah, that the north bunker gained a new lease on life, set up as an auxiliary location and fallback point for the chapter, second in strategic value to HELIOS One.[3] It was "promoted" to a chapter bunker following the disastrous Operation Sunburst in 2276 when the chapter was routed from its stronghold at HELIOS by the New California Republic and forced to flee into the McCullough Range.

With Elijah disappearing during their flight from HELIOS, the new elder, Nolan McNamara, instituted a lockdown: All Brotherhood members who made it into the bunker were confined inside, while those outside the bunker were prohibited from returning to prevent the NCR from tracking the chapter down and completing their eradication. Only a select few were permitted to leave to procure essential supplies or to patrol the Hidden Valley at nighttime, undercover provided by the DERVISH.[Non-game 1]

Though the Brotherhood prepares its members for extended seclusion through its ascetic training, the situation is slowly deteriorating. Five years after the loss of HELIOS One, many of the knights and paladins promoted to fill in the gaps in manpower have no real combat experience, relying on virtual reality simulations and firing range exercises. The chapter itself is incommunicado to the rest of the Brotherhood, and internal tensions are simmering beneath the surface as Head Paladin Hardin is looking for a way to oust the current elder and implement his own policy.[4]

Unbeknownst to all but the elder and Knight Lorenzo, the bunker itself is slowly failing. The DERVISH system was not designed for constant use and the extended accumulation of dust and debris in the ventilation system is taking its toll on the bunker's life support systems. Simply put, if the systems are not fixed, the bunkers would become uninhabitable in short order. The elder attempted to send scouting parties out to retrieve the parts, but a lack of intel (caused by the skewed priorities under Elijah) and local hostiles resulted in the loss of all patrols.[5]

Finally, the single biggest threat to Hidden Valley and the Mojave Chapter are the powers that vie for control of the Mojave. Mr. House and Caesar want the Brotherhood removed from the picture, seeing them as a threat to their control of the region, and while some in the Republic would see them destroyed also, the old history between the two factions may yet provide room for peace.[5][6] Hiding from the world is no longer an option, however, as even if the life support systems were restored to full functionality, the major players in the Mojave are aware that there is something, or someone of importance hiding around the McCullough Range.

Layout[]

Exterior[]

When fast traveling, the arrival point is beside a hollowed-out rock marked with a heart and "no bomb" graffiti, which is located northwest of the entrance. A small broken tree stump sits directly on top of the dome, which is unique to this bunker and sets it apart from the others nearby. The cement wall around the bunker's door includes graffiti that reads "BAN THE BOMB" and "GIVE PEACE A CHANCE!!!"

Approved, unaccompanied access to the bunker cannot be gained unless at least one of the holotapes is recovered from the two dead Brotherhood of Steel paladins at the REPCONN headquarters, the paladins in Moe's crater near Black Mountain, or the two dead Brotherhood soldiers in a ditch on the artillery-battered area outside Nellis Air Force Base.

If at least one of the holotapes is in the inventory, the option to speak its passphrase into the intercom will be available. Alternately, access can be gained by picking the Very Hard lock, by having Veronica Santangelo as a companion, or by advancing far enough into any storyline to be asked to investigate the Brotherhood. If Veronica is not with the Courier, they will be arraigned, questioned, and forced to begin the Still in the Dark quest.

Entrance[]

The facility is divided into an entrance area and two main levels. After entering the bunker, there is a large entry room with a Hard-locked door on the opposite side, similar to all the other bunkers in Hidden Valley. On the other side of the locked door is an empty room with open doorways to the left and right, which are guarded by at least two stationary paladins on the opposite wall. They do not appear if Veronica is present. The doorway to the left leads to a small office with a desk and a computer terminal, while the doorway to the right leads to a staircase going down to the main section of the first floor.

First floor[]

The first floor contains the personnel quarters, a shooting range, armory, medical bay, and an instruction room where initiates are trained. After turning right down the set of stairs into the bunker, turn left, then right, until reaching two sets of dorm rooms located one above the other, with a set of descending stairs to the lower room. Each bed has a footlocker with a combination of mid-condition laser pistols, energy cells, and/or microfusion cells.

Second floor[]

The second floor contains the command room with living quarters for Elder McNamara and Head Paladin Hardin. Located next to it are an archive/computer room for the scribes, a workshop for the knights to repair and manufacture equipment, and a room containing virtual reality chambers that surround the bunker's main reactor. The second floor features the Brotherhood of Steel emblem on the wall and two paths that go off to the east and to the west.

The west area has the command room with Elder McNamara and another adjoining hallway. Head Paladin Hardin is further down the hall and can be found in either one of the two rooms beyond the first.

The self-destruct function for the entire bunker is located inside the reactor room, locked behind a Very Hard-locked terminal which can only be accessed if one has the appropriate skill level or special keycards found on certain members of the Brotherhood.

Archives[]

The east area contains the archive computer terminals, the machine shop, and the VR pod room. Both Head Scribe Taggart and Apprentice Watkins are located in the VR pod room. It also houses the self-destruct authorization terminal and the Very Hard-locked self-destruct terminal.

Alternatively, terminals on the same floor of the bunker will provide a password. If the terminal is successfully hacked, or the password is obtained, the Courier can initiate a self-destruct sequence that will immediately Vilify them with the Brotherhood of Steel, cause all Brotherhood of Steel members to become hostile, and result in a large negative Karma penalty when exiting the bunker. The sequence can be aborted by reactivating the terminal and choosing to abort, however, this has no effect on their hostility.

Inhabitants[]

Notable loot[]

  • Four near-perfect sets of T-45d power armor and three T-45d power armor helmets - In the shop below the shooting range. The key is procured from Knight Torres by pickpocketing. To do so, squat down slightly to the left of the window and inch right just enough to be hidden and able to reach her as well. The key will open the door under her, allowing entry to the armory. She will not say anything when the player character is in her shop, however, she may turn around to look at them. If pickpocketing the key is not possible, Brotherhood members will occasionally walk into the armory and automatically unlock the door as well. The armor must be stolen.
  • Nikola Tesla and You - In the white plastic bin by the desk in Schuler's infirmary, on the first level, west of the central hub corridor junction.
  • Gun Runners' Arsenal Greased Lightning - Can be bought from Knight Torres after McNamara/Hardin gives the player character full access.
  • Brotherhood elder's robe - Worn by Elder McNamara or Edgar Hardin if he is made elder.

Related quests[]

Notes[]

  • With Veronica as a companion upon entry, she will go up to the intercom, and the following conversation will occur:
Veronica: "I'd like a large atomic shake and a double Brahmin burger. And easy on the agave sauce this time."
Ramos: "We gave you a password, Veronica. It's for your safety."
Veronica: "Open up, Ramos. I know where you live."
Ramos: "(sigh) For Pete's sake. Opening up. Welcome back, Veronica."
  • Most of the Brotherhood on the first level can be killed with no Karma or reputation loss by hacking the Hard-locked terminal near the entrance while undetected and turning the turrets against them.
  • If the bunker is destroyed, the vents on the surface will emit smoke indefinitely.
  • Four Brotherhood of Steel paladins will regularly go out on patrol between 1-3:00 a.m., guarding the area near the bunker until just before dawn.
  • To the right of McNamara is a map of the Mojave, similar to the map found in the Citadel from Fallout 3, with several locations marked by symbols, including REPCONN HQ, HELIOS One, the Fort, Camp McCarran, the Lucky 38, and Nellis Air Force Base.
  • In the medical room near the shooting range, there is a gene projector identical to the one used in Fallout 3, it even has the "Sex," "Race," "Face," and "Body" buttons.
  • It is possible to steal two full sets of T-45d power armor without having to pickpocket Knight Torres for the key. To the far left of the barrier that separates the player character and Torres, there is a crevice that is close to a shelf containing the four sets of armor. By going to the crevice and walking close enough, the two sets of armor will be within reach. However, since it must be done without crouching, it will not be possible for the player character to be able to tell if they are hidden.
  • In McNamara's control room, a Brotherhood logo has been created with rescaled gears and a Chinese officer's sword labeled GiantSword [STAT:000DA34B] in the game files.
  • If a companion is told to wait in the bunker on Hardcore mode and is left inside during the self-destruct, they will die. However, as companions do not die on normal mode, they will instead be indefinitely stuck inside the bunker and have to be dismissed through a companion dismissal terminal in order to get them out.
  • Originally, the player was supposed to be able to spy on Taggart for Schuler and discover a PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) virtual simulation, according to the following script attached to VDialogueHiddenValleyLindaSchulerTopic009 (I don't appreciate how much harder I have to work to cover for his tendency to focus on his personal projects. I try not to think too much about his personal proclivities.):
This might not be necessary. I might be able to
add a top level topic for telling her what you
found out and simply have it check to see if you
discovered the PTSD sim.
set VDialogueHiddenValley.SpyingForSchuler to 1
  • It was planned for the player to be able to use the VR pods here, probably to play a VR simulation where the player must defend Hidden Valley from Enclave intruders. There is a VR pod called HVPlayerPodREF and a message called HVGameScoreMessage that tracks a variable to display the number of kills in the VR game. There are also cut notes relating to Melissa Watkins that show she is playing the VR sim at a deliberately lower difficulty level. There is also an unused computer terminal called HVPodSimSelectionTerminal that seems to relate to the above.
  • There are unused AI packages for NPCs of both sexes to use the relevant bathrooms here.

Appearances[]

The Hidden Valley bunker appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes[]

This bunker, like the others in Hidden Valley, closely resembles the storage bunkers overlooking Area 51 at Groom Dry Lake in Lincoln County, Nevada.

Bugs[]

Bugs
  • PCPC When the bunker is first entered and Paladin Ramos is spoken to, he will order the player character to follow him to Elder McNamara, but the player character will be unable to move. Wearing non-faction clothing and/or staying outside of Ramos' office seems to fix this.[verified]
  • PCPC The paladin sitting at the shooting range may go missing. His reference ID is 0010A6FF. To bring him back, use the console command prid 0010A6FF followed by moveto player. Upon returning, he will be wearing his helmet.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 About three or more Brotherhood paladins may spawn in the same shooting range, stall and become stuck there trying to shoot at the target dummy. This may cause one of the paladins to drop their Gauss rifle on the floor next to them. Though the weapon is labeled "steal," it will not have an effect on Karma or status with the Brotherhood, nor will any of the nearby paladins seem to notice the weapon being taken.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 By closing and re-opening the locker where the player character's belongings are placed in, the locker will be refilled with various ammunition, allowing the collection of an unlimited amount of energy weapon ammunition (by constantly zoning in and out) and converting the ammunition into other types of energy ammunition, or even max charge the ammunition at the workbench on the second level.[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Knight Torres may begin to lag when asked to see her wares. She will repeat her lines several times before the item menu appears.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Inhabitants may react to the firing exercises on the shooting range as real combat, and be unresponsive to attempts at communication.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Veronica may repeat any sentence said on the intercom repeatedly, thus making her unable to converse with. This can be fixed by reloading a save.[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Occasionally, when visiting the Hidden Valley bunker with Veronica as a companion, the bunker will appear to have been destroyed, and the inner entrances blocked with rubble, even if the self-destruct has not been activated. However, if the bunker is visited with Arcade Gannon and ED-E in tow, Brotherhood paladins will spawn and attack upon exiting fast travel. If the player character wears the Brotherhood power armor and enters the bunker, the entrances will be open and they will be free to move around the bunker and interact. Although, characters may become hostile towards Arcade and ED-E, but will not become hostile toward the player character, provided they are still wearing a Brotherhood faction outfit and do not engage in combat. They will then be able to operate the self-destruct terminal and destroy the Hidden Valley bunker, as evident by the plumes of black smoke coming from the exhaust vents noticeable upon exiting the bunker.[verified]
  • PCPC If, after entering the room where the player character is approached and told to give up their weapons, they quickly run up on the side and engage the door, their companions will zone in next to them. This makes it easier to take on all of the guards. It is also possible to go through the conversation, and after giving up all of the equipment and weapons, but before fading completely to black, phase into conversation with the elder in sneak mode and open the door. This may interrupt the sequence and phase the player character behind the door with their companions, sometimes with all of their equipment.[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Rarely, after completing the Brotherhood quest Tend to Your Business and speaking to the elder (and thus receiving power armor training), the door exiting the first level to the Hidden Valley bunker will be locked and require a key. Though the key is obtained after earlier quests, it will no longer be there. Go to the paladins at the bottom of the stairs, and pickpocket a key from them. This will not have an effect on Karma, and they do not seem to notice anyone reaching under their armor and taking a key right in front of them.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Unarmed attacks on characters in the VR room, such as Head Scribe Taggart, may cause them to fall through the floor.[verified]
  • PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 On the second level of the Hidden Valley bunker, inside the computer room, there is an electrical panel on the right side of the entrance as you enter the room that is very difficult to interact without noclip. If activated, the option to "Leaver the breakers alone" and "Cut the power to all but three of the terminals" is given. Cutting the power to the terminals cuts power to all of the terminals except the four in the center of the room, but it does not isolate the computer virus in Hidden Valley computer virus to those four terminals. If reactivated, power can be resupplied to the terminals (images below).[verified]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Hidden Valley bunker terminal entries; terminal, Project Goals: Hidden Valley
  2. 2.0 2.1 Hidden Valley bunker terminal entries; terminal, Systems Overview
  3. The Courier: "Do you have any other family in the Brotherhood?"
    Veronica Santangelo: "Just my parents, but they haven't been around for a long time. Dad was a Paladin, Mom was a Scribe. They died in the same battle trying to hold off the NCR from... something. I don't remember what it was. Guess it seemed important at the time."
    The Courier: "Who was this Father Elijah to you?"
    Veronica Santangelo: "I would say he was my tutor, but that doesn't cover it. After my parents passed, he looked after me. The whole Brotherhood brought me up, really, but he made sure of it. I never had a grandfather - not that I knew, anyway - but Elijah was in some ways what I'd imagine a grandfather to be."
    (Veronica Santangelo's dialogue) Note: Veronica was born in 2254 and states she was brought up by the Brotherhood, indicating they passed in her early childhood, which pins the earliest known instance of NCR-Brotherhood hostility in the 2250s/2260s range.
  4. The Courier: "One of the few times an Elder was dismissed was due to it."
    Edgar Hardin: "I could be wrong, but I think that's a dead end. McNamara's always followed orders, and we've been incommunicado since fleeing HELIOS."
    (Edgar Hardin's dialogue)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Still in the Dark
  6. Eyesight to the Blind

Non-game

  1. Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.43: "Brotherhood of Steel
    The Brotherhood of Steel is a militant organization devoted to the preservation of pre-war technology and human knowledge. Their professed mission is to preserve pre-war technology and human knowledge for the benefit of future generations. In practice, its definition of technology is strangely selective, ignoring basic but potentially useful technologies (genetic modification of crops and civil engineering, for example) in favor of combat technology such as energy weapons and power armor: and even now, nearly two centuries after the Great War, the Brotherhood zealously restricts the use and knowledge of such technologies to its own membership.
    The Mojave Brotherhood operated freely amid the Vegas wastes for several years, carrying out many reclamation missions without serious opposition. The balance of power shifted in 2251, when a large contingent of NCR troops entered the region and occupied Hoover Dam. Conflict was inevitable. Nearly two years of guerilla skirmishes culminated in a pitched battle at HELIOS One, a solar energy plant the Brotherhood had been refurbishing for several months with the goals of bringing it back online and activating its hidden offensive capabilities (the ARCHIMEDES II death ray). The battle for HELIOS One (Operation: Sunburst) proved a disaster for the Mojave Brotherhood. More than half its paladins and knights were killed. The chapter's leader, Elder Elijah, disappeared without a trace. The Brotherhood was driven from the facility, which suffered extensive damage. Survivors retreated to Hidden Valley. Since that defeat, the chapter's leader, Elder McNamara, has restricted activity outside the bunker to occasional reconnaissance missions and high-value raids. All operations take place at night, and engagement of NCR forces is strictly forbidden. Though the Brotherhood's ascetic lifestyle has prepared its members for a sequestered existence better than most, the passivity of their current situation has proved highly stressful."
    (Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide faction profiles)
Hidden Valley bunker
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