Caesar, born Edward Sallow, is the ruler and co-founder of Caesar's Legion in Fallout: New Vegas and in the Fallout Television Series. He also appears on cards in Magic: The Gathering: Universes Beyond x Fallout.
Background[edit]
Edward Sallow was born in 2226.[Pub 1] His family originated from near the Boneyard in the New California Republic.[1] After his father was killed by raiders, his mother sought protection from the Followers of the Apocalypse when Sallow was two years old.[1] She worked at the Boneyard Library as a cook and cleaner, where he learned how to read and took free courses.[1]
Sallow became an anthropologist and linguist, and was sent east to the Grand Canyon on his first expedition when he was 20 years old.[2] Joined by a physician named Bill Calhoun, he was assigned to learn the dialects of local tribes.[2] They met up with Joshua Graham, a Mormon missionary who already knew several dialects and planned to teach Sallow.[3] Before Graham had the opportunity to do so, the group was captured by the Blackfoot tribe, who intended to hold them for ransom.[3]
Sallow learned that the Blackfoots were at war with seven other tribes, and were outnumbered.[4] Against Calhoun's objections, Sallow taught the Blackfoot new ways to wage war, which he had learned from old books.[4] With Sallow's help, the Blackfoots defeated or assimilated the opposing tribes, and once the group of tribes was large enough, Sallow removed their tribal identities, replaced them with "a monolithic culture, a uniform identity."[5][6] Sallow crowned himself Caesar and created "a single Great Tribe," known as the Legion.[6] He sent Calhoun back west with the message that he should not be interfered with, and Graham remained, serving as his first Legatus.[7]
Mojave[edit]
After having seen the corruption and in fighting within the NCR, Caesar based the new Legion off of Imperial Rome in the hopes that he would be able to emulate it's success, where all citizens work towards the betterment of the greater whole.[8] He believes in his new Pax Romana, where the individual has no value beyond their utility to the state, and that the NCR will fail due to an inability to work towards the "greater good."[9][10]
Members of the Legion believe Caesar possesses the divine right to rule by being the son of the Mars, and children of those conquered by the Legion are indoctrinated in this manner.[Pub 2] Caesar teaches that women are inferior to men, and has decreed that homosexuality be punishable by death.[11][12] Caesar has likewise outlawed chems and alcohol.[13][14]
In 2271, the Legion's presence served as a catalyst for the Ranger Unification Treaty. President Kimball recounts during that year, the Desert Rangers of Nevada joined the New California Republic's forces to protect the region against "the tyranny of [Caesar's] regime."[15] The Legion expanded west into the Mojave and established a base of operations on Fortification Hill overlooking Lake Mead and the Colorado River in 2277.[16][17] That same year, the Legion, under the command of the Malpais Legate, fought the NCR at the First Battle of Hoover Dam, resulting in a Legion defeat.[18] For his failures, Caesar had Graham covered in pitch, lit on fire, and thrown into the Grand Canyon.[19][20]
The Legion controls the former states of New Mexico, and Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Utah, having conquered or assimilated 87 tribes.[21][17][22][Pub 3] Caesar mentions that his territory has cities, but nothing compared to Vegas and that in conquering it, "Finally, my Legion will have its Rome."[21] In doing so, he will have accomplished his plan to transform the Legion from a nomadic army to a more stable standing military, with the ability to better protect its citizens and his own power.[23]
What stands in the way of this goal are the New California Republic and forces of Mr. House at Hoover Dam. Following their loss at the First Battle of Hoover Dam and the attempted execution of Graham, Caesar traveled to the Fort to execute the next attempt himself.
In the years since, the Legion has launched multiple attacks across the Colorado River, such as the capture of Nelson, the dirty bombing of Camp Searchlight, and most recently, the massacre of the unaffiliated town of Nipton.
Death and Legacy[edit]
Caesar died with his last act believed to have been to write the name of his intended successor onto a sheet of paper and place it into his pocket. In reality, he instead wrote the phrase "I AM CAESAR, I AM THE LEGION, IT ENDS WITH ME."[24] The power vacuum caused by his death resulted in the fracturing of the Legion, with multiple individuals crowning themselves Caesar. By 2296, his skeleton rested on a hill between two Legion camps, with neither being able to retrieve the note and read the name of his intended successor due to attacks by the other.[25]
By Episode[edit]
S2E3 - The Profligate[edit]
When Lucy MacLean is captured by one of the Caesars, she is told by the Lacerta Legate of the Legion's situation, and is pointed to the corpse of Caesar in no-man's land. His body is caught in the middle of the Legion civil war when it ignites following Cooper Howard detonating a barrel of dynamite.
S2E8 - The Strip[edit]
In the chaos of the civil war, Caesar's corpse is finally retrieved by the Lacerta Legate, who drags it through the battlefield to his side's tent. Excitedly, he pulls the note from Caesar's pocket and is horrified to discover what it actually says. Lacerta Legate quickly kills the only other witness to the note, before eating it. He retrieves the laurels from Caesar's mummy and crowns himself the new Caesar.
Interactions Overview[edit]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
| This character starts quests. |
| |
| This character is involved in quests. |
| |
Other[edit]
- His initial reaction towards the Courier depends on their actions:
- He reacts annoyed if they caused trouble by helping the NCR, by completing the quests Restoring Hope, Birds of a Feather, Eye for an Eye, by completing I Put a Spell on You in the NCR's favor, breaking the alliance with the Khans during Oh My Papa, brokering peace between the Kings and the NCR as part of Kings' Gambit, completing How Little We Know in Cachino's favor, or by killing Dead Sea or Vulpes Inculta.[28]
- He reacts positively if they assisted the Legion in the past, by completing Cold, Cold Heart, We Are Legion, by activating ARCHIMEDES in That Lucky Old Sun, killing the NCR troopers during Boulder City Showdown, killing Chief Hanlon without stealth involved, wiping out all of the Ranger stations and by killing or releasing Silus during Silus Treatment.[29]
- He notices if the Courier commits hostile actions against the Legion after first speaking with him, and issues a threat during the next conversation.[30] Ignoring his warning and comitting more hostile acts toward the Legion results in him turning hostile upon talking to him the next time.[31]
- He turns hostile if the Courier tells him that they are done working for him, or that they changed their mind about killing President Kimball during Arizona Killer.
Inventory[edit]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caesar's Armor | Displacer Glove | Platinum Chip (If Benny survives the confrontation at The Tops) | Legion Ear |
Notes[edit]
- His name is pronounced
/ˈkaizar/by members of the Legion, while most other wastelanders pronounce it/ˈsiːzər/. The exceptions to this rule are: Easy Pete, Marcus, Follows-Chalk, and Salt-Upon-Wounds, who all pronounce Caesar as/ˈkaizar/despite not being part of the Legion. - He is one of the characters that the Courier must cannibalize in order to earn the Meat of Champions perk.
- If he dies for any reason other than his illness or using the Auto-Doc to dissect his brain and then passing a Speech check in Et Tumor, Brute?, Legion reputation will automatically change to Vilified, even if the player character did not kill him. His body also never disappears.
- Legion-aligned NPCs will not turn hostile towards him if Faction Armor that would normally trigger Legion aggression is reverse-pickpocketed onto him.
- He is mentioned by the Toaster in Old World Blues.[32]
- An unused model of Caesar named "NVDLC02CaesarYounger" exists in the game files for Honest Hearts.
NPC comments[edit]
- Several non-player characters will comment on the event of Caesar's death:
- Julie Farkas embraces the happy news while also doubting that anything will change for the better.[33]
- Mr. House, while initially preferring to keep Caesar in power,[34] notes that his death has a "minimal" impact on the outcome for the Second Battle of Hoover Dam.[35]
- Mr. New Vegas is capable of addressing both a botched brain surgery and an assassination.[36][37]
- Craig Boone reacts spiteful if he is present as a companion during Caesar's death.[38]
- Lily remarks that Leo thinks there is more violence to come with Caesar dead.[39]
- Locals in Freeside have several lines referencing the death of Caesar.[40][41][42]
- Freeside Drunks may comment.[43]
- Chairmen at The Tops and White Gloves in the Ultra-Luxe may comment.[44][45][46]
- NCR Troopers may wish that they could have been there when it happened.[47]
- Francine Garret and her brother James give a free bottle of liquor to celebrate.[48][49]<
- Sergeant McCredie and Mags both complement the Courier for killing Caesar.[50][51]
- Joshua Graham reacts surprised, but thinks his death will do the Mojave good.[52]
- Ulysses remarks that Caesar's name has died twice to history.[53]
Quotes[edit]
- "We have cities of our own, but nothing compared to Vegas. Finally, my Legion will have its Rome."

- "Oh yes, raised in that tradition. And the teaching stuck. I was taught it was my responsibility to bring the torch of knowledge to the wastes."

- "As an anthropologist and linguist, my assignment was to learn the dialects of the Grand Canyon tribes. What a fucking waste of time!"

- "I showed them total warfare. Like I said, there's a lot you can learn from old books."

Appearances[edit]
Caesar appears in Fallout: New Vegas and is mentioned in its DLCs Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, and Lonesome Road. He also appears cards in Magic: The Gathering: Universes Beyond x Fallout.
Behind the Scenes[edit]
- The character was written by John Gonzalez, with Sawyer asking "for Caesar to present his rationale in the framework of Hegelian dialectics."[Dev 1][Dev 2] Gonzalez said his intention with the character was to have a character give a substantive argument for a dictatorship by leaning on the idea that the wasteland needed it.[Dev 3]
- When asked about similarities between Kurtz and Caesar, Joshua Sawyer stated that both are educated "men of intelligence" that "traveled from a life of relative comfort, technological wizardry, and 'civilization' into a wilderness full of warring people with relatively low education and a relatively 'primitive' lifestyle."[Dev 4]
- According to Joshua Sawyer, the character was also partially inspired by Charles Taylor of Liberia, whose war crimes make Caesar's cruelty look "moderate" in comparison.[Dev 5] Other inspirations were taken from brutal warlords of the past, such as Timur and Simon de Montfort.[Dev 6]
- Sawyer also stated that Caesar's Karma is neutral due to his "unmoored morality," and that "whatever moral framework he had as Edward Sallow" just vanished over time.[Dev 7]
- In the Caesar Dialogue Plan, more skills, perks, and stats were intended to be used when interacting with Caesar.[Doc 1]
- Perception could be used to notice the early symptoms of a brain tumor.
- Intelligence could be used to surmise details of his culture.
- Speech could be used to convince him that his neurological symptoms were still early and to exploit his paranoid to turn him against his subordinates.
- Science could be used to design a brain scanning apparatus and Repair to build it.
- Medicine could be used to diagnose and remove his brain tumor.
- Black Widow could be used to seduce him and exploit his paranoia similar to the speech option.
- Living Anatomy can be used to diagnose Caesar's tumor instead of a Perception check.
- The cut challenge perks Pacifistic Youth and Enlightened Pacifist, alongside potentially good karma would be perceived negatively by Caesar's Legion. On the other hand Destroyer (Lord Death) and Lord Death of Murder Mountain could have a positive effect on Caesar or his lieutenants.
- "Also, for any of the potentially bad companion combos below, being to call Tough [unclear] and Ferocious Loyalty to counteract the potential bad effects would also work."
- Metzger, the leader of the slavers guild from the Den in Fallout 2, was initially named Caesar during development.[54]
- Caesar was also planned for Van Buren.
Gallery[edit]
Concept Art shared by Brian Menze
Caesar on a Legion coin (Aureus)
Caesar and Vault Boy in the achievement/trophy for Render Unto Caesar
Caesar in an intro slide
References[edit]
|
- ↑ Behind the Bright Lights & Big City; True to Caesar: "2226 - The boy who would become Caesar is born."
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p. 41: "Caesar's Legion: This horde of cruel, yet highly disciplined slavers has spread across the southwest like an all-consuming flame. Founded by a fallen member of the Followers of the Apocalypse, Caesar's Legion is effectively an enormous, conscripted slave army. As Caesar conquers the peoples of the wasteland, he strips them of their tribal identities and turns their young men into ruthless legionaries and women into breeding stock. Unlike the rag-tag Raiders back east, Caesar's "Legionaries" neither look nor act like haphazard, irregular troops. They are well organized, moving and attacking in large packs, and deliberately commit atrocities to terrorize those who might dare oppose them.
True, Caesar is the perfect man. But he is not just a man: he is the Son of Mars, ordained by the god of war to conquer all Earth. To prepare the way, Mars razed the Earth, cleansed it with fire, and brought the weak and the wicked low; and now his son has come to deliver the wasteland from chaos and barbarism. To follow Caesar is to obey the will of Mars; to disobey is to condemn oneself to death. As the Son of Mars, Caesar has the divine right to demand servitude from all he encounters. Not everyone believes that Caesar is the product of a god's loins, of course. The most recently captured slaves tend to be pretty skeptical. But they aren't very vocal in their criticisms, and their children are raised not by skeptical parents but by priestesses appointed to that task by virtue of their knowledge of an adherence to the state religion.
Nearly all physically capable, compliant males are compelled to serve in its armed forces. The primary value of pre-menopausal females is to serve as breeding stock (with Caesar or a legate governing how they are assigned to males), though they, like older females and less physically-capable men, are also used to perform a variety of other tasks. The largest unit of organization in Caesar's Legion is the Cohort, numbering about 480 infantrymen. Cohorts are further divided into Centuriae, which contrary to their name numbers about 80 men, and each Centuriae is divided into ten "tent groups" (Contubernia), making this the squad level of organization. Raiding parties are of this size (about eight men) and will be led by a Decanus (a squad leader, basically).
Caesar desires two things: a Carthage, and a Rome. In the NCR he has at last found a grand adversary, against which he can wage a military campaign worthy of history books. And in Vegas, powered and watered by its great dam, he has found a capital worthy of, well, a Caesar. Contrary to the old saw, Rome will be built in a day. All it takes is plentiful slave labor, and Caesar has that in spades."
(Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide/Faction profiles) - ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p. 461: "Important Dates
2247 He declares himself Caesar. Within a week, he is leading the tribe on ever more ambitious raids against neighboring bands of raiders and tribals, growing his forces by taking slaves."
(Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide; Behind the Bright Lights & Big City)
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Developer Statements; Joshua Sawyer: Caesar and Hegelian dialectics, 2010 October 30
- ↑ John Gonzalez: "Hi KingGodzilla100. My work on FNV focused on, but wasn't limited to, the "main quest." When FNV was greenlit, we already knew it would begin with you getting shot in the head and left for dead in a shallow grave (a very Vegas intro) and climax with the NCR vs Legion battle for Hoover Dam. My first job was to figure out what would transpire between that Alpha and Omega. Along the way I created and wrote Benny, Mr. House, and Yes-Man, and wrote Caesar (whose concept was originally developed for the canceled "Van Buren" Fallout Game) and created the concepts for the tribes and casinos on the Strip. I also wrote side quest and tribal content, such as "Come Fly with Me" and much of the Boomers and Great Khans. I didn't write any of the companions, and there was a lot of side content I didn't touch (the game is huge!). Chris Avellone did some writing for the game (e.g., Lanius) but was finishing up Alpha Protocol when FNV got started, so he had more time available when the team got to work on the DLCs (on which my involvement was minor, really just a few characters and the Survivalist diaries from Honest Hearts)."
(Fallout: New Vegas Developer Statements - Miscellaneous; John Gonzalez: Work on the Game, 2025 December 16) - ↑ John Gonzalez: "I can say that my intention while writing Caesar was to give the guy some intellectual heft and an substantive argument for model of dictatorship, which leaned heavily on the idea that the post-apocalyptic context required it. I didn't want to write the guy as a straw man villain.
Which isn't to say that the Legion isn't awful. They are. The NCR are pretty bad, too. And Mr. House is bad, too. There are no straight-up good guys. But personally, I always felt that Caesar's prattling on about Hegelian Dialectics felt like a justification for his megalomaniacal will to power."
(Fallout: New Vegas Developer Statements - Characters; John Gonzalez: Caesar's Design and Yes Man in Retrospect, 2025 December 16) - ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Developer Statements; Joshua Sawyer Formspring posts, 30 December 2011
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Developer Statements; Joshua Sawyer: Caesar being inspired by Charles Taylor of Liberia, 2012 June 14
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Developer Statements; Joshua Sawyer: Caesar's atrocities and their inspirations, 2013 November 16
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Developer Statements; Joshua Sawyer: The Legion and misogyny, 2016 December 26
- Fallout Television Series Season 2 Characters
- Fallout Television Series S2E3 Characters
- Fallout Television Series S2E8 Characters
- Caesar's Legion characters
- The Fort characters
- Former Followers of the Apocalypse characters
- Fallout: New Vegas characters
- Collector's Edition playing card characters
- Caesar
- Anthropologists
- Caesars
