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• New Vegas Strip Overview • “These headlines were brought to you by Vault 21. Vault 21. Everything's better when you experience it in a vault.”— Mr. New Vegas, Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 21 is a Vault-Tec vault, converted into a hotel/casino in Fallout: New Vegas.[Pub 1]
Background[edit]
Located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, Vault 21 was one of the few Vaults that successfully protected its inhabitants while fulfilling the parameters of its experiment. Everyone in the Vault was equal, it was created with a perfectly symmetrical layout, and all conflicts and problems were solved through gambling.[3] Chosen representatives gambled against each other in the main atrium and the winner earned the right to settle the dispute as wished by the collective.[3][4] Sarah describes it as "pure New Vegas" as "everyone has a chance and lady luck smiles if you play your odds right."[4]
Mr. House contacted Vault 21's residents with an offer of inclusion in the resurrection of Vegas. While most of the Vault dwellers wanted to refuse the offer, some residents were in favor of it. As a result, residents in favor of Mr. House's offer challenged each level's representative who was in favor of staying isolated. After a game of Blackjack that lasted for many hours, those in favor of opening to the outside won in an extremely risky move. Soon after, Mr. House ordered the Vault to be filled with concrete.[5][6] But at the request of Sarah and Sheldon Weintraub, he left some of the upper levels intact and allowed Sarah to establish a hotel there, which became another source of income for Vegas's growing economy.[6] After their emergence, many of the Vault dwellers went on to live new lives in the outside world, such as Doc Mitchell.
Fall[edit]
By 2296 New Vegas has fallen into disrepair. The Strip is abandoned save for a pack of Deathclaws, which have turned the area into their nesting ground. This was orchestrated by the Enclave, who set the deathclaws from Quarry Junction on the city.[7][8] With the help of Cooper Howard, Thaddeus, and soldiers of the New California Republic, Maximus combated the deathclaws, reclaiming the Strip for the people of Freeside. In the aftermath, the city was occupied by the NCR, just in time to combat the arrival of a newly unified Caesar's Legion.[9]
Publications[edit]
“A vault where its dwellers used to settle their differences via games of chance, is now a hotel and gift shop. The top floor is just the gift shop and front desk for the hotel. Visitors can buy Vault 21 Jumpsuits, toasters, and other souvenir items, and view displays and read authentic details about the history of Vault 21. The vault itself is kept in pristine condition, aside from the subterranean eastern section, which was sealed by Mr. House; much to the annoyance of the last remaining resident Sarah (and her brother Michael) Weintraub. Aside from the ostentatious signage, the initial kiosk welcoming visitors to the vault lacks the spectacular nature of The Strip’s other venues. But step inside, and you’re transported back in time.”— Tour of the Mojave Wasteland
Layout[edit]
A Vault door sign advertises the hotel, on the western end of the Strip, "Vault 21" emblazoned with neon lights. The Vault entrance is an above-ground building that opens to a lobby serving as a gift shop. It is run by one of the only Vault residents to have remained, Sarah Weintraub, who runs the establishment and utilizes a terminal network to communicate with patrons.[10] Stairs lead from the gift shop down into the Vault.
There is a central atrium with two Blackjack tables, a hallway with living quarters, including Sarah's room and a guest room that the player character can rent. Another door leads to the cafeteria/diner. The lower levels were filled with concrete by Mr. House and are inaccessible except for the Maintenance Level, which is accessible from the basement of The Tops.[6] This level consists of a long hallway with a few small rooms branching off of it. The elevator in Benny's suite leading to it is locked unless he is attacked in the Tops presidential suite, and the tunnel ends in another locked door.
Inhabitants[edit]
| Characters |
|---|
 Sarah Weintraub |
 Ollie |
 Carlitos |
 Martina Groesbeck |
Former[edit]
Loot[edit]
- Snow Globe - The Strip - Behind an Average locked door in the northeast-most room (Sarah's room). In the same room, there is a Hard locked dresser beside the bed with 270 Caps and several articles of clothing.
- An oversized Toy Car and a Sensor Module - In the hotel lobby.
- Strip Letter 1 and Strip Letter 2 - In the guest rooms to the southeast.
- Strip Letter 3 - In the guest room just west of the inaccessible door to the south.
- Vault Lab Uniform - Occasionally sold by Sarah.
Related Quests[edit]
Notes[edit]
- The background music is Serenity, which was originally used for Modoc in Fallout 2.
- If the quest The Finger of Suspicion has been started, then there will be three Omerta Thugs threatening Martina Groesbeck in one of the rooms.
- The Tops houses an elevator that goes down to the basement and connects via a blown open wall to the service areas of Vault 21. This elevator is normally locked and unable to be picked, but is automatically unlocked if Benny is given the chance to flee when confronting him at The Tops. There is a locked door at the end of a hallway in the Vault that can be unlocked using console commands. An invisible part of the Vault will appear by walking a little forward. There are no lights and this part ends with two staircases leading to nowhere.
- The doormat at the main entrance of the gift shop is the same as seen in Vault 112, located in front of Stanislaus Braun's Tranquility Lounger and in front of houses in Tranquility Lane in Fallout 3.
- No doors in this Vault feature a gold stripe and the number 21, but instead are all marked "No Access." The same is true for Vault 3.
- The lights in the Vault are the models seen in ruined Vaults, such as Vault 34.
- If the player character leaves items in the locker of the room and later gets the reputation of "Wild Child" for the Strip, then the room cannot be rented and the items cannot be retrieved.
- Player characters may make this their personal home once they are given a room by Sarah.
- There is a working light switch in the player character's hotel room.
- The sub-basement hallway tunnel appears incomplete when seen in the GECK, there's also a door that supposedly leads to the hallway, but it's blocked by a large piece of rubble.
- The Vault 21 Guest Terminal is set to 0.60 scale.
- In the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Dead Money, the vault is mentioned by the rogue Brotherhood Elder Elijah. He believed that the Courier had stolen the Pip-Boy they utilize from a Vault 21 resident.[11]
Appearances[edit]
Vault 21 appears in Fallout: New Vegas, and is mentioned in its add-on Dead Money.
Behind the Scenes[edit]
- Looking to the right when entering, Vault 101's bulletins can be seen on the wall with only a couple of changes made to them, such as the Vault 101 bake off ad being changed to Vault 21.
- A picture showing James and Catherine (the parents of the Lone Wanderer from Fallout 3) can be found beside a bed in Sarah Weintraub's room.
- Vault 21 was designed by James Garcia created the 3D model of the neon sign letters.[Ext 1]
- Josh Sawyer stated that House cemented the Vault to avoid former residents from retaking it, keeping it limited to a tourist attraction and small-scale residence.[Dev 1]
- Jorge Salgado designed Vault 21.[Dev 2]
Bugs[edit]
If you take the tour with Sarah Weintraub, your companions may disappear and not reappear when you exit the Vault.- Sarah may not recognize Vault 21 Jumpsuits as Vault gear, but will trade for them normally at the usual price.
- Sometimes when you take the tour with Sarah Weintraub, she will walk with you out of the gift shop and then stay still above the stairs leading to the hotel part of Vault 21 and will be unable to talk to.
- Vault 21 has a high probability of causing the game to freeze during loading screens.
Gallery[edit]
Sarah Weintraub's gift shop
Vault 21 inaccessible room
Atrium
The Strip snow globe
Vault-Tec banner in the gift shop
Pinboard in the gift shop
Signage of Vault 21
Pool table in Vault 21 canteen
The over-sized toy car and toaster
The refreshing tastes of Nuka-Cola and Sunset Sarsaparilla
Banner render
Bulletin board texture file
Sign texture file
Vault 21 sign concept art, Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide; Behind the Bright Lights & Big City
Vault 21 poker chip from the Collector's Edition
Vault 21 on the Collector's Edition Vault Playing Cards
Back of select cards from the Collector's Edition
References[edit]
- ↑ Courier: "Are you the owner of this hotel and shop?"
Sarah Weintraub: "Well... it is my vault, all right. I mean, yeah. That is, no. I take care of it but I suppose you could say that it belongs to Mr. House."
(Sarah Weintraub's dialogue) - ↑ Mr. New Vegas: "These headlines were brought to you by Vault 21. {Slogan}Vault 21. Everything's better when you experience it in a vault."
(Mr. New Vegas advertisement) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sarah Weintraub: "All right! Please, follow me. We'll head into the vault right away. This bunker protects the entrance to the vault - solid stone outside and thick steel on the inside! Above us there's the control center for this level of the vault's life-support systems, electric grid, radioactive shields and all that jazz. Don't get lost! My vault has many corridors and rooms - although it is no longer symmetrical, after Mr. House threw us out. This is the main game-hall. Here we settled the big disputes among the vault's levels. Chosen representatives gambled against each other here. The winner earned the right to settle the dispute as wished by the collective. We used to have such parties in this diner! A bitch to clean later... but well worth it! This hall leads to our guest rooms. You can use the first room on our left. But no snooping next door! That's my room, always was. Down there is the game room! Each side of the vault had one... but the other is filled with concrete now. Okay, that wraps it up. I'll see you soon!"
(Sarah Weintraub's dialogue) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Courier: "What is so special about this vault?"
Sarah Weintraub: "My vault is pure New Vegas. Everyone has a chance and lady luck smiles if you play your odds right!... Okay, it was like that before we had to leave. Vault 21 had very smart ways to help people get along. All arguments and fights got solved through gambling. I'll give you a quick tour of my home! Oh, yeah, if you like."
(Sarah Weintraub's dialogue) - ↑ Vault 21 Terminal Entries' Vault 21 guest terminal, History of Vault 21
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Courier: "What does Mr. House have to do with Vault 21?"
Sarah Weintraub: "Mr. House has everything to do with Vault 21. He tried to get us out before he filled it with concrete. I almost went ape! So, we convinced him - okay, Sheldon and I, right? We convinced him to leave the top level mostly intact!"
(Sarah Weintraub's dialogue) - ↑ Shotgun Jeff: " Guess you saw them Deathclaw things come up from Quarry Junction."
(S2E5 - The Wrangler/Dialogue) - ↑ Mr. House: "But when it came to controlling the future, I was wholly outclassed by an invisible adversary. It was they who set the Deathclaws on Vegas."
(S2E8 - The Strip/Dialogue) - ↑ S2E8 - The Strip
- ↑ Vault 21 Terminal Entries; Vault 21 Guest terminal, Mail Messaging
- ↑ 743.00Hz ULF Radio Signal: "Good thing the new recruit had a Pip-Boy, too, probably stole it from a Vault 21 dweller. Still, a thief's just what I need for this."
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.349-350: "[2D.06] Vault 21
A vault where its dwellers used to settle their differences via games of chance, is now hotel and gift shop. The top floor is just the gift shop and front desk for the hotel. Visitors can buy Vault 21 Jumpsuits, toasters, and other souvenir items, and view displays and read authentic details about the history of Vault 21. The vault itself is in pristine condition, aside from the subterranean eastern section, which was sealed by Mr. House; much to the annoyance of the last remaining residents Sarah (and her brother Michael) Weintraub. Aside form
the ostentatious signage, the initial kiosk welcoming visitors to the vault lacks the spectacular nature of The Strip's other venues. But step inside, and you're transported back in time."
(Tour of the Mojave Wasteland)
- ↑ Formspring January 2, 2012 (Alternate archive):Why in the world would House cement in that Vault? It makes no sense.
Joshua Sawyer: He doesn't want it to be able to return to a fully-functional vault because he doesn't want its former residents to attempt to retake it. I.e. he wants to motivate the Vault 21 dwellers to leave the area. If he had simply sealed off areas or electronically locked portions of it, enterprising smarties like ex-vaulters might attempt to work against him and eventually restore it. With the majority of the vault filled with cement, it can only function as a tourist attraction and small-scale residence.
Fallout: New Vegas developer statements, Joshua Sawyer Formspring posts, 2012#4 Jan 12 - ↑ Question: "Who in particular comes up with the indivual stories for each vault? Chris Avellone? The whole team? Obviously some have movie inspirations. But others seem just.. Fucked up and bizarre :/"
Joshua Sawyer: "I wrote the basic concepts for F:NV's vaults but individual designers fully fleshed the concepts out and implemented them. Vault 3: Akil Hooper, Vault 11: Eric Fenstermaker, Vault 19: Sydney Wolfram. Vault 21: Jorge Salgado. Vault 22: Jesse Farrell, Vault 34: Sydney Wolfram."
(Fallout: New Vegas Developer Statements; Joshua Sawyer Formspring posts, 6 March 2011)
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Categories:
- Fallout: New Vegas locations
- New Vegas Strip
- Hotels
- Post-War Businesses
- Fallout: New Vegas unmarked locations
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- Fallout: New Vegas vaults
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