Festus (Fallout: New Vegas)

Festus is a unique robot residing in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281.

Background
Festus is a robot type character who you first meet inside the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters.

When first meeting Festus you may want to select the "Pleased to Meetcha" option. This option will explain all of the dialogue options available to the player.

Quests
If the Courier asks Festus for star info, the quest The Legend of the Star will be started. The Courier actually learns about this quest prior to meeting Festus through an encounter with Malcolm Holmes. All the player needs is to obtain a few Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Caps and Malcolm will approach the Courier. However to officially begin the quest the player must travel to Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters. To complete this quest the Courier must find 50 Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Caps. These can be found by searching the wasteland, or by drinking Sunset Sarsaparilla.

After finally collecting 50 bottle caps and returning to Festus, he will reveal that the reward is to hear the story of how Sunset Sarsaparilla was invented: a saloon owner made a deal with a strange man to manufacture a soft drink based on a recipe made by the man, and the owner is implied to have had the man killed so he could take all the credit and profits for himself. The star bottle caps were supposedly created by the stranger's ghost so his existence would still be known.

After this story, the quest The Legend of the Star is automatically failed and the player can angrily complain about the nonexistence of an actual prize. Festus will then tell you that the company has received several such complaints, and a new, better reward is now available. The quest A Valuable Lesson will start, and the quest indicator will lead you to the vault, which holds your prize.

"Lucky Horseshoes"
If you select the dialogue option "I Feel Lucky", you have the option to play a game called Lucky Horseshoes, which is a variant of Blackjack. While the rules are simple, it is suggested that the player asks Festus how to play. He will instruct you on which buttons perform which action.

The Rules:
 * Number cards count as face value.
 * There are no face cards(Jacks/Queens/Kings/Jokers).
 * The goal of the game is the same as Blackjack. Whichever player gets closest to 21 without going over wins.
 * Like in Blackjack you may draw or hold. However once you hold you are done done drawing for that hand.
 * If after a player draws and their new total equals the other players total, the other players total is increased (bumped up) by one. This is known as lucky horseshoes, and ensures that ties are not possible.

Each time you win you have a 6% chance of getting a Sunset Sarsaparilla cap and a 24.44% chance of getting a card for your Caravan deck, otherwise you get up to 9 bottle caps. The game can be played repeatedly to garner more and more prizes.

Appearances
Festus appears in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * After redeeming 50 Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Caps for the quest, Festus will tell you the story of The Legend of the Star. He'll make mention of Nuka-cola, the rival soft drink of Sunset Sarsaparilla. After this, he'll mention that to avoid legal action from Nuka-Cola, he must inform you that Nuka-cola is a "Swell" drink, but sometimes people just want something different. This is probably reference to the Cola Wars between Pepsi and Coca-Cola.
 * Festus was likely modeled after a character on the western show Gunsmoke, also named Festus. The two look alike, sound alike, and both have a tendency to "jaw awhile."
 * Festus is Latin for "happy".

Bugs

 * If the the Player has the Robotics Expert perk, it is possible to enter sneak mode and disable Festus. Although this awards 10 XP, this action disables any further interaction with him. Rendering Festus inanimate will not cause The Legend of the Star to fail, however. Instead, the quest marker will direct the player towards the robot's now inactive body. This makes completing the quest impossible without the use of console commands.
 * (unconfirmed) Sometimes when entering the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters a loud metal crashing noise can be heard (like when a robot crashes to the floor), this is due to Festus having turned around 180 degrees and facing the wall, meaning the player can only see the back panel, interaction is still possible. He may eventually turn back if you re-enter.