Festus (Fallout: New Vegas)

"Wrangle up a stool and listen to ol' Festus jaw awhile."

- Festus

Festus is an animatronic robot residing in the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters in 2281.

Background
Festus is an animatronic automaton robot encountered in the lobby of the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters, designed as an interactive display for visitors and tourists. Unlike most other robots in the Fallout universe, who operate with a degree of autonomous artificial intelligence, Festus is a simple machine that responds to a set of about a dozen designated command phrases and answers with pre-recorded responses, similar to a real-world automated telephone answering system.

As said in a message from Lucas Nash to Kenneth Aguilar, Festus was made by RobCo Industries for the Sunset Sarsaparilla Corporation and seems to have replaced an older model. The message also states that others were to be purchased, but were never put into use due to the Great War in 2077.

Quests

 * The Legend of the Star: If the player asks Festus for star info, the quest will be started if they haven't met Malcolm Holmes yet. After you have 50 Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle caps, return to Festus to reclaim your prize.
 * A Valuable Lesson: After finally collecting 50 star 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, thus explaining why Festus appears to have been shot repeatedly. 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. No matter how many Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle caps you have in your inventory, only 50 will be removed for the quest The Legend of the Star. Once the quest is completed however, any extra star caps you have in your inventory will be converted to regular bottle caps, and any star caps found afterwards will also automatically convert 'regular' caps when picked up.

Other interactions

 * 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.
 * If the player asks Festus to tell you about the "Silly Ol' Advisory", he will list numerous serious health problems associated with drinking Sunset Sarsaparilla. He will ask the player to repeat yourself twice before finally telling. This was probably programmed into Festus in an attempt to prevent people from hearing the advisory.

"Lucky Horseshoes"
If you select the dialogue option "I Feel Lucky", you have the option to play a variant of blackjack called Lucky Horseshoes. 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.

Rules

 * Number cards count as face value.
 * There are no face cards (Jacks/Queens/Kings/Jokers).
 * The goal of the game is gets as close to 21 in order to win the hand.
 * You may draw or hold, however once you hold you are done drawing for that hand.
 * If a player draws and their new total equals the other player's total, the other player's 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 star 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.
 * NOTE: A mental tally of yours and Festus' total must be kept as, Festus does not keep track of this for you.

Notable quotes

 * "Ah, new to the hunt, are you? Well listen carefully, as ol' Festus don't like to repeat himself."
 * "What are these stars, and what do they mean? Nobody knows! Except maybe ol' Festus here, Hee Hee."
 * "Wahoo, you did it partner! Bully for you! Ol' Festus knew you could do it. I suppose you'll be wanting that prize now."
 * "We at the Sunset Sarsaparilla Company would once again like to fuck your mother for your patronage."
 * "Excessive ingestion of Sarsaparilla can lead to deleterious effects including, but not limited to: kidney damage/nausea/digital numbness/anxiety/loss of visual acuity/dizziness/occasional nosebleeds/joint inflammation/tooth decay/sore throat/bronchitis/organ rupture/and halitosis."

Appearances
Festus appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * Festus is a reference to the character Festus of the 1952 radio and 1955 television Western drama series Gunsmoke.
 * 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 principal rival soft drink of Sunset Sarsaparilla. After this, he'll mention that to avoid legal action from Nuka-Cola, he will inform you that Nuka-Cola is a "swell" drink, but sometimes people just want something different. This is probably a reference to the Cola Wars between Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Bugs

 * Sometimes when entering the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters a loud metal crashing noise can be heard (like when a robot crashes to the floor), due to Festus having turned 180 degrees to face the wall. Interaction is still possible even though the player will only be able to see the back panel. He may eventually turn back if you re-enter.
 * It is possible to knock him unconscious with the Golden Gloves or boxing tape. If done so you cannot speak to him and he will not regain consciousness. If you do kill him you can walk through him.
 * Sometimes when talking to Festus you may select an option and the dialogue box will close.
 * Sometimes, when speaking to him, the dialogue may be sped and you cannot hear him say it. This is also visual as you can see the dialogue skip through each other.

Gallery
Фестус (кукла)