Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap

 is a miscellaneous item in Fallout: New Vegas.

Characteristics
The Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Caps are found throughout the Mojave Wasteland and are a collectible item. Some time after the Courier finds a special cap (two can be found in Goodsprings), a man named Malcolm Holmes, a retired cap collector (though he has six star caps), will approach the player and warn that the caps are highly sought after by collectors who will kill for them. He says sometimes people can be so crazed for the caps that they will attack strangers, regardless of who they are. He also warns to steer clear of a man named Allen Marks, who is said to have killed at least six people for the caps and is somewhat of a professional cap collector. The caps are thought to be very valuable, because according the legend they allow access to a secret treasure guarded by a man named Festus. When asked about Festus, Malcolm says he has been guarding the treasure since before the Great War, which he says, "Would make him pretty damn old". He claims that he has meet a few people who claim they themselves have seen Festus, however, and these people "aren’t the lying type". The treasure’s contents are unknown; Malcolm says that it could be money, technology, or other pre-war items and that it is unknown if, what ever the treasure is, is of any value anymore. They are apparently still occasionally found by opening new bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla, as the man guarding the treasure distributes them randomly.

Locations
This is a list of the guaranteed locations of the 101 Star Bottle Caps that you can find in the wasteland. There is always the chance of finding others (such as from Tomas, or the drinking of Sunset Sarsaparilla).

 


 * 9 can be found between Nipton and the Nipton Road Pit Shop. In between the two Tomas and Jacklyn are in a gunfight. If Tomas dies, you can talk to Jacklyn and confront her about the Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Caps, she will attack you. Kill her and loot her for 2 Star Bottle caps, then loot Tomas for 7 more. This is also possible if Tomas kills Jacklyn, you can loot Jacklyn and then pickpocket, talk to or kill Tomas for his 7 caps.  Total outcome is 9 star caps either way.  It is also possible that Tomas will have looted Jacklyn's 2 caps off her and have them in his possession if he runs up to you (like a taller version of Bryan Wilks) and starts ranting about some woman who is nowhere in sight. It is also possible for Jacklyn to kill Tomas, loot his caps and approach you, ranting about a man shooting at her. She will then open fire on you, and after killing her you can loot her body for 9 caps.
 * 2 can be found in Goodsprings, inside the "Goodspring Houses". The first is lying on a counter top in the large white house East of the Goodsprings Schoolhouse (this is where Sunny Smiles lives, along with Trudi). The second can be found in the house due West of the Goodsprings General Store in the bedrooom on the table.

Prize
After finding at least 51 Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Caps the player can receive his prize from Festus which is, amusingly, the honor of listening to the real story of how Sunset Sarsaparilla came to be. Also, any star caps over 51 are simply converted into Bottle caps and given back to you. If you read between the lines you can see that the man who "invented" the drink actually had the true inventor killed and stole the invention from him. If you ask about the real prize he tells you that due to legal constraints the main prize had been removed and another is offered that should be enough. This triggers the quest A Valuable Lesson which instructs you to go to the Sarsaparilla vault to collect your prize. Access is made through the top floor through a hole in front of a safe and leads to a lower room which is filled with Sunset Sarsaparilla Deputy Badge.

Inside that room the prize is about 1300 Bottle caps (over 100 in each of 13 crates) and a total of 311 Sunset Sarsaparilla Deputy Badges (weightless and worthless - if you can't find all use the Z key to pull the crates off the top shelves). Also, in the corner we can find Allen Marks, a holotape and Pew Pew, a unique laser pistol. If you move him you can also take his Sunset Sarsaparilla Deputy Badge which simply falls off his chest. The holotape reveals that he was a murderer but does not reveal anything about how he got there. He apparently shot himself in the head to prevent death by suffocation as the vault was completely airtight. For more details about him and his demise see Allen Marks.

After finishing the quest you can no longer talk to Festus or play his card game.

Trivia

 * The legend of the blue star bottle caps is likely a reference to the urban legends that state Tootsie Roll lollipop wrappers with an Indian shooting a star or three unbroken circles could be redeemed for free lollipops.