Veronica

Veronica Renata Santangelo is a Brotherhood of Steel Scribe who can be found at the 188 Trading Post in 2281.

Background
Born in 2254, Veronica is a Brotherhood of Steel journeyman scribe who has been indefinitely assigned to the role of "procurement specialist", responsible for venturing out of the Brotherhood bunker to find and acquire resources that the Brotherhood cannot create on its own.

She was born and raised in the Brotherhood, her father a Paladin, her mother a Scribe. In her youth she fell in love with another member of the organization, however, their relationship did not survive. Her lover's parents disapproved of same-sex relationships; because the Brotherhood was a community closed to outsiders, they felt it was everyone's duty to procreate. Veronica still thinks of her lost love from time to time.

After following the Brotherhood to the Mojave Wasteland from California, Veronica became disillusioned with their goals. Her mentor, Elder Elijah, became unstable, growing obsessed with technology for technology's sake. Veronica soon realized this was also true of the other Elders, it was just that they were more cautious about it. They hoarded technology instead of using it to help the people of the Wasteland, content to hide away in their bunkers. She realized this was a course of action that could only lead to stagnation and decay, and that in order to survive the Brotherhood would have to become a part of wasteland society, not separate from it. She began to speak up about her beliefs, questioning the direction the Brotherhood were taking. In order to keep her out of their hair and to stop her dissent from spreading, the Elders sent her on longer and longer trips out into the wasteland, allegedly to collect resources.

Irritated by what she sees as the Brotherhood’s unrealistic and uninformed views of themselves and the world, Veronica is a perpetual outsider caught between her loyalty to the Brotherhood and her doubts about their current course.

Interactions with the player character
As a companion, Veronica prefers to use unarmed weapons, and grants the Scribe Assistant perk. She also serves as a workbench, (Scribe Assistant), if you talk to her and ask her to help you craft something.

Veronica has a long-held dream of wearing a dress, although her default apparel is too strong to allow her to equip any dresses given to her. She will still thank you if you put one in her inventory, assuring you that she will try it on later. Dirty pre-War spring outfits count as dresses, amongst other clothing items. Giving her a Formal Wear or White Glove Society attire will cause her to teach you the Scribe Counter.

Inventory

 * Veronica is capable of wearing Power Armor, so long as it is either non-faction or Brotherhood-faction armor.


 * She can be equipped with any weapon surpassing the DPS of her initial equips. Although this might be difficult with her Power Fist, her high Energy Weapons score in comparison to her Guns means she will equip nearly any well-maintained Energy Weapon you give her. She will also equip most heavy gun-type weapons, including the Minigun.


 * For melee, the Ballistic Fist or unique Power Fist, Paladin Toaster, is the most notable upgrade for her Power Fist. A Displacer Glove can also do wonders. In particular, the unique Displacer Glove, Pushy, is equipped with greater priority than a Ballistic Fist, despite doing less damage. [Confirmed, Pushy is her best weapon and weapon of choice.] If given Oh Baby, Veronica will sometimes use this. Veronica will also use the "Cram Opener" from Little Buster.


 * Veronica will use certain non-melee weapons for targets at long distances, even if set to melee combat. This is almost exclusively limited to heavy weapons, such as the Incinerator or Missile Launcher.

Bugs

 * After giving Veronica her formal or White Glove Society dress she may thank you and say she'll teach you punching, and the screen will fade out and in, but the perk won't be added. Verified with GECK: the object that does the timing for the fade out/in when she teaches the player the move is shared with the nine triggers used to start I Could Make You Care. The script for giving the move doesn't fully reset the object, so if any of the nine triggers have activated, she will no longer be able to give the perk.


 * Giving Veronica Stimpaks and then taking them away again later causes the game to go into a state such that if you then attempt to reassign an item shortcut key (1,3-8) while in your inventory the game will freeze.


 * Getting Veronica while having another human companion: Anytime after completion of her quest I Could Make You Care dismiss her. Pick up another companion, travel to the 188 Trading post where you first found her. The dialog option "What did you want to talk about earlier?" Should still be available. Select it and ask her Why doesn't she go back alone?, then tell her you think she should go alone. Afterwards you should be able to get Veronica and one other human companion, this can also be combined with a non-human companion so it is possible to have three in your party.
 * Doesn't always work. Sometimes she just says, "Whats up?". Doesn't work, even if you try different endings for her, or get companions whose endings you had already done.
 * Disappearing problem:
 * Sometimes after fast traveling, Veronica seems to disappear and does not show up back at 188 trading post, becoming almost impossible to find. When returning to the exact spot you fast traveled FROM, you may hear the sound of a Power Fist being swung, indicating Veronica could possibly have fallen or elevated out of the map. This may also occur when exiting the bunker.
 * If Veronica disappears, wait in 24 hour intervals, and she might show up.
 * Sometimes, after ordering her to wait, if the player fast-travels many times, she will disappear, make it difficult to find her without console commands.
 * Here is a simple solution to fix this problem: "Go to Vault 22, and take the elevator to any level", all of your companions will appear by you even if they have been ordered to wait.


 * Sometimes after getting her to join you through you're connections at the brotherhood, she will just stand and not even follow you.


 * Veronica, unlike other companions does not level up with you and will begin to be slaughtered at higher levels. A fix for the PC version can be found here.


 * If you go to Hidden Valley, she may glitch and stay at the intercom which will force you to return to a earlier save. To fix this, type these commands in console: then


 * When the player first encounters Veronica, she will be completely unarmed and only carry her clothing and 3 doctor bags.


 * When you first recruit Veronica she might be holding some of the equipment you left in your room in the Lucky 38 Casino.


 * Unlike other companions Veronica will not heal herself after battles. Even if you leave her and travel with another companion she will still have her damage from her last fight.


 * When entering the Ultra-Luxe Casino Veronica's Power Fist will be confiscated and returned to the Courier upon exit of the casino. Veronica retains her 10mm Pistol in the casino.


 * She leaves both Pushy and Paladin Toaster at Gomorrah, rendering those available no more.


 * After completing 'I Could Make You Care' she may become completely passive, although still responding to the player's attempts to talk with her. The compass will have an extra quest arrow pointing at Gibson's Shack even though the quest has been completed and the map won't have a marker on the location. She won't follow the player except for through certain loading doorways, upon which she will immediately initiate direct conversation. She won't move from this spot, or attack any enemies. Even upon removing her as a companion and returning to 188 and re-enlisting her, she will still be unmoving. Possibly could have to do with the ending fight of 'I Could Make You Care'. You can also make her appear in Gibson's shack if you use the terminal to download the research notes.
 * There is an easy workaround for this. After you have been confronted by the paladins and defeated them Veronica will initiate dialogue with you twice, first commenting on the paladins attack the second time to thank you for helping her. What you must do to avoid this bug is make sure that you initiate the second dialogue with her before she does.
 * For another workaround after she has frozen, go to Gibson's Shack. Veronica will instantly appear when you enter. Use the computer and download the notes again. Walk outside and talk to her in normal dialog, tell her again what tech you will go for, and end the conversation. This seems to reset her and she will start to follow you as normal. (Verified on PC, PS3)
 * PC players can download and install this mod on FONVNexus and consume the aid item it provides, then save the game, then disable the mod to fix this bug after it has occurred. (Highly suggested to do the above, only do this if going back to Gibson's shack isn't working.)


 * If you go to Gibson's Shack and download the notes after finishing the quest 'I Could Make You Care' when you talk to her you won't be able to escape the dialogue without reverting to a previous save. There is no known fix.


 * When the player equips faction-specific armor with Veronica in their party, she will initiate conversation. She will say, "Ok, listen. The Brotherhood, they're not always the friendliest bunch. But I won't have you fighting them. This is your last chance." After that, her greetings change to the default ones, as if the player initiated the conversation with her.


 * If you don't ask her to join during your first conversation with her, it is possible that the dialogue option for her to join never appears after that.


 * When entering and exiting certain areas, Veronica may randomly die upon zoning in.


 * After speaking to Mr. House, Veronica was stuck in passive on the Casino floor. Going to Gibson's Shack did not respawn her.  However, downloading the data on the computer again, and after fast tracking to freeside she came running down the street.  Initiate the normal dialog again and she started following as normal.


 * Veronica can occasionally become stuck at The Silver Rush n front of the gun supply after she makes a comment pertaining to the quest I Could Make You Care. Upon completing three of the first requirements for her quest, she may also stand in front of Elder McNamara without saying anything.


 * As with all companions Veronica may become stuck in a location for a period of time. Example: Lucky 38, stays in Presidential Suite. She also has a tendency after Fast Traveling to run off in a random direction, until she runs into an obstacle then turns around and runs back to you. She will end up finding you later in both situations, sometimes can take several in-game days for her to return.


 * It is entirely possible to continue to have Veronica as a companion even after blowing up the Brotherhood bunker at Hidden Valley during The House Always Wins V. First, Complete the Brotherhood Quests Still in the Dark (with Elder McNamara still in power) and Eyesight to the Blind.  Somewhere during these two quests, complete 'I Could Make You Care' (Veronica's Quest) and make Veronica leave the Brotherhood (note: Follow quest to completion).  Then, join the Brotherhood of Steel, fire Veronica (send her back to the 188 Trading Outpost), and Complete 'The House Always Wins V'.  Afterwards, head back to the 188 Trading Outpost and re-recruit Veronica without penalty (possibly linked to the Faction  Reputation of Soft-Hearted Devil for following the aforementioned path).


 * After giving Veronica formal clothes or White Glove Society attire she teaches you the Scribe Counter perk. Sometimes the perk is not awarded and not shown in the perk list despite going through the dialog and accompanying screen blackout.


 * After giving Veronica her formal or White Glove Society dress you may lose the option to tell her to go to the lucky 38.


 * Veronica may occasionally start saying: "Ugh, I'm gonna need some new limbs!" over and over again, even if she isn't present at all.


 * When paying Dawes the caps to enter the NCRCF, She will randomly attack Dawes when you get in, but the Powder Gangers will not be hostile.


 * Sometimes, taking Veronica into the REPCONN Test Site offices level during the Come Fly With Me quest will cause Jason Bright to appear as hostile upon entry, and cause her to attack him without provocation. Telling her to wait outside the office entrance prevents this.

Appearances
appears in Fallout: New Vegas.