Wild Wasteland

 is a trait which only appears in Fallout: New Vegas.

''Wild Wasteland unleashes the most bizarre and silly elements of post-apocalyptic America. Not for the faint of heart or the serious of temperament.''

In an interview with Chris Avellone, he notes that the Wild Wasteland trait may add more references to older content in Fallout and Fallout 2, in regards to special encounters. Players without Wild Wasteland will find less silly analogues in places where Wild Wasteland modifies things. According to J.E. Sawyer, the trait was added as a compromise because different members of the team often suggested 'wacky' content that others thought would be out of place.

Events that are modified/triggered by Wild Wasteland are indicated. Alien-esque music (that wouldn't sound out of place in Mothership Zeta) will play for a moment. A message saying "..." will appear, and it's icon will be Vault Boy with spirals for eyes, identical to the Wild Wasteland icon.

Wild Wasteland Encounters
There are 15 random encounters associated with this trait.

--Hovering Anomaly-- Occurrence: As you close in on the area just north of Horowitz Farmstead [1.06], what looked like a Mercenary Camp from a distance turns into an extra-terrestrial landing, complete with spacecraft, and three Aliens! Defeat the Captain to take his Unique Alien Blaster.

--What Is It, Boy?-- Occurrence: Speak to Rex while you're out in the Mojave Wasteland. At some point, Rex will answer with an "aroo!" You then divine that Little Jimmy may have fallen into a well, the location of which is unlocked on your Pip-Boy's world map.

--Granny's Gang-- Occurrence: A fearsome gang of old ladies are harassing townspeople and eluding the NCR. You may be randomly assaulted by this gang, especially when exiting the Cerulean Robotics building [2C.04] in outer Freeside.

--We Named the Dog Indiana-- Occurrence: A battered fridge appears in the Mojave Wasteland; it looks like it has survived a devastating blast, but the occupant has not; the skeletal remains of an adventurer are inside, along with his hat. No snakes, thankfully.

--Getting Too Close-- Occurrence: During Side Quest: I Put a Spell on You, if you unwittingly divulge to Captain Curtis that you know a mole is using the Control Tower during the night, and then stake it out, he ambushes you there. Right before the ambush occurs, Curtis says "You're getting too close, shamus!"

--R.O.U.S.-- Occurrence: You may not think they exist, but in certain underground locations, such as the New Vegas Sewers, the Broc Flower Cave, or Vaults with peeling election posters, are rats one-and-a-half to two-times bigger than normal. These are Rodents of Unusual Size.

--Owen and Beru-- Somewhere in the deserted part of the Mojave Wasteland are two corpses. One looks to be a male human, while the other is female, lying next to each other. They look like they've been charred. Alas, there's no power converter to loot.

--Holy Hand Grenades-- Occurrence: Somewhere, in a place where two spires once shot forth skyward, is a basement with a box of Holy Hand Grenades to utilize. There is a sign on the box that reads "Holy Hand Grenades. Pull pin, count to five [scratched out]... 3, and throw."

--Romanes Eunt Domus Occurrence: Scrawled on a concrete building in Cottonwood Cove, some upstart has scrawled the graffiti "Romanes Eunt Domus." Obviously, this is improper conjugation of a long-dead language, and whoever was responsible must be crucified.

--Crusoe Sucks as an Investigator-- Occurrence: During Side Quest: Beyond the Beef, a dead investigator is discovered inside an Ulta-Luxe hotel room. Further investigation of this crime-scene reveals his name to be "Crusoe," with a shock of red hair, sunglasses and a business suit.

--The Future of Law Enforcement-- Occurrence: While listening to the Securitrons interact with the visitors to The Strip, you swore you heard one state "your move, creep." Should you frame Heck Gunderson during Side Quest: Beyond the Beef, the arresting Securitron may have no preference over Heck's life; he's still going with him.

--Stay Classy, Mr. New Vegas-- Occurrence: Mr. New Vegas sometimes introduces his music with: "You know, I tried to measure my charisma on a Vit-o-matic Vigor Tester once. The machine burst into flames." The sweet-talking doesn't end there either. He has a special news sign-off, and some home truths about the Mojave.

--The Big One-- Occurrence: Close to the Devil's Throat is a large, unexploded bomb known as The Big One. Amid the crackle of your radiation counter, you can open up the bomb, and scavenge some Energy Weapon ammunition, if you can stand the Glowing One and Super Mutant attacks.

--Johnny Five-Aces-- Occurrence: During Free Quest: Barton the Fink, you're instructed to investigate an overlook south of Goodsprings. There's a dead Prospector up here named Johnny, wearing glasses, with a glass pitcher next to him, and five aces on the table. On the cliff are four balls in a line.

--Game Over Man, Game Over!-- Occurrence: If you're listening to the NCR Emergency Radio during the final battle for Hoover Dam, among the chatter about positioning snipers and reinforcing positions, you swore you heard some Troopers getting attacked by enemies coming out of the dam walls.