Mr. House

Robert Edwin House is the master of the city of New Vegas in the Mojave Wasteland in the year 2281. House is responsible for the creation of Mr. New Vegas, and the founding of RobCo Industries.

Background
Born June 25th 2020, Mr. House was orphaned at an early age when his parents died in a freak accident involving lightning and an autogyro. Although he was cheated of his inheritance, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founded RobCo Industries at the age of 22, which soon became one of the most profitable corporations in the world, owing to his technical genius and economic acumen.

By 2066, his calculations and projections convinced him that within the next 15 years the world would be destroyed by nuclear war. As such, he endeavoured to ensure that his beloved Las Vegas would survive the apocalypse and that he would live to see the world after the war. To protect Vegas, he used multiple linked mainframes and an array of high powered laser cannons installed on the roof of the Lucky 38. To preserve himself, he took drastic steps. His body was permanently connected to an extremely sophisticated life support device, which would take care of his physiological needs, while his brain was wired to a giant computer. Essentially, he became a one-of-a-kind humanoid brain bot, with the Lucky 38 and an army of Securitrons for his "body".

An integral element of his plan was the platinum chip, which in reality was a combination access card and high capacity data storage device, containing a massive OS upgrade for his Securitrons and the laser defence network. The chip was to be delivered in the afternoon of October 23rd, 2077. Unfortunately, about 20 hours before it could be delivered, the Great War happened. The chip was lost and was rediscovered over 200 years later by House's men. Forced to work with an inferior version of the OS, he has suffered numerous system crashes and was even forced into a coma by one of the failures, before being able to reboot an earlier, stable version.

House regained consciousness in 2138. Biding his time, he entered the world stage once again in 2274, when Securitrons under his command emerged from Lucky 38. This action was prompted by the arrival of New California Republic scouts at Hoover Dam. In order to establish his rule, he enlisted the help of tribes living in Vegas (later known as the Three Families) and rebuilt the city just in time to welcome the arrival of the New California Republic army advance forces. In exchange for help with the Hoover Dam and permission to use the McCarran Airport as headquarters, House signed the New Vegas treaty, ensuring cooperation from NCR and, for a time, protecting The Strip from annexation.

Post-War status
He lives in the Lucky 38 and is in charge of the Securitrons that roam New Vegas. At some point after emerging from stasis, House won the leadership of Vault 21 in a bet, stripped it of all useful technology, and then planned to permanently seal the Vault away by filling it with cement. At the pleadings of Sarah Weintraub he left the top section of Vault 21 as it used to be, and she converted it into a hotel (all the casino equipment was already there from the vault experiment).

Mr. House is also extremely interested in the collectible Snow Globes found in the game, and he will pay greatly for each. The Snow Globes can be given to Jane to exchange them for 2000 caps each. Once the Courier has sold a Snow Globe to Jane it is placed on display (on a mantle) in the Lucky 38 Presidential Suite.

Mr. House is extremely physically decrepit and can only live inside a self-contained life support unit. The Courier later has the opportunity to break through his security and see his true form. However, opening his isolation chamber, even for a second, means that Mr. House will die within a year from exposure to outside contaminants.

Mr. House could be described as efficient and pragmatic. His motives are pure, though sometimes cold and ruthless. He foresees the rebuilding of humanity on the shoulders of New Vegas' economic strength (namely, the tourist economy). For instance, he boasts that he could have a man in space within 50 years; within 100 years he claims he will have colonization ships ready to find an unpolluted planet. He does not wish to be worshiped, or to rule the Wasteland, but to maintain economic control and ownership of New Vegas (specifically the Strip), and believes he can do so through his Securitron army. It's important to note that he "owns" all of the casinos on the strip and the families simply lease them from him. He sees the NCR's wealth as an asset to his plans but wishes to avoid annexation and keep Vegas independent. Anyone and anything that stands in his way will be removed, with money or force.

Interactions with the player character
Mr. House plays a major role in the game. The Courier hears a lot about him while traveling, but upon reaching New Vegas he is invited by Mr. House himself to visit him in Lucky 38. There, Mr. House gives player vital information about Benny and Platinum Chip. Also, he allows the Courier and his companions to use Lucky 38's Presidential Suite as home.

Mr. House gives the player The House Always Wins quest, which leads to one of the final quests, All or Nothing. If player chooses to complete these quests, he allies himself with Mr. House, leading him to control New Vegas by defeating Caesar and driving NCR off. In this case, player communicates with Mr. House only through the computer terminal in his office.

However, if player decides to side with NCR, Caesar, or fight for independent New Vegas, Mr. House has to be killed. In order to do so, the Courier has to locate his real body, first. It is done by activating the "forbidden" terminal on the left wall of House' office, and then unlocking an elevator which is hidden there. Mr. House will try to prevent this, though, and all the Securitrons in his office will attack. The hidden elevator will take the Courier to Mr. House's Control Room. There, Robert House's stasis chamber is located. Upon activating its terminal, House's cybernetically-augmented body is released from the chamber. He is unable to move and barely speaks, and the fact that his chamber was deactivated means he now will be dead in a year at most, as he was exposed to microorganisms. After talking to him, the Courier has several options: to kill Mr. House himself, or to sterilize his chamber using the chamber terminal. It will result in Mr. House being electrocuted. The last option is to deactivate cerebral implant, leaving him alive, but unable to control either The Lucky 38 nor his Securitrons. All options result in negative Karma, but this is considered to be the most vile of options.

Appearances
Robert House appears in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * In casino parlance, the house refers generally to the gambler's opponent, the casino itself, as in the idiom, "The house always wins."


 * "He's very much inspired by Howard Hughes," says J.E. Sawyer in the Game Informer Fallout: New Vegas preview article May 2010.


 * Jane, House's computer companion, is likely an allusion to the filmstar Jane Russell, who was under contract to Howard Hughes and also his lover for a time.


 * The appearance of Mister House in Lucky 38 Penthouse is a reference to the Wizard of Oz.


 * Mr. House's appearance and ideals of establishing a despotic Utopia resembles those of Andrew Ryan, an antagonist in BioShock. Like Mr. House, Andrew Ryan's character was also inspired by Howard Hughes.

Bugs

 * Talking to Mr. House on the start of the quest "The House Always Wins" you're given the option "Who exactly are you, Mr. House?" He will tell you his background some what and then the option for "You appear to be a computer, not a man," will open, if your medicine is high enough (35) you can choose the option "The lifespan you're claiming is impossible, except for ghouls and super mutants." Passing this will give you +35 xp. You can repeat this step as many times as necessary to level up.


 * A barter check of 50 can be accessed as many times as you want, giving you 50XP every time you do so.


 * Sometimes when you activate the terminal to access Mr. House's life support chamber, only two securitrons will become hostile. When returning to the penthouse suite from the life support chamber, no securitrons will be hostile. And in some cases, the securitrons won't attack at all.


 * If you choose to kill Mr. House using weapons instead of the life support system terminal, many of your bullets will go through his body. You also won't be able to target him in VATS. Addendum: This seems to only be a problem in some copies of the game, as other copies of the game still recognize him as a normal enemy, albeit connected to a giant tank.


 * Choosing to kill Mr. House with an energy weapon, that results in a critical hit, will cause both him, and his cryostasis chamber, to disintegrate into goo/ash.


 * If you choose to deactivate the cerebral implant from the terminal, Mr. House will remain alive, but you can still attack him. This is an easy way to complete challenges. He will never die, but you will gain kills with whatever weapon you are using.