Three-Card Bounty

Three-Card Bounty is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Overview
Major Dhatri has been running into some problems with the raider gang known as the Fiends, who are terrorizing the whole area outside Camp McCarran. The Fiends have three known leaders: Violet, Cook-Cook, and Driver Nephi. They are recognized around the area to have killed many NCR troopers from the camp; those they did not kill, they left traumatized. Dhatri wishes for them to be assassinated, so that he can put a major dent on the Fiends' leadership and morale.

Walkthrough
Once the Courier offers help, they are tasked by Major Dhatri to assassinate the three Fiend leaders operating around the South Vegas ruins. Dhatri will advise against headshots, since he needs the bounties' heads as proof of their deaths. As a result, the full reward is only given for an intact head.

The heads will only be mangled if crippled by a gunshot. If they get crippled by melee or explosives they will still count as intact.

Cook-Cook
Cook-Cook is the closest of the bounties to the airport, located just north of the South Vegas Ruins West Entrance in a makeshift camp built out of a broken-down building. He is surrounded by four to eight Fiends gang members, and a small brahmin herd. Cook-Cook himself is distinguished by his use of metal armor and an incinerator as well as a flamer.

Little Buster, a soon-to-be-retired bounty hunter found in McCarran, has been known to scout Cook-Cook. If you talk to him, he will reveal to you that Cook-Cook has a brahmin pet named Queenie, and that killing it can make him careless.

Once you acquire Cook-Cook's head, turn it in to Dhatri for your reward. Additional rewards can be gained later by speaking to 1st Recon sniper Corporal Betsy at McCarran and Pretty Sarah in Westside (in the Casa Madrid Apartments), who will reward you for your "service to humanity".

Violet
Unlike other Fiends, Violet doesn't have Fiend henchmen; instead, she has vicious guard dogs. Her camp is due south of the Poseidon Gas Station, which is a short distance southwest of Cook-Cook's camp. Her camp is built on top of an abandoned trailer park, allowing both Violet, who will herself stand on the first floor of the middle structure, and her dogs to see you from a fair distance. The number of dogs may vary.

Violet is dressed in standard raider armor, and almost has the same amount of health as standard Fiend raiders. She is armed with a hunting rifle, and is fairly accurate with it.

Once you have her head, collect your bounty from Major Dhatri.

Driver Nephi
Driver Nephi is the farthest away of the three, located northwest of the Samson Rock Crushing Plant. He will be guarded by some unfriendly Fiends, usually more than Cook-Cook would have. Like Violet, Driver Nephi is not particularly tough because he wears raider armor and is armed with a melee weapon. However, Nephi's skill with his namesake golf club is considerable.

Prior to this portion of the quest, you are given the chance to assemble the sniper team known as 1st Recon at the Samson Rock Crushing Plant. They will take up position at the plant, and will fire upon Nephi if you lure him into range. Merely assembling them is enough to get a 300-cap bonus, even if you don't let them take a shot at Nephi. They tend to kill with headshots, so they may prevent you from getting the full reward if hired. There will be a minefield of 5 fragmines set along their path to the plant.

Apart from Lieutenant Gorobets each of the team's members have alternating dialogue depending on whether he or she gets in the killing shot. See notes below.

Upon completing this portion of the quest, claim your bounty from Major Dhatri.

Conclusion
Major Dhatri, with all the major Fiend leaders gone, will express his relief and thank the Courier heavily, for undertaking a task that seemed nearly impossible.

As a result of not needing any more manpower to keep the Fiends in check, Dhatri will move the entire 1st Recon to Camp Forlorn Hope.

Journal entries
* The assassinations can be performed in any order, which will change the order of the journal entries.

Behind the scenes
The title of this quest is a play on the name of the confidence game, Three-card Monte.

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