Maria (Fallout: New Vegas)

Maria is a unique weapon in Fallout: New Vegas and the graphic novel All Roads.

Characteristics
A custom model of an M&A 9mm pistol made by M&A Guns Manufacturers, this weapon has an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a well known Catholic figure and a representation of the biblical Woman of the Apocalypse, painted on the pearl grips of the firearm. The entire body of the pistol is engraved with ivy and floral details, with a polished nickel finish. It, along with Chance's knife, was responsible for a great number of Fiend deaths in the graphic novel All Roads. It is also the gun used by Benny to shoot the Courier in the Fallout: New Vegas introduction cinematic, and as such is owned by him.

Maria is a unique variant of the 9mm pistol, that has a higher rate of fire, more damage per shot, is more accurate, and has higher durability than the standard variant. Like most unique weapons, weapon modifications cannot be used on Maria. However, like the standard 9mm pistol, Maria is also a concealable holdout weapon, so long as your Sneak skill is 50 or greater.

Durability
Maria can fire a total of about 995 rounds, the equivalent of 77 reloads, from full condition before breaking.

Variants

 * 9mm pistol - The standard 9mm found throughout the Mojave Wasteland.
 * Dean's 9mm pistol - A unique non-playable 9mm pistol used by Dean Domino. It only differs from the standard pistol in its use of companion ammunition.


 * Debug megapistol - A developmental tool that has a tremendous damage of 9999.

Location
Can only be found in 100% condition on Benny if the Courier decides to kill him either during Ring-a-Ding-Ding! or Render Unto Caesar. It may also be pickpocketed from him. However, this weapon cannot be obtained if the Courier has Benny crucified.

Two can be obtained by first pickpocketing Maria from Benny while in The Tops when you first meet him, and then obtaining another from him by several means while he is inside The Fort.

As for pickpocketing Maria from Benny inside the Tops:
 * Trying to approach Benny while under the effects of a Stealth Boy to pickpocket him will not work, as he initiates dialog regardless of your Hidden status.
 * If you choose the Black Widow approach to Benny, you will not be able to pickpocket him as he walks to his Benny's Suite (option never shows up), and will not be presented an opportunity to pickpocket him inside his Suite while he's still alive to complete the Talk About Owned challenge.
 * One way to pickpocket Maria is save beforehand, pass a 60 Speech check to talk him into going to the The Tops presidential suite without his bodyguards, and pickpocket him in the brief seconds after he walks away from his bodyguards but before he reaches the elevator. Telling your Companions to stand still in his path will give you a few more seconds to pickpocket him.  Even with 100 Stealth, this may still require a Stealth Boy to be successful.  For some reason, Benny doesn't always have Maria available in his inventory to be stolen, so it's best to save and reload until it is available.
 * Do not pickpocket The Tops Presidential Suite Key from him or he will be stuck at the elevator door and there is no way to give it back to him to make him move (it doesn't show up in your inventory). You can also attempt to pickpocket him in the Presidential Suite, but Maria may still have the same problems not showing up in his inventory.
 * You can always use Console commands to give yourself a Maria to use to complete the Talk About Owned challenge. Use "player.additem 000e7655 1" to do this, then save and restart the game to make sure you can complete the challenge.

Behind the scenes
As with the 9mm pistol, Maria is based on the real-world Browning Hi-Power pistol.