Decanus Severus

Decanus Severus is a decanus found in Cottonwood Cove in 2281.

Background
Severus is a Legion decanus stationed at Cottonwood Cove. Severus originally commanded the Legion outpost with a contuberium of eight legionaries, but he is now in charge of overseeing the stores of supplies for the Legion troops and commands the remaining troops along side Aurelius of Phoenix. Severus also coordinates the patrols. The primary issue these patrols face is the NCR's landmines, over their coordination or marksmanship.

Quests

 * Arizona Scavenger: The player may trade NCR dogtags to him for food, weapons, armor, or ammunition and Legion fame (after passing a Barter check of 35 with Aurelius of Phoenix who pays 10 caps per tag if the check is not passed) and also provides Legion Fame.

Other interactions

 * If you have 50 Explosives skill you can tell Severus how to disarm NCR frag mines. This will earn you experience, and +2 to Caesar's Legion fame.
 * If you have the powder charge schematics you can teach Decanus Severus to craft them for +4 to Legion fame. The schematics for building powder charges can be found in Cell block B of the NCR Correctional Facility on the first left top bunk inside the first locked cell on the left.

Trade items
Decanus Severus will trade NCR dogtags in varying amounts in exchange for certain items and differing amounts of Legion fame (see bugs).

Weapons: (Note: asking to redeem for weapons immediately removes five dogtags from the player's inventory)
 * 20-25 NCR dogtags -> 9mm SMG, +1 to Legion Fame
 * 25 NCR dogtags -> laser pistol, +1 to Legion Fame
 * 30 (25) NCR dogtags -> 10mm SMG, +1 to Legion Fame
 * 50 NCR dogtags -> Laser rifle, +1 to Legion Fame

Armor: (Note: asking to redeem for armor immediately removes five dogtags from the player's inventory)
 * 15 NCR dogtags -> Leather armor, +1 to Legion Fame
 * 20 NCR dogtags -> Leather armor, reinforced, +1 to Legion Fame

Explosives:
 * 3 NCR dogtags -> Frag grenade or dynamite, +1 to Legion Fame

Ammunition:
 * 1 NCR dogtags -> 10 rounds of .22LR, 9mm, .357, 10mm, 20 gauge, or small energy cells, +1 to Legion Fame

Food:
 * 1 NCR dogtags -> 1 random food item, +1 to Legion Fame
 * 3 NCR dogtags -> 1 random food item, +4 to Legion Fame
 * 5 NCR dogtags -> 1 random food item, +12 to Legion Fame
 * 10 NCR dogtags -> 1 random food item, no Legion Fame

Legion Fame
Due to several bugs with Severus' dialog, turning in dogtags five at a time in exchange for food will yield the most fame per tag, granting +12 Legion fame for five tags. Turning in 25 dogtags five at a time is sufficient to become Liked, 10 for Accepted and 5 for Neutral. Turning in 40 tags five at a time, followed by another 3 tags in one set of three will grant the Courier Idolized status with the Legion.

Appearances
Severus appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes
In Latin, decanus refers to a military rank of "a commander of ten soldiers", while 'severus' is translated as 'stern' or 'severe'.

Bugs

 * Many of Severus' rewards for handing in dog tags are coded incorrectly, using the function instead of the  function, and most of those passing the value of the reward to the wrong variable.  This means that several of the expected fame rewards trigger in unexpected amounts that do not match the intended "one tag, one fame point" exchange rate, such as the the option to redeem explosives granting only a +1 to fame rather than the intended +3, or all of the weapon and armor exchange options granting only one point of fame.  Conversely, two of the food redemption options grant too much fame, with the three-tag option granting +4 to Legion fame and the five-tag option granting a staggering +12 to Legion fame.  The ten-tag food redemption option grants no fame at all.
 * In addition to the above bugs, Severus' food redemption options do not give out the correct number of food items if the player turns in any more than one tag at a time.
 * Simply asking to trade dogtags for weapons or armor will immediately remove 5 dogtags from the player's inventory, effectively raising the price of all weapon and armor rewards by 5. This can even leave the player in a situation where there are no dialog options available other than "I want to trade for something else" if their dogtag count falls below the minimum necessary for any reward after the 5 are removed.
 * The option to trade for a 9mm submachine gun will become visible if the player has at least 20 NCR dogtags, but if chosen will attempt to remove 25 dogtags from their inventory. Similarly, the option to trade for a 10mm submachine gun becomes visible if the player has at least 30 NCR dogtags, but only removes 25 dogtags if the option is chosen.

Декан Север