Dog and God

"The world's always got another cage, waiting, keeping everything you want... just out of reach."

- God

"Master, where is master? Where did he go? Dog will be good this time."

- Dog

Dog is a psychologically disturbed Nightkin who helps Father Elijah by capturing "assistants" for him and fitting them with explosive collars. His alternate personality, God (referred to by the former as simply "the voice"), is trying to break Dog free of Elijah's grasp.

The "Dog" personality is activated by the sound of Father Elijah's voice, and the "God" personality is activated by the sound of his own voice (via holotape or radio). When one personality is dominant, the other is said to be in "the cage" or "the basement".

Background
Hand-picked by the Master to serve in his Nightkin army, Dog was crushed by the Master's defeat. He eventually found the Sierra Madre, where Elijah took advantage of his need for a "master" figure to enslave him, using him as a tool for bringing in potential treasure hunters and later for activating the Sierra Madre Gala Event. Dog is extremely loyal and will follow the commands issued by his master's voice to the letter, even when it puts him in danger. He also appears to suffer from some sort of eating disorder, as he will eat anything, even Ghost People, when hungry. This eventually led to him accidentally eating the explosive collar of a deceased treasure hunter, putting him in the same situation as the many victims he had dragged to the Sierra Madre. Like most Nightkin, Dog exhibits severe schizophrenia, resulting in multiple personality disorder. He hates the voice, and is willing to do anything to be rid of it, going even to the point of self-harm. Pain hurts him, but also quiets the voice, so he will go to extremes such as scarring his body and putting his arm in a bear trap in order to make it stop.

The voice – God – is very different from Dog. It is quiet, articulate, controlling, and far less pliable than its counterpart. It claims that it only wishes to help Dog, even confessing a protective brotherly affection for him and believes the best way to do that is to eliminate Elijah - only then can he help Dog overcome his hunger and need for a master. It does not care for the treasure of the Sierra Madre, and frequently comments on the Courier's perceived greed. When in control, however, it is far less adept in combat than Dog, as it is far less used to using the Nightkin body and lacks the bloodlust of its other personality.

Quests

 * Find Collar 8: "Dog": The player has to travel to the Villa Police Station and recruit Dog or God.


 * Fires in the Sky: The player has to escort Dog or God to Salida del Sol South to Trigger the Gala Event and hunt down some ghost people for Dog or God to eat.


 * Put the Beast Down: The player must confront Dog or God in the Sierra Madre Casino.

Other interactions
After recruiting Dog and watching him kill and consume one of the Ghost People, the player can talk to Dog and after going through a few speech options, Dog will give the player the Ghost Hunter perk.

Endings

 * If Dog forgets himself, so does the voice that raged within him. After their passing, a new voice speaks within the mutant's shell. It is difficult for the voice to remember the two it once was... there was the beast, Dog consumed by hunger... and the other in reverse... the one consumed by control. Both were driven by need for the other. The Courier brought them together, somehow, joined the two into one. All that happened at the Sierra Madre, is a faint memory to the new personality... like a flickering light in the clouds of the mind. The new voice does not think of the Courier again until the battle at the Divide reaches his ears. The battle between the two couriers, beneath the torn skies and the Old World flag... each bearing a message for the other. And the mutant prays that the Courier that had saved him... had been saved in return.
 * If freed of both Dog and the one who held Dog's leash, the other voice resumes control. First the mind, then finally, the mutant's shell. His first act is to tend the scars on the body with careful hands, slowly healing all the scars except the ragged name torn on his chest. He briefly thinks of remaining at the Sierra Madre. But it is a monument built by humans, representing something he no longer needs. He begins walking west, in search of others like him. As he does, he speaks of the courier who had set him free and allowed his life to begin again.
 * If Dog is free of the voice inside his head and no longer waiting on the voice of the Master, he wanders back west. His hunger never ends. Often, small communities will suddenly vanish. They are assumed to have been hit by wasteland creatures and dragged away - dogs, brahmin, and humans alike.
 * If Dog falls in the Sierra Madre casino, two die as one. Dog dies hungry, alone, frightened. The voice in his head dies with him. Screaming. Furious. Enraged. But the voice is gone, and Dog is grateful. At least Dog is dead and the voice needs to watch over him no more. In the moment before their lives end, the wall between the two personalities falls. The two become silent as they see the chain between them. Hunger and control are twin greeds, something Dog and his shadow had never realized.

Notable quotes

 * "No, you wouldn't. If you did, you won't escape this place alive. I'd shatter every one of your limbs to splinters and leave you here. "
 * "I'll prop your broken body in view of the Sierra Madre so you can see what you came to steal... forever out of reach as you die."
 * "That Pip-Boy... maybe I'll tear it off your arm, wear it around my neck."
 * ''"Where is Master? Did he go away? Dog will be good this time."
 * OM NOM NOM! (Wild Wasteland trait required)
 * Wish I had a Stealth Boy instead of this Beartrap.
 * You look like food, smell like food, Dog hungry.
 * Dog wants to go back, back to the base, or the church. Miss the church.

Inventory
Much like Lily Bowen, Dog and God are limited in the weapons they can use. These weapons are:


 * Assault carbine
 * Bumper sword
 * Frag grenade
 * Gatling laser
 * Grenade machinegun
 * Mercy
 * Heavy incinerator
 * Hunting rifle
 * Incinerator
 * Light machine gun
 * Lily's assault carbine
 * Lily's Vertibird blade
 * Lily's gauntlet
 * Minigun
 * CZ57 Avenger
 * Missile launcher
 * Annabelle
 * Nail board
 * Plasma grenade
 * Rebar club
 * Sledgehammer
 * Super sledge
 * Mean super sledge
 * Oh, Baby!

It should be noted that no weapons unique to Dead Money itself can be equipped by Dog/God.

Bugs

 * The Dialog "Who's This Old Man That Brought Us Here?", "So You're the one that knows how I got to the villa", "You Brought Me Here to the villa" and "I Want To Know More About The Man Who Brought Us Here" Do not unhighlight no matter if you talking to Dog or God
 * Sometimes, clearing out Salida del Sol North with Dog/God, he will fall through the floor and be suspended underneath it.
 * Sometimes God/Dog may be unable to heal when administered stimpaks or after combat.

Appearances
appear only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on, Dead Money.

Собака/Бог