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· Caesar's Legion Overview · Cottonwood Cove is a location in the Mojave Wasteland which acts as a staging area for Caesar's Legion in Fallout: New Vegas. It is located along the Colorado River, southeast of Ranger Station Echo.
Background
Once a small resort, Cottonwood Cove was adopted by the Legion as an outpost, used for trafficking captured people to Arizona for slave processing and as a launching point for all Legion raiding operations in southern Mojave.[1] It has since become the largest single encampment of Legion forces on the western side of the Colorado River and is their foothold into Nevada, using the river to transfer troops and supplies to Fortification Hill on the east bank.[Pub 1]
When Camp Searchlight was destroyed by Vulpes Inculta, the NCR's presence in the region waned and Cottonwood Cove was established.[2] All communication to and from Cottonwood Cove is handled via ham radio. Centurion Aurelius of Phoenix is stationed here as commander. With two contubernia at his command, his forces have killed and captured over four times his own number in NCR soldiers.[3] He describes the camp's presence as modest, but adds that even though it is "a single finger of the Legion reaching across the river's narrows," his forces equate to "an iron knuckle."[2]
Publications
Layout
The Legion camp is concentrated among the former resort buildings on the edge of the bay. Legionaries patrol the area around the buildings and up to the edge of the resort, near the welcome sign adorned with heads on pikes, while Legion explorers accompanied by Legion mongrels cover the entry points.
There is a hollowed-out rock to the left of the fast travel point to Cottonwood Cove. The rock will be marked with the phrase "the sun is killing me" and is located in the path between the two crucifixes. Centurion Aurelius of Phoenix maintains his command post at the headquarters set up in the concrete building overlooking the bay, with legionaries quartered in red tents surrounding it. Most of the resort buildings are boarded off, with the exception of the mess hall. A shack set up by the overlook is used as a supply dump.
The Cottonwood Overlook overlooks the area, and contains a truck leaning over the cliffside. One can elect to dump the radioactive contents from the transport truck into the camp below, killing all occupants. This action will not deny access to the Fort. Cursor Lucullus will wear a radiation suit, and if he is otherwise dead, the Courier can take the barge independently. A Lockpick skill of 50 is required to open up the back of the truck.
Craig Boone will warn the player character on approach that he will start shooting anyone wearing Legion red. Clearing the camp out with Boone in tow advances Boone's story. Electing to nuke the Legion during Lonesome Road will activate the boat to Dry Wells at the cove.
Locations
Inhabitants
| Image | Name | Dialogue | Editor ID | Form ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Anders | VRRCAnders.txt | vRRCAnders | 001413C2 |
|
Aurelius of Phoenix | NVCCAurelius.txt | NVCCAurelius | 0012B512 |
|
Canyon Runner | NVCCCanyonRunner.txt | NVCCCanyonRunner | 0012B514 |
|
Cursor Lucullus | NVCCLucullus.txt | NVCCLucullus | 0012B515 |
|
Decanus Severus | NVCCSeverus.txt | NVCCSeverus | 0012B513 |
|
Kenny Weathers | NVCCKennyWeathers.txt | NVCCKennyWeathers | 001364C7 |
|
Legion Explorer | Legion Explorer/Dialogue | FortLegionaryExplorer nvNelsonLegionaryExplorer NVCCLegionaryGuardAAMExplorer |
001252C4, 001252C8 (The Fort) 0014EA07 (Nelson) 00135F68 (Cottonwood Cove) |
|
Mrs. Weathers | NVCCMrsWeathers.txt | NVCCMrsWeathers | 00130BB9 |
|
Sammy Weathers | NVCCSammyWeathers.txt | NVCCSammyWeathers | 001364C8 |
Loot
- Grognak the Barbarian - on the nightstand in Aurelius of Phoenix's office.
- Legion raid plans - in one of the filing cabinets in the headquarters building.
- Recompense of the Fallen and Legion patrol notes - in the desk in Aurelius of Phoenix's office.
- Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap - on a shelf inside the women's restroom.
Related quests
Notes
- When approaching Cottonwood Cove with Boone, he stops the Courier and states that it is a Legion slave camp, that he has been here before, and that he will kill everything in it. After every Legionary in the camp is killed, Boone will express disappointment that there were not more of them.
- If the Courier elects to release the radioactive waste on the area, and one already has (or subsequently obtains) the Mark of Caesar, Cursor Lucullus will still wait to ferry them up the river, but he will be wearing a radiation suit. If Lucullus has been killed, it is still possible to travel to the Fort by simply activating the raft at the end of the pier.
- If the radioactive barrels were released upon Cottonwood Cove without freeing the Weathers family, the family will be killed and the quest Left My Heart will fail.
- Although the individuals in the area are killed instantly by the radioactive waste, the subsequent radiation level in the area is very low and does not prevent anyone from entering the area afterward.
- Looting Aurelius' office will result in negative Karma.
Appearances
Cottonwood Cove appears in Fallout: New Vegas.
Behind the scenes
- Joshua Sawyer stated that the back story for Camp Searchlight was "guys carrying waste from San Onofre stop in Searchlight when war breaks out, local police tell them to park the trucks in the fire department, one takes off for Cottonwood Cove hoping to get as far away from the blast centers as possible."[Dev 1]
- Cottonwood Cove is a real world location on the Colorado River in Clark County, Nevada.
- "Romanes Eunt Domus" is painted on the side of the Cottonwood Cove HQ, a reference to the film Monty Python's Life Of Brian.
Gallery
Aerial view
Above the water
Raft at Cottonwood Cove
Sign texture file
Sign texture file
References
- ↑ The Courier: "Consider it done."
First Sergeant Astor: "What?.. Really?! You're mad, but I like it! According to the notes you gave me, all of the southern raiding parties come from that camp. Caesar regularly sends fresh squads to relieve patrols. Killing their Centurion and leadership would be a start, but finding a way to permanently shut down that dock is what we really need."
(Astor's dialogue) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Courier: "You must be the one in charge here."
Aurelius of Phoenix: "Of course I am, you fool. I am a Centurion! When Vulpes Inculta drove the NCR from Searchlight by clever means, Caesar himself ordered me to set up this camp and harass the Profligates! It's a modest presence, a single finger of the Legion reaching across the river's narrows. But with me here, it has an iron knuckle."
(Aurelius of Phoenix's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Does the Legion see much action here?"
Aurelius of Phoenix: "As much as the Profligates' cowardice will allow. They haven't found the balls to attack us here, but we catch them out on patrols. With two contubernia at my command, I've killed and captured four times my numbers."
(Aurelius of Phoenix's dialogue)
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.423-424: "[6.20] Cottonwood Cove
The largest encampment of Legion forces on the western side of the Colorado River, these Arizonan slavers have a foothold in Nevada, and use this position to bring in troops and supplies from Caesar's main base on Fortification Hill. As you approach, you can see a once-picturesque river camp, you're stopped by a Legionary explorer, who wants to know why you're here. You can: ... Soon afterword, you can pass by some crucified Wastelanders, and all are beyond help. If Side Quest: Aba Daba Honeymoon or Oh My Papa are active, one of the slaves is a man named Anders who you can rescue as part of either Quest. Now enter the camp."
(Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide/Tour of the Mojave Wasteland)
- ↑ Question "Whose idea was Searchlight? I like the backstory a lot, particularly the pre-war part."
Joshua Sawyer: "I wrote the basic high-level design documents for all major locations in the game. For Searchlight the high-level design for the back story was essentially "Guys carrying waste from San Onofre stop in Searchlight when war breaks out, local police tell them to park the trucks in the fire department, one takes off for Cottonwood Cove hoping to get as far away from the blast centers as possible." Denise McMurry did all of the actual "for real" area design for Searchlight including writing all of the logs for the area."
J.E. Sawyer on Formspring (Archived)
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