Sammy met Phillip Lem. Lem was the Ying to Samuel Cooke's Yang and was the second most influential figure of the Vault 19 Powder Gangers besides Cooke. Lem and a small group of the convicts did not like Cooke's plan of waging a war with the NCR. They simply didn't have enough manpower and it would just be downright suicidal. Lem offered Sammy an alternative to Cooke's original task. The task was to blow up the sulfur altogether so Cooke's influence would be diminished. Sammy felt Lem was more logical, calm, collected, and wasn't a prideful dick like Cooke, so he took his side. Sammy wasn't skilled in explosives, but Jorge was. They planted the C4 and ran as fast they can out of there. Cooke was pissed beyond belief, but Sammy felt he would get over it eventually. Lem was relieved and grateful for what Sammy did. Lem's next move was to have him and the rest of the Vault 19 convicts surrender to the NCR. Sammy offered him, Cooke, and the rest of the vault convicts an alternative where he can help them join the Great Khans. Lem liked the idea and awaited the response from Papa Khan. Sammy told Papa Khan his proposal and through some detailing of the convict's skills--Papa accepted them as initiates who would have to pass the initiation rite. Lem was told the good news and thanked Sammy for his help.

WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS:

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A few days passed, the vault 19 convicts were at Red Rock Canyon to await their initiations. Cooke passed with ease. He only got a broken tooth, a few bruises, and a busted lip. Lem barely passed. He came out with a two broken fingers, quite a few bruises, and his now broken glasses. A huge majority of the vault convicts passed, too, with only a few failing the initiation. The few that did not pass either went back the NCRCF, looked for other PG camps or went back out into the wasteland to begin anew.

Cooke, now more calm and collected than before(as Sammy predicted), thanked Sammy for giving them an alternative to getting out of the vault. Now that Cooke was a Great Khan, he gave Sammy his combat armor since he didn't need it anymore. The armor offered Sammy a lot more protection than his usual get-up. One of the convicts gave Sammy a helmet and mask that they scavenged off of a dead prospector when they were traveling to Vault 19. The helmet and mask enhanced his senses and gave him better protection.

NEW FIT:

Because of his skills as a planner(NCRCF Prison Break), Regis and Papa placed Cooke as a handler of the logistics of the tribe. He wasn't made an adviser yet due to him still being a fresh member and having a pretty bad temper. Lem was assigned as a drug runner due to him being pretty agile and being very good at stealth. Most of the accepted convicts manufactured explosives ranging from basics like dynamite and pipe bombs to more advanced explosives like C4 and makeshift landmines.

This one is pretty short compared to the others. I have somewhere to go today and need some rest.

Ash makes his way into and through the inside of the Sierra Madre. Dean and Ash are unable to reconcile their differences. Despite every attempt to find a peaceful solution, Dean attacks and thus Ash is forced to put the old ghoul down.

Ash has better luck with the mutant and Christine--both of whom he feels were genuinely improved thanks to their interactions. The fact that their heads were not blown off was not the least of their betterments.

Let Go, Begin Again:

Once he is able to return to the Mojave, Ash feels compelled to tie up some loose ends. He also stops by the New Vegas Medical clinic. Ash had heard the Followers had recently renovated the area and he was pleasantly surprised with their progress.

Spoiler:

Hey everyone, I might not be able to post until the 25th of this month. Got a few problems with my PC and sent it out to get fixed. It’s a pretty easy problem that can be resolved, nothing detrimental that would stop me from participating altogether.

@dantaefetticus
Well hopefully it isn't something big. Computer problems are a big pain. Best of luck to you!

Officially, Ash's time in the Mojave has come to an end. Unofficially, I have installed CAGE so that his exploits can continue. Ash has many roads left untraveled, including the one he must travel alone.

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Having received word that the Legion was readying their troops for attack, Ash scrambles to help prepare House's armies. Arcade, the doctor he had met in Freeside, told Ash about a group of Remnants that could help turn the tide at the Dam. Ash and Arcade assemble these old-timers and take the Dam for House.

Day turns into night as the war rages. Using superior positioning and planning, Ash and House are able to end tensions between the Legion and the NCR without the deaths of either the Legate or General Oliver. Will this lead to trouble down the line? It seems unlikely as House and his armies establish themselves as the dominant force in the area while the NCR and Legion had weakened one another.

An End, and A Beginning:

In my last shots I changed to an ENB that tru3th made. Doesn't have a name as far as I know but I am liking the way it looks quite a bit. Oh and @dragbody , is there some way I might be able to contact you? I understand if you are busy.

Now that Benny has been dealt with, Jace doesn't really have anything to do. However, he did remember a man named Steve that was trying to build the Bison Steve Hotel to its original glory. Jace went to steve and was tasked to go to a few places for supplies. When exiting the Tops, Jace was greeted by Vulpes. The Legion snake from Nipton.

Bison Hotel:

The King had a dog that seemed to be suffering from an illness. Jace went to talk to the King about Rex and he seems to have something wrong with his brain. Julie told Jace that Doctor Henry in Jacobstown could help out with this. So, Jace was headed off to Jacobstown. Once there, Henry needed some help with the mutants. Since Henry cured Rex, Jace helped with the muties.

Welcome to Jacobstown:

Rex is cured and Jace decided to return to Vegas. An NCR trooper approached Jace with a message. In the message was an ambassador saying he wished to speak to Jace. Jace spoke to him and wants to form an alliance with the "Boomers" in Nellis.

Boomers Go Boom:

Act 2, Operation Anchorage

Liberation Of Anchorage:

After finishing the Enclave simulation, Rhys was woke by Protector McGraw, the Brotherhood Outcast who was the running the operation. He knew what he had to do. He walked to the locked vault and opened it with the terminal, revealing a pristine set of Winterized T-51b Power Armor and countless other relics, such as Jingwei's sword and the Gauss Rifle. Lucky he may have been to survive the simulation, but he couldn't have been lucky enough to reach his father in time.

Behind him it seemed that McGraw and Sibley were in an argument on whether they should let him keep what was inside the vault. By the time he had stepped into the armour, a firefight initiated between those who were loyal to McGraw and the other outcasts. Needless to say, McGraw was shot and killed, and it left Rhys to storm through brute-like killing anything that dared to aim at him. All that was left was a vast pool of blood, and the wanderer in Power Armour standing over all that remained.

Act 2, Part 1: Return to 101






Walking through the bailey of the Citadel, the heat was unbearable, as were the physical and emotional scars. All that wandering, all the situations he had survived, for what? Was it all worth it? He had pondered on this question, but seemed to reach no conclusion. All he knew was, is that Project Purity must continue. That his father's legacy would not fall victim to the remains of a dead government. 

The pre-war Vault terminals the Brotherhood had inside the Citadel, had directed him towards Vault 87 in the search of a Garden Of Eden Creation Kit for Project Purity. Vault 87 was far west, so Rhys had been delaying and procrastinating on the task. It's unlikely the Enclave would find Vault 87, or at least he hoped.

The Citadel wasn't much of a home. He had much preferred his old Tenpenny Suite or his room back in the Vault, and so he set off to wander back to Tenpenny Tower to recover his possessions and possibly receive some smiles and compliments for integrating the ghouls. 

He had tried to ignore the ruins of Megaton. It had reminded him of the monster he is, the villain he had become. To further escape the realty of what he had done, he brought up his pipboy to tune into GNR, and that's when he had saw it. A frequency from the Vault. What could it be? Curious, he tuned it in.

"This is an automated distress message from Vault-Tec: Vault 101. Message begins: It feels like you left home a long time ago, but I know you're still out there. I just hope you're still alive to hear this. Things got worse after you left. My father's gone mad with power. If you can hear this, please stop looking for your dad and help stop mine. I changed the door password to my name. If you're hearing this, and if you still care enough to help me, you should remember it."

It was Amata's voice. He had thought about Amata, all the memories of her when they were children, how they used to talk endlessly about Grognak the Barbarian, the Silver Shroud and the Astoundingly Awesome Tales, his tenth birthday party and even the time where he threw a firecracker in his Dad's toilet while they watch and laughed. If they had laid a hand on her, he was willing to tear it off.

Hastily he ran to the Vault door, and entered Amata's name. The Vault door had opened, letting him walk in. Checking every corner to make sure it wasn't an ambush by the Overseer, it was unlikely, but a possibility, given the Overseer's nature. 

Trouble On The Homefront:

Just looking at the state of the Vault he something had to be done, but was unsure of what should be done. Were the rebels actually planning to open the Vault? After all the horror he had experienced and the current rising hostilities between the BoS and the Enclave, he was left feeling sympathy for the difficult decisions the Overseer has to make. It didn't justify why he had to kill Jonas and attempt to kill Rhys, but he now realised that the Overseer was just overly protective. He never wanted to kill the Overseer and leave Amata without a father as he was, but this just made it easier for him to persuade the overseer to step down and let Amata open the Vault. He knew the Vault was doomed if it stayed secluded from the outside. It was a risk he was willing to take.

Trouble on the Homefront:

"Goodbye, Amata." 

Reluctantly, he walks out of Vault 101 after being outcasted by Amata. He had understood her decision, but he had lost his home, the vault he grew up in. The happiness he felt seeing Amata and the residents still alive, was short-lived and meaningless. He had saved them, but they just didn't know it yet. There was no hope with him safely returning now, not with his father, not ever.

He had made it back to Tenpenny Tower finally. Now he could catch some rest after a long walk back. After entering, he noticed just how empty the reception areas was. This was not right, the only people he saw now were ghouls, no Herbert Daring" Dashwood, no Chief Gustavo, there weren't even the security guards anywhere to be seen, just ghouls. Curious, he asked Michael Masters and Bessie Lynn, the ghouls that followed Roy about the rapid influx of ghouls and the lack of humans. He checked the basement, which horrified him enough to kill everyone inside Tenpenny Tower as revenge. He thought he could resolve the situation fairly, but instead everyone was killed by the ghouls. He would not let them get away with this. What had he done?

Tenpenny Slaughter:

Exploration:

EDIT: Corrections have been made since I'm retarded lol.

Gonna be a little slow on the post, just a heads up. Oh and if anyone happens to have experience rigging models let me know. I could really use some help.

Veronica mentioned she needed to go back to her family in Hidden Valley. Jace took her back home. He remembers picking up some holodisks on some dead Paladins in the waste but didn't think anything of it. Spoke to some important figures in the bunker.

Ad Victoriam:

Veronica needed a way to convince McNamara that he wasn't as safe as he thought. There was a terminal near Novac that had the answers. After the meeting with McNamara, Jace met Head Paladin Hardin. Someone who wants to kick McNamara out of power. Jace was intrigued and decided to help. ED-E had some strange logs that played and Arcade opened up a little bit. Jace also met some more members in the other level of the bunker. Head Paladin Hardin is now Elder due to the help of Jace. Maybe he will consider an alliance with the NCR.

Power No Longer:

With the conflict over Hoover Dam settled, Ash and his friends are able to focus attention on less pressing matters. Bradley--a merc Ash met in his travels--and Boone travel with Ash through Vaults 11 and 21.

The NCR holds distrust for Ash after his betrayal at Hoover Dam, but they dare not strike against the loyal agent of House. For his part, Ash sets about helping the NCR prepare for the inevitability of future conflict with the Legion. Though New Vegas and the Dam are controlled by House, the waters of the Colorado run long and divide the warring factions no less than before. The landscape may have changed and the points of conflict may have changed, but war... war never changes.

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Oh man, it looks like you guys had a blast with this one; I've been (shamefully) lurking around to check out your stories, and they were awesome

Great shots too, all your games look visually stunning - I wish I could have gotten involved

Unfortunately real life got real busy at the most unfortunate time so I had to give a miss, but thanks for sharing your stories and pictures, it's great to get an insight into how other gamers play their game and the styles that come along with them!

@Lucianhector It would’ve been sweet to have you along for the ride! But real life matters are very much important and we should all make it a point of duty to handle those matters— so ultimately you made the right decision. Hopefully next time you’ll join with no problems.

Nath Rakh was able to track down the guy who had the thing they were looking for, but the mission has the new meaning. Greed for blood, the hunt and hatred against humanity, Nath Rakh does not want to leave anyone alive who he meets. With new weaponry, Nath Rakh feels more powerful than before. Even the man himself, Mr House, met his fate.

Nath Rakh meets the same guy again who he met at Nipton, Vulpes. He tells that this guy called Caesar wants to meet him. Maby he can offer some challenge.

Journey.:

Welcome to Freeside:

The House:

Ash does some egg hunting and some flesh hunting...

Spoiler:

Jace was tasked to deal with The Kings in Freeside. There has been a feud between The Kings and the NCR. While Jace was trying to make peace, a shootout between the two began. At this point the King decided to make a truce and help.

King VS. NCR:

Now that all that is settled, Colonel Moore wants to speak to Jace. He needed to head over to Hoover Dam for his next assignment. Jace is ordered to deal with the Great Khans.

Bigger Problems:

Hi everyone, I got some good news, and some bad news. The good news is that I got my computer up and running again! The bad news is that I'm not gonna be able to continue on with the playthrough since the last days of January are gonna be pretty busy for me. I might be able to squeeze some time for one last set, but the schedule is looking pretty stuffed right now. I just wanna say thank you to Drag for giving everyone the opportunity to have an actual playthrough again and not go on and off just for mod testing and all that jazz. I also want to say a great job to everybody who participated. Your stories were very interesting and I really saw your creative juices flowing throughout the sessions. I hope that the 2019 community playthrough will be 10x as fun as this one.

Now, this is all the shots I have so far. I'm not gonna get all in-depth since I'm pretty tired and wanna take a nap. I'm just gonna give a brief rundown of what I did.

Sammy did some more errands for Rivas, told Yes Man that the Great Khans are alright, and got some more progress done on the New New Bison Steve.

ERRANDS:

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Sammy went to the Old Mormon Fort to get some work done. While he was there, he met a peculiar fella who was tall and had some thick lenses.

ANGELS:

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Sammy got another job from Rivas to kill a Brotherhood of Steel jackass Since he killed a member of the tribe.

BOS DUMBASS:

That's all folks! I wanted to get at least one DLC done for this playthrough, but I guess that's not gonna happen. Sorry for the pretty rushed set. I am just tired right now.

finally, I'm in the part where it is before lol I lost too much time  

im back+ 4 amigos:

This is going to probably be a longer one. I wanted to finish the game during the weekend, would be the only free time I had. I still had a few things to do with the NCR to get to the end so there is quite a bit. Anyways, thank you @dragbody for setting up the 2018 playthrough. It was a really good thing and it actually forced me to play the game. Great job on everyone's stories.

Jace went out to Red Rock Canyon to talk to the Great Khans. Apparently, the Legion already sent one of their representatives named Karl. The Great Khans already had an alliance with the Legion but Jace was about to change that and form an alliance with the NCR. Though in order for Papa Khan to change his mind on the Legion, Jace had to go to The Fort to find evidence.

Remember Bitter Springs:

After dealing with the Khans, Jace returned back to Colonel Moore. She had another job. This time it was to end Mr.House. There have been rumors that Mr.House would attack during the Battle of Hoover Dam and it wouldn't be to help either side. Jace made quick work of Mr.House though.

House's Card Have Fallen:

Once again, Jace returned to Moore with the job done. He was tasked to deal with the Brotherhood of Steel. Though since Hardin is the new Elder he may want an alliance. When leaving Hoover Dam, Arcade spoke to Jace and telling him the truth. Arcade was part of the Enclave and wanted to get the remnants back to help on the battle.

America's Remnants :

President Kimball is due to arrive shortly. Jace was asked to be on high alert. An assassin was in a sniper tower but was taken out quickly. The President is now safe and General Oliver has arrived at the Dam. The Second Battle of Hoover Dam was about to start and Jace and his crew was ready for what was to come. Everyone Jace had an alliance with showed up and aided the NCR for a swift victory.

The Second Battle of Hoover Dam:

Thanks again everyone! Was really fun. The fact that I completed the game felt really weird. I am so use to the whole mod but no play thing but this time I actually played the game and it was nice.

It looks like a lot of us are wrapping our playthroughs up. It also looks like we all had a lot of fun! I learned a lot about myself and others through this little community event and I'm glad we did it.

QUESTION: Would you all rather our next community playthrough be Jan 2019, or summer of this year? Maybe folks won't get so distracted during the summer months.

At any rate, Ash's adventures will continue. He's already determined who will hold Hoover Dam for years to come, but there are still so many adventures to be experienced in the Mojave and the Capital Wasteland. To that end, here are a few pictures of Ash as he sees the Capital Wasteland for the first time...

Spoiler:

I think a summer playthrough would be good. Possibly a fall one as well? If the playthroughs are to played through the month then I would see that working well.

@dragbody A summer playthrough would be cool! I actually have an idea of what it could be. Do you want me to PM you about it or just lay it out right here?