“ Oh yes, raised in that tradition. And the teaching stuck. I was taught it was my responsibility to bring the torch of knowledge to the wastes. ”

Caesar, born Edward Sallow,[1] is the leader, dictator and co-founder of Caesar's Legion in 2281. Worshiped by Legionnaires as the self-proclaimed "Son of Mars," a former member of the Followers of the Apocalypse and an ex-citizen of the NCR. Since subjugating the desolate region of the Grand Canyon in 2247, he has since forged his legion from 87 tribes of the former Four States Commonwealth. The militaristic might Caesar's Legion achieved completely pacified the lands that the Legion occupied, but safe roads were only the first step to fully realizing a permanent Legion that could continue after his rule. The next great step was to expand westward and acquire a real "Rome" in the form of New Vegas that could be the base of his new empire. But, before they can continue westward, Caesar and his followers must deal with the New California Republic, a formidable military power that Caesar sees as his first worthy opponent.

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Background Edit

An educated and highly intelligent man, Caesar is infamous as the most dangerous enemy the New California Republic has faced. Inside the Legion, he is respected for his charisma as well as his brutality. These traits are the main reason such a large, sprawling organization hasn't collapsed into a slurry of small, infighting factions.

But despite the grand persona Caesar has created for himself, he also has a less graceful side. If confronted with his past mistakes, or if he feels that he is not in complete control of a situation, Caesar will reveal his true nature as that of a prideful, megalomaniacal bully with a fragile ego and a hair-trigger temper, and act out in petulant denial and anger or childish spite.

Now in 2281, Caesar looms in his field base/headquarters at Fortification Hill, waiting to cross the Colorado River to avenge his humiliation at the First Battle of Hoover Dam and finally annex New Vegas as the capital he feels his empire truly deserves. Caesar is playing his cards more cautiously this time, and will not give the order for Lanius to attack the Dam until he can unearth the contents of the vault sealed beneath his base in the Mojave. Caesar also needs to neutralize House, attempt to forge an alliance with the Boomers, Great Khans and the White Glove Society, as well as destroy the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel, and attempt to assassinate President Kimball. Two factors have halted his progress. He has a debilitating brain tumor that prevents him from fully administering to the day-to-day operations of the Legion and his interest in reports of a resourceful Courier who's ambiguous allegiance could either be a problem or, potentially, a boon to his efforts.

Early life Edit

Born in 2226 near the Boneyard as Edward Sallow, he was once a citizen of the New California Republic. Following the death of his father at the hands of raiders in 2228, his mother sought the protection of the Followers of the Apocalypse. While she worked for the Followers, cooking and cleaning in their Library, the young Edward learned how to read and started taking courses, provided by the organization free of charge.[2] Taught to bring the torch of knowledge to the wastes, Sallow was a student of uneven quality. Though he was highly intelligent, his success in scientific pursuits was only proportional to his interest in the given subject, nor was he particularly popular among his peers, due to his bad temper and narcissistic attitude. For Sallow, the Followers were never an inspiring example, their devotion to scholarship too stifling, their mission of enlightenment too naive.[3][4]

In 2246, the twenty year old Sallow was an anthropologist and linguist. To benefit from his talents, the Followers sent him east towards the Grand Canyon, on his first expedition. Accompanied by a physician named Bill Calhoun and seven others, he was tasked with learning the dialects of the tribes inhabiting the region.[5][4] On the way to the Canyon, he and his companions happened upon a cache of historical books, the most significant to Sallow were on ancient Rome; including The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and Gaius Julius Caesar's own Commentarii de Bello Gallico. He studied the books rigorously for two weeks, already inspiring him to be more but not yet aware of their coming greater significance.[4] Prior to their arrival in the Grand Canyon, they met with Joshua Graham, a Mormon missionary and a tribal specialist from New Canaan. Already an accomplished scholar of dialects, Graham was supposed to teach Sallow about the local languages. But before that could take place, the Blackfoot tribe captured the three scholars for ransom.[6] While Sallow believed the tribe did this for ransom, Graham would later attribute the change in the tribe's relationship with the party to a mistranslation.

Rise to power Edit

The tribe was a sorry sight, weak and insignificant.[6] Worse for the hostages, The Blackfoot were at war with seven other tribes; they were heavily outnumbered and Sallow recognized their defeat and subsequent demise was only a matter of time. Unwilling to sink with them, Sallow decided to take certain steps. Objections from fellow Follower Calhoun went unheard.[7] After witnessing their lack of knowledge firsthand, Sallow stepped in to teach the tribe how to properly maintain their firearms, how to properly shoot targets, and how to reload ammunition. The next step was teaching them how to manufacture explosives and drilling in small unit tactics. All based on books Caesar read as a young boy.[7] He quickly impressed them enough to the point where he was made their acting war chief. Once they were ready, Sallow led them against the Ridgers, their weakest enemy; divide et impera (divide and conquer). When the tribe refused to surrender, he ordered every man, woman, and child killed. No exceptions were made. The Blackfoot moved on under Caesar's lead, surrounding the Kaibabs tribe. Upon their refusal to surrender, Sallow took their envoy to the ruins of the Ridgers' village. The piles of corpses were a shocking sight to a tribesman who only knew tribal strife, "played at war" with the occasional raid, raping, and pillaging. This was total warfare at its most destructive and barbaric state. The concept of total warfare was an entirely new and terrifying type of conflict that the tribes had never encountered before. Such brutality would form the core of the Legion's tactics and philosophy.[8]

The Kaibabs promptly surrendered rather than suffer the same fate, then the Fredonians, then all the remaining tribes. Caesar was acutely aware that the root cause of all the problems was tribal identities, leading to internecine conflict and preventing any substantial recovery. He knew what had to be done. He had to erase all traces of tribal identities and replace them with a single, monolithic culture. A year later, in 2247,[9] when his confederation was large enough, Sallow crowned himself as Caesar, leader of the Great Tribe: the Legion.[10] He deliberately patterned it after the Roman Empire. One of the reasons was that this ancient, European culture was completely foreign, alien to the ignorant tribals he was subjugating. Caesar used the Commentarii as a blueprint―after all, which illiterate tribal would know that he was not the original Caesar, and his "Rome" was merely a copy of a civilization long gone. Second, he considered Rome's highly militarized autocracy adept at integrating conquered cultures the perfect template for a society that could adapt to the challenges of the post-apocalyptic world and thrive, institution prosperity and peace: a new Pax Romana.[11] The Legion would be a nationalist, imperialist, totalitarian, completely homogenous culture that would focus on long-term stability at all costs.[12]

He soon began putting his words into practice. Calhoun was sent away to the NCR as a messenger, and to warn them against interfering with Caesar's plans. While Calhoun was sent back to the Followers to inform them of what he was doing, the other seven members of the expedition were murdered on the self-proclaimed Emperor's orders. The newly-christened Caesar formed his Legion out of the tribes that had either been conquered or had chosen to capitulate to avoid total destruction. Joshua Graham would, however, ingrain himself in the Legion as Caesar's right-hand man and became the Legion's first Legatus, in time becoming known as the Malpais Legate.[10] In the decades that followed, the Legion secured holdings in both Utah and Colorado, while the entirety of Arizona and a sizeable portion of New Mexico were brought under its control. Tribes were forcibly assimilated into the Legion, while cities and their inhabitants lived on as subjects of the Legion.[13] Since 2250, Caesar has styled himself as the Son of Mars, divinely ordained to subjugate the world to his will, and five years later he established his first capital in the ruins of Flagstaff.[9][14] By 2274,[9] he had conquered most of the tribes of Arizona, Colorado up to Denver[15], New Mexico and eastern Utah, and became known as the "Conqueror of the 86 Tribes," whose Legion had never met any serious defeat until their confrontation with the NCR at the First Battle of Hoover Dam.

War with the NCR Edit

The Republic has the dubious distinction of being recognized by Caesar as a worthy adversary and conflict with the NCR was inevitable. For Caesar, this was more than animosity or petty hatred. He sees himself as Caesar returning from his conquest of Gaul and the NCR as the corrupt Roman Senate. A textbook example of Hegelian dialectics, where the thesis and antithesis conflict, creating a synthesis when the conflict is resolved.[16] When the Legion conquers the NCR, it will be transformed from a republic crippled by bureaucracy, corruption, and gridlock into a highly efficient military dictatorship. The Legion will become a standing army protecting all the citizens of the new empire and the absolute power of its dictator.[17][18]

Of course, the New California Republic was not willing to roll over and surrender. Following a series of skirmishes and smaller battles (most notably the destruction of Fort Aradesh out east), the Legion forced a confrontation. In 2277, the Legion faced the NCR at Hoover Dam, in what became known as the First Battle of Hoover Dam. Discovered by Ulysses, a frumentarius, the Dam was a symbolic Rubicon. At the time, Caesar's 68[19] reformed tribes under the command of the Joshua Graham marched against the NCR garrison at Hoover Dam, in an attempt to take the strategic asset and river crossing. However, Graham's elite troops were drawn into a trap laid by Chief Hanlon of the New California Republic Rangers. As General Lee Oliver's soldiers held the line, Rangers and Army sharpshooters targeted their commanders (primarily centurions and decanii), sowing chaos among the common legionaries. The Legate, unable to adapt to new strategies in combat, ordered his elite forces to punch through and pursue Rangers decimating his officers, the Rangers and 1st Recon sharpshooters executed a tactical retreat into Boulder City. Elements of the Army and Rangers kept the Legion engaged long enough to allow the most experienced legionaries to enter the city. When they did, the Republic's forces pulled out of the city. Once most of them were safe (soldiers and rangers trapped behind Legion lines had to be abandoned), they triggered explosives packed into the buildings in advance.

Chief Hanlon's plan went off without a hitch. The exploding buildings acted as giant fragmentation bombs, killing and maiming most of the legionaries and leaving the rest in a state of shock; effectively crippling their offensive. The Army and Rangers followed the detonation with a counter-attack, pushing back and eventually routing the Legion forces and forcing the Malpais Legate to retreat from the cam back to the east of the Colorado River. Flanking attacks at Camp Golf and other camps in the Mojave were similarly repulsed.[20] The Malpais Legate returned to Caesar in shame. To demonstrate that failure is not tolerated, even at the highest of ranks, Caesar ordered Graham to be burned alive. The former Legate was covered in pitch, lit on fire, and thrown into the Grand Canyon. This was the worst defeat in Legion's history.[21]

Graham was replaced by Legate Lanius, who embarked on a campaign of expansion eastward to subjugate further tribes for the Legion and gather forces for another confrontation with the Republic.[22] Over the next four years, Caesar rebuilt his army with 19 new tribes, creating the finest possible blade with which to cleave through the Republic. The Legion's increasing power was accompanied by a noticeable decline in Caesar's health. Once healthy, his face became sunken and sickly, his nature more reclusive. But the worst were the headaches, increasing in strength and frequency, affecting his ability to lead. Although they remained silent, the decline was visible to his officers, but Caesar denied these problems, lashing out at any queries.[23][24][25] The first hints of what might have been the problem appeared only a couple months prior with infrequent headaches. The headaches recurred increasingly along with blanking out mid-conversation. The most recent symptom to occur is Caesar's left leg stiffening and being only able to drag it.[26] While Caesar is untrained to diagnose himself, he's figured that he's likely suffering from a brain tumor, but defers to a professional's opinion on the diagnosis.[27]

Philosophy Edit

“ A case can be made that Caesar should have an evil (or very evil) alignment, but he also exists in a bubble that insulates him from what he's doing. Caesar does what he does because he feels that it is contributing to a better society ” Joshua Sawyer on Caesar's alignment

The bedrock of Caesar's philosophy is that service to the state is not just the highest virtue, it is the only virtue. Caesar is critical of NCR society as its leaders care not for the "greater good". This is contrary to Caesar's belief that "an individual has no value beyond his utility to the state, whether as an instrument of war, or production." He views the Great War of 2077 as a chance for humanity to start over and aims to unify humanity under one banner or eliminate them should they refuse. Reading through old world books, Caesar has gained knowledge of the old glory of Imperial Rome and has used the ignorance of his followers to claim that he is Caesar, the son of Mars, the God of War, and not Edward Sallow, former Follower of the Apocalypse.

Aside from total military defeat, Caesar's greatest fear is being exposed as a fraud. Most members of the Legion, excluding some of the most trusted ones, are oblivious to the fact that the Legion's culture is based on books about ancient Rome – they believe that all of the customs enforced by Caesar were dictated to him by Mars himself. Those who claim otherwise are viewed as ultimate blasphemes and are likely to be executed. While some of the newly captured slaves are skeptical, they don't tend to be vocal about it, and their children are taken away from their parents to be raised by Caesar's priestesses.[28] Secretly, Caesar still doesn't feel like a real Emperor of Rome – with his loose nation of savages, he still thinks of himself as merely a barbaric king of the Gauls.[28] Caesar desires two things: a Carthage, and a Rome; by seizing New Vegas, Caesar felt that he would finally be able to elevate his Legion into a legitimate nation by giving it its own "Rome" by destroying the NCR, Caesar's "Carthage" – transforming them from a nomadic army into a true empire; a militaristic, imperialist, autocratic, culturally homogeneous empire whose ruler holds undisputed power - a "Pax Romana" which would prevent humanity from ever fracturing itself again.[29]

Caesar regards the NCR as only an extension of the corruption that existed during the Old World and that it is ultimately doomed to repeat the same mistakes. He sees in it similar attributes associated with the Roman Republic before Julius Caesar seized power; extensive bureaucracy, corruption, senatorial infighting and filled with a people driven solely by greed and personal gain. It exists as the antithesis to the Legion and as a catalyst for change that only a confrontation with it can bring; a clash he sees as an inevitable product of Hegelian dialectics.[30] The conflict is a vital one, not only for the future of his Legion strategically but also philosophically; the NCR is the first of his enemies to which he is truly ideologically opposed and the first that can truly test the strength of his Legion, as well as his philosophy.

In his view, the NCR does not have a long-term solution to the problems of the Wasteland - the bombs had reset humanity's progress and he believed the time had come to rebuild it into something new.[30] He argues that NCR is weakened by its democracy, and that it was at its strongest when under the dominating rule of its second president – Tandi – whose popularity was such she remained leader of the NCR for most of her life until her death as the senate would never dare oppose her. He was taught to venerate her as a child and observes that she was ultimately more of a Queen than an elected official and that it is similar centralized power that a new civilization needs.[31] In the eyes of Caesar, the NCR that came after Tandi's presidency has been blighted with greed and widespread corruption because of the oligarchical control of politicians and brahmin barons looking out for only their interests instead of the greater good and its citizens. Caesar is simply quickening what is the inevitable, logical conclusion of the once virtuous NCR.[32]

Caesar also regards self-sacrifice as a necessary part of rebuilding civilization, as evidenced by the fact that he refuses the very notion of using the securitrons hidden inside the bunker underneath his camp. Caesar rejects allowing his Legion to advance technologically, believing that life must be kept hard and filled with sacrifice in order to strengthen humanity.[33] He has similarly kept his people ignorant of mankind's former knowledge of medical science, allowing his Legion to get by on primitive healing powders while he himself keeps an Auto-Doc in his tent for both his personal use as well as a "gift" to anyone Caesar favors.[34] Similarly, drugs and alcohol are completely forbidden from being used by legionaries,[35] so most legionaries must make do with previously mentioned healing powder, bitter drink or concocting new remedies like Hydra, all with the caveat that the pain remains.

Interactions with the player character Edit

Interactions overview Edit

Quests Edit

Effects of player's actions Edit

Other interactions Edit

After the Courier notices Caesar's headache, his ailment can be inquired about if the Courier has a Medicine skill of 40. They can talk to him and ask how long he has been limping for. If successful, he will mention that he has been suffering from it for two weeks, after which he will lie down and warn them not to disturb him again or he will have them killed. Failing the check will result in him telling the Courier to "fuck off." Ignoring his warning and attempting to speak to him again will result in Caesar becoming furious and calling on his praetorians to attack.

Caesar is one of the characters that the player character must eat in order to earn the Meat of Champions perk.

Killing Caesar Edit

If the player character manages to kill Caesar, the effects on the game are fairly minor, (although the Legion ending is largely changed), due to the fact that Caesar, as the leader of the Legion, no longer directly participates in the events.

Inventory Edit

Notes Edit

Members of the Legion pronounce Caesar's name /ˈkaizar/, a post-classical Latin pronunciation, emphasizing the diphthong. Legionaries who knew him before the Legion, as well as most other wastelanders, pronounce it as the Anglicized /ˈsiːzər/.

Whether out of hubris or blatant hypocrisy, Caesar is the only member of the Legion who doesn't speak in a formal tone or dialect at any time. Barring his occasional use of Latin and references to academic concepts and subjects, he speaks in a casual, "modern-day" dialect coupled with a sour tone and frequent swearing. Indeed, he is one of the most profane characters in the game, using numerous common profanities in many of his dialogue paths.

Caesar holds some level of respect for Aaron Kimball, calling him "a man of potential." He believes that Kimball would have been more powerful and had more control over the NCR if he had seized power, instead of being elected.

If the player character pickpockets Caesar while detected, he will automatically turn hostile and his inventory doesn't open.

If Caesar dies, his body will never disappear.

Punching or shooting Caesar's body after he dies will turn the Legion hostile.

If Caesar turns hostile, he appears to not have an "attacking expression," and will attack with an expression on his face as if he wasn't angry.

Fallout: New Vegas cut content and has not been confirmed by The following is based onand has not been confirmed by canon sources.

In Honest Hearts, there remains an unused model, although possibly used for Honest Hearts intro slides, of Caesar named NVDLC02CaesarYounger. The only difference between the model used in Fallout: New Vegas and this model is that the unused model has a comb-over.

Fallout: New Vegas cut content. End of information based on

Notable quotes Edit

" We have cities of our own, but nothing compared to Vegas. Finally, my Legion will have its Rome. " Play sound

FNV Caesar CitiesOfOurOwn.ogg

" " Oh yes, raised in that tradition. And the teaching stuck. I was taught it was my responsibility to bring the torch of knowledge to the wastes. " Play sound

FNV Caesar RaisedInThatTradition…

" " As an anthropologist and linguist, my assignment was to learn the dialects of the Grand Canyon tribes. What a fucking waste of time! " Play sound

FNV Caesar AnthropologistAndLing…

" " I showed them total warfare. Like I said, there's a lot you can learn from old books. " Play sound

FNV Caesar ShowedTotalWarfare.ogg

" " Good. In hoc signo taurus vinces. (In the sign of the bull, you will conquer.) Report to Legatus Lanius immediately - he'll brief you on the plan of battle. Come back victorious, or don't come back. " Play sound

FNV Caesar InHocSignoTaurusVince…

" "Thesis and antithesis. The Colorado River is my Rubicon. The NCR council will be eradicated, but the new synthesis will change the Legion as well... from a basically nomadic army to a standing military force that protects its citizens, and the power of its dictator." Play sound

FNV Caesar ThesisAndAntithesis.ogg " My conquest of the Mojave will be a glorious triumph, marking the transition of the Legion from a basically nomadic tribe to a genuine empire. Just as my namesake campaigned in Gaul before he crossed the Rubicon, so have I campaigned, and will cross the Colorado. " Play sound

FNV Caesar MyConquestOfTheMojave…

" "I've heard it's a bad idea to tempt the wrath of Caesar." Play sound

FNV Caesar TemptTheWrathOfCaesar…

Appearances Edit

Caesar appears only in Fallout: New Vegas but is mentioned in the add-ons Honest Hearts, Old World Blues,[37] and Lonesome Road. He was going to appear in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.

Behind the scenes Edit

John Gonzalez wrote Caesar and J.E. Sawyer asked for Caesar to present his rationale in the framework of his interpretation of Hegelian dialectics. [38]

Caesar possesses a number of parallels to his historical counterpart. For example, the historical Caesar actually suffered from a condition similar to the one depicted in-game. He had headaches, blackouts, and sometimes even seizures. In terms of appearance, Caesar is balding and has an Aquiline nose, a sign of nobility in ancient Rome. One thing of note is that Caesar is 55 years old in 2281, and the historical Julius Caesar was assassinated at the age of 56 on March 15, 44 B.C.

Metzger, the leader of the slavers guild from the Den, was initially named Caesar.

Caesar claims to be the Son of Mars and his claimed ancestor, Romulus, C. Julius Caesar claimed to be a descendant of the god Mars as well.

In a quote, Caesar refers to the Rubicon River, which the real Julius Caesar actually crossed in 49 B.C., triggering the Roman civil wars. Roman armies were forbidden from crossing it (and, as such, entering Rome itself) except for few exceptions. Therefore, having his armies cross the river was the same as a declaration of war and as such an irreversible decision, a point of no return. This reference, in combination with Caesar's plan of making Vegas the true capital of his empire, parallels the historical Caesar.

Though Caesar claims he is following the example of the Roman Empire in creating a homogeneous culture through conquest, this demonstrates he is not quite as educated on the Empire as he believes: the real Empire achieved control over many areas by requiring the populace to submit to Roman rule but honoring local customs and allowing local leaders to continue their rule as long as they took orders. Caesar's Legion is considerably more controlling than the actual Empire was, requiring much more brutal force than Rome usually exerted over its territories.[39] This is especially true seeing as historians considered this period to be that of the Roman Republic and not yet the Roman Empire (while Romans at the time always called it a Republic), and despite Julius Caesar's often imperialistic and dictatorial actions that are seen as the catalyst for the creation of the Empire, there is still doubt over his true intentions for Roman society. The previous Roman tyrant before him was Sulla, who also similarly caused a civil war by marching on Rome: Sulla instituted many reforms, then resigned after about a year and retired, disbanding his legions and establishing government once again. Julius Caesar was very popular with the lower and middle classes of society and enacted many populist reforms (including extending citizenship rights and abolishing the tax system that relied on Roman intermediaries) all the way up to his assassination by elite members of the Senate.

Developer quotes Edit

“ Can you explain the similarities between Mr. Kurtz, and Caesar? Both are men of intelligence and education who traveled from a life of relative comfort, technological wizardry, and "civilization" into a wilderness full of warring people with relatively low education and a relatively "primitive" lifestyle. Both rose to power and were essentially deified for their intelligence, knowledge and leadership capabilities. Both cut off communication with the outside world and lived in their (until now) remote, savage kingdoms, using the most brutal means possible to deal with rare instances of dissent. Both have an "unusual" way of looking at the world due to their cultural isolation. Unlike Mr. Kurtz, Caesar's reign continues for a long, long time. Unlike Mr. Kurtz, Caesar's reign continues for a long, long time. ” J.E. Sawyer

“ On a related note, at least one source of real-world inspiration for Caesar was Charles Taylor of Liberia. Charles Taylor is a real dude. For real. Go read some of the trial transcripts where his war crimes are detailed. The shit that went down in Liberia (and Sierra Leone) on his command makes F:NV's Caesar's Legion look moderately cruel. ”

“ I've never thought of Caesar's or the Legion's activities as "edgy". For their own purposes, they engage in a variety of horrible practices that others have engaged in throughout history. I'm sure individual players might want to engage in ranking atrocities -- something I've never really found was productive in discussions about history -- but Caesar and his crew in the same league as other brutal warlords. He was inspired (on our end) by people like Charles Taylor, Timur, and Simon de Montfort (the crusader). "Caesar" is a persona he adopted, but he effectively operates as a warlord with no regard for individual human lives outside of how he can use them. ”

“ RE: Caesar’s Karma being neutral: I believe at the time my rationale for that Karma setting is that Caesar is in a Mr. Kurtz-like state of unmoored morality. Whatever moral framework he had as Edward Sallow among the Followers has disintegrated after years of being Caesar. I.e., it’s not so much that his Karma is neutral as much as it is alien. That said, I don’t feel strongly about that designation and largely feel that the Karma system was vestigial in New Vegas. If we’re trying to encourage players to form their own opinions about factions and individuals, having a design layer that assigns (essentially) alignment is weird. ” src

Gallery Edit

References Edit