Tabitha is the nightkin leader of the State of Utobitha and dedicated radio host at Black Mountain in 2281.
Background
In the course of her travels following the Master's downfall, Tabitha found a Mister Handy designated Rhonda, who became her constant companion and aide. Tabitha herself was responsible for saving several super mutants from suffering at human hands, including Mean Sonofabitch back in New California.[1]
The mutants eventually settled at Black Mountain under the leadership of Marcus, relying on its irradiated state to keep others, especially humans, away. Although her Stealth Boy-induced schizophrenia had been kept stable by Rhonda's presence, the Mister Handy suffered catastrophic damage somehow at Black Mountain and went into hibernation mode.[2] From there, Tabitha's mental state deteriorated over time. Marcus attempted to distract her with a journal project, however, the plan backfired when Tabitha realized the terminal she was using was part of the radio station at Black Mountain and would allow her to broadcast her own words on the airwaves.[3][4] Within a week of fixing the radio and entering the radio business, her psychosis manifested as Rhonda’s voice talking to her, along with grandiose delusions she was able to convince the less-intelligent second-generation super mutants she was a prophet.[5] Several gentle attempts to coax her out of the radio building and prevent a destabilizing of the peaceful community failed.[6]
The situation only became worse and worse. As the nightkin and second-generation mutants clashed with Marcus' group of first-generation super mutants, he found himself unable to broker a peace as he was unable to reach Tabitha in the radio station. Rather than aggravate the conflict, Marcus left with his fellow first-gens to settle and found another community, the commune of Jacobstown, in 2279, though not before he attempted to permanently damage and deactivate the radio equipment.[7][8] This left Tabitha free to implement her utopian project: The State of Utobitha, complete with its own radio station, broadcasting a rather peculiar, that is utterly insane and nonsensical radio message throughout the wasteland, once the radio transmitter wrecked by Marcus was repaired.[9]
Raul Tejada was instrumental in the revival of Tabitha's radio broadcasts. The old ghoul mechanic from Mexico was captured by the nightkin when he came to check on the inactive radio transmitter but bargained his way into serving the State of Utobitha as a repairman for any and all needs, under the constant threat of execution. Of course, Raul was always able to cleverly convince Tabitha and "Rhonda" into delaying his death by 24 hours in order to have him fix up whatever was broken at the time.[10][11][12]
With Black Mountain Radio on the air again, Tabitha began broadcasting to the ears of anyone with a radio and started a 24/7 broadcast of anti-human propaganda. Unsurprisingly, this has fully worked against Tabitha's best efforts, and it is now common opinion among Mojave wastelanders that radio static would be a better listen than Black Mountain's current block of programming.[13] Raul's repairs, however, could not fix Black Mountain Radio's former broadcast range that spanned the former state of Nevada, and thus it could only broadcast to the immediate surrounding area of the Mojave Wasteland.[14]
Interactions with the player character
Interactions overview
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
This character is involved in quests. | |
Quests
- Crazy, Crazy, Crazy: The Courier has to deal with Tabitha and her super mutants by either killing her or persuading her to stop.
Endings
Narrated by Neil
| # | Slide | Voice-over narration | In-game condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Though some super mutants and nightkin continued to journey to the legendary Utobitha, they found little trace of its existence. Some eventually found their way to Jacobstown, but many wandered off into the wastes, confused and disheartened. |
Kill Tabitha |
| 2 |  |
Tabitha and Rhonda went east, through Caesar's land. Occasionally tales of their exploits found their way back west, though few believed them. Eventually the stories concerning the duo were collected and published, and proved to be quite popular with children. |
Complete Crazy, Crazy, Crazy. Repair Tabitha's robot, Rhonda. |
| 3 | |
Black Mountain Radio continued to broadcast its peculiar form of propaganda. Raul Tejada faced his execution each day, though pardoned in the end. Travelers venturing too near Black Mountain continue to be harassed by Tabitha's followers. |
Do not approach Black Mountain. |
| 4 | |
Tabitha, enraged by Raul's escape, took the remaining nightkin of Black Mountain with her and vanished without a trace. Travelers in the region soon learned to avoid the roads at night, as caravans were repeatedly attacked by unseen assailants. |
Release Raul, do not complete Crazy, Crazy, Crazy. |
Inventory
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super sledge | Tabitha's equipment key Tabitha's room key |
Notes
- Tabitha dismissively refers to Marcus as a "first gen."[6] Lily Bowen mentions serving under her command in one of the Master's squads.[15]
- Tabitha has left a note entitled treasure hunt in the storage building on Black Mountain. The contents listed can be found throughout the room.
- If Rhonda is repaired, even though Tabitha leaves, her radio program continues to play until the player character enters her room. It is only then replaced by static.
- Her terminal in the lower level of where she is found states that she hides a key under the stairs located out the back door, which can be used to unlock her door.
- If the player character frees Raul and escapes Tabitha's ambush, Tabitha will endlessly pursue them. If the quest Crazy, Crazy, Crazy is still active, Tabitha and her movements will be visible on the map.
- Even before meeting Tabitha, the radio provides information about the events occurring at Black Mountain. At one point, Raul will slip up and almost call the "Rhonda" personality Tabitha. At another point, Tabitha will say "I still miss you, Rhonda, after all these years," when talking to Rhonda. An angry Rhonda also sounds exactly like Tabitha while yelling that humans should "stay the hell away." When fighting her, she may talk in her Rhonda voice.
- Tabitha lacks the 30% Damage Resistance possessed by most other nightkin enemies.
- She references Caesar's Legion as the "battle cattle" and the NCR as "two-headed bear people," because of their respective flags.
- "Battle Cattle" may also be referring to brahmin and that Tabitha is simply delusional about them being a threat, given that one of her rants refers to "two-head bear people astride battle cattles."
- This may also mean that the NCR was chasing the Legion towards Black Mountain and was seen by the crazy nightkin as the "Bear People" riding the "Battle Cattle."
- If Rhonda is repaired, the robot and Tabitha will walk down the mountain, taking the shortcut under the broken pylon and down the man-trapped path. They will pass through the first checkpoint, guarded by a hostile super mutant, and will disappear at the point where the road turns towards Neil's shack.
- Her glasses and "head of true hair" cannot be looted upon her death.
- If the player attempts to initiate conversation with Tabitha when she is leaving Black Mountain with Rhonda, she will simply reply: “I don't even remember where we were going, but It'll be good to travel around with Rhonda again.”
Notable quotes
- "I guess it's time we talked about the dumb-dumbs."
- "Do you remember the good old days where the Master ruled over us all?"
- "This is not acceptable. No self-respecting soldier of Utobitha should ever be seen running like a scared little human."
- "That's right! I, Tabitha, will take on the burden of your obedience!"
- "You heard her, Utobitha! Beware the battle cattle, but don't *fear* the battle cattle. More after this!"
Appearances
Tabitha appears in Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.
Behind the scenes
- Tabitha was written by area designer Jesse Farrell, who worked on much of the content at Black Mountain and the quest Crazy, Crazy, Crazy.[Non-game 2][Non-game 3]
- According to Mikey Dowling, before recording dialogue for Tabitha and Rhonda, voice actor Fred Tatasciore silently read through the entire script once before declaring that he was ready. He then read the script from top to bottom, "effortlessly" flowing in and out of both characters, making it one of Obsidian's favorite recording sessions.[Non-game 4]
- Before the game's release, an article in Official Xbox Magazine suggested that Tabitha was a male pretending to be a woman out of insanity.[Non-game 5] Joshua Sawyer stated that both Tabitha and Lily Bowen used to be human women.[Non-game 1]
Bugs
If the Courier follows the duo, they may run into an invisible nightkin that is hostile to the Courier, causing both Rhonda and Tabitha to become hostile as well.[Non-game 6][verified]
Gallery
References
- ↑ The Courier: "Do you know how he got away from the NCR?"
Klamath Bob: "Turned out some of them 'Night Kids' - whatever you call those sneaky Super Mutant types - got in and busted him out. I guess somebody named 'Tabitha' led the bunch that freed him. Don't know much more than that."
(Klamath Bob's dialogue) - ↑ Rhonda: "Thank you very much. My internal clock says it's been 6 years, 52 days, 40 minutes, and 13 seconds since I last spoke to her. I hope she hasn't gotten lonely."
(Rhonda's dialogue) - ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; terminal, Marcus made me type this!
- ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; terminal, It's a radio station!
- ↑ The Courier: "How did Tabitha end up in control?"
Neil: "For years, Black Mountain was a peaceful community. Its leader, Marcus, broadcast an invitation to Mutants throughout the wasteland. That's how I found Black Mountain. So did others, most of them second generation Mutants. Marcus welcomed everyone - that was his mistake. The community ended up being mostly second gen - not very bright, but easy to influence. Fine, until the Nightkin came along, led by Tabitha... In a week she had most of the second-gens thinking she was some kind of prophet - and that she should be broadcasting her 'truth,' not Marcus. Marcus saw what was coming and decided to leave before things got out of hand. He smashed the radio and left to found Jacobstown."
(Neil's dialogue) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 Black Mountain terminal entries; terminal, On the air!
- ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; terminal, The elite!
- ↑ The Courier: "What makes this a 'dangerous place?'"
Neil: "You must've heard her radio broadcasts? Though why a human would follow her invitation here is beyond me... unless you didn't listen very closely. The voice on the radio belongs to Tabitha, the 'supreme commander' of Black Mountain - or, as she calls it, the 'State of Utobitha.' She took control of this place almost two years ago. The Super Mutants here do whatever she says - and she says humans are to be killed on sight."
(Neil's dialogue) - ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; terminal, Alone at last!
- ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; terminal, Safe!
- ↑ Black Mountain terminal entries; terminal, Lucky!
- ↑ The Courier: "You say Marcus smashed the radio. Not very well, apparently?"
Neil: "Heh. There's a sad story behind that. Marcus smashed it just fine, but while we were gone some Ghoul named Raul came along. Tabitha turned him into her personal mechanic. A slave, really. See, if I'd been standing down here, I could've warned him before it was too late."
(Neil's dialogue) - ↑ Mr. New Vegas: "Listeners have been unable to pick up radio broadcasts from Black Mountain recently. Most are calling the static, quote, a welcome improvement."
(Mr. New Vegas' dialogue) - ↑ In-game radio reach
- ↑ The Courier: "Earlier, it seemed like you knew Tabitha. What's the story there?"
Lily Bowen: "Tabitha was grandma's squad leader when we both worked for the Master. She wasn't very nice at all, but she was good at the chopping. Almost as good as Leo...."
(Lily's dialogue)
Non-game
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Joshua Sawyer on Something Awful: "Lily and Tabitha were human women before they were super mutants."
- ↑ Question: "Who designed Crazy, Crazy, Crazy? It was a pretty simple but well-designed quest, with some of the most fun combat of the game."
Joshua Sawyer: "Jesse Farrell"
(Joshua Sawyer Formspring posts/2010) - ↑ Q&A session with Josh Sawyer during a live charity stream. (reference begins at 8:27:31)
- ↑ Q&A session with Josh Sawyer during a live charity stream. (reference begins at 8:27:56)
- ↑ Official Xbox Magazine, April 2010, p. 56-57
- ↑ Gameplay footage of the invisible nightkin causing the duo to become hostile
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