Busting the Skulz- Can't get Lars to act

[Spiffy McBang]

So I've worked over this quest, finally broke down and read a walkthrough, and discovered the two ways to beat it. But neither is working.

-Sherry keeps going into the same conversation. I suggest she takes up hobbies, and it ends on the one after that, either with me agreeing or with her getting annoyed. I can't get it past this part. Presumably this is a speech skill thing, so I'm not that concerned.

-I swiped the urn for Vinnie, took it to him, then said I had to do something before going after Neal. I went directly to Lars, but my only option was to "just say hello". I've also tried giving Neal the urn back first and destroying the hospital basement first. Lars just isn't giving the option to protect Neal. This shouldn't require stat checks, should it? He gave me the quest, he's expecting something from me, and in any case the relevant base stats are all 6, which shouldn't screw anything up.

I'm running version 1.2, so I don't think I need a patch. Any ideas for what I need to do?

 

[alec]

-Sherry keeps going into the same conversation. I suggest she takes up hobbies, and it ends on the one after that, either with me agreeing or with her getting annoyed. I can't get it past this part. Presumably this is a speech skill thing, so I'm not that concerned.

I think you have to wait a day (or longer???) before you can ask her to testify against her ex-buddies.

I did the hostage thing after talking to Sherry, and after doing that the option to have Sherry testify became available. I think that's one day (maybe two, 'cause I took the free bed for one night).

In any case: a lot can go wrong with this quest. The Skullz guy at the bar wouldn't attack the girl, but simply attacked me after conversation, so I never got a proper intro to the Skullz, eliminating the whole Steal the urn-path.

 

[Spiffy McBang]

According to the walkthroughs, you have to convince Sherry to leave the gang before you can wait a day and have the option to testify appear. I'm not even getting that far with her.

 

[Brother None]

There are some bugs involving Lars that haven't been fixed in 1.2, particularly involving the Gizmo quest. Did you - for instance - kill Gizmo without talking to Lars?

Anyway, you can always just solve this quest by turning on the Skullz. Fighting and killing them will net you the experience, but it'll be a bit tougher without the guards' help.

 

[Spiffy McBang]

Well, I went back, did it again, and it worked. I dunno what I messed up, but I'm good now. Thanks anyway.

Totally unrelated question: What can I give my groupmates that they'll make use of? I don't want to give them anything they won't use, since I'll have to trade back for it. Can they put on armor and/or new weapons, or can they only use ammo?

 

[Brother None]

Totally unrelated question: What can I give my groupmates that they'll make use of? I don't want to give them anything they won't use, since I'll have to trade back for it. Can they put on armor and/or new weapons, or can they only use ammo?

You can use steal on them if you want to circumvent trade.

You can't give them armor without the TeamX NPC patch, so only new weapons - and those only of the type they prefer (pistols/SMGs for Ian, rifles for Tycho, that kind of stuff).

Other than that, they'll only use stimpaks.

 

[alec]

I had forgotten how clumsy Ian really is. I gave him that 14mm pistol, then that Blade Runner gun, but as soon as I got a PowerFist, I had him use that. He's actually pretty good with it and it prevents him from shooting your character or other party members, which is a blessing. I'm sure Dogmeat appreciated it.

As for Tycho: give him a Sniper Rifle or - if you find it - that limited edition BB gun. He gets two shots in a turn with that one, while he only gets to shoot once with the Sniper Rifle. Two shots with LE BB gun = more damage done than one shot with Sniper Rifle. Plus: he doesn't have to reload the LE BB gun very often (I think it holds 50 bullets or more, I already forgot).

Katja: I gave her a Ripper. She's really good with it. Killed a mutant with it in only two turns. Just before another mutant opened his Minigun on her and shot her to shreds. Ah well.

I remember I once managed to keep all of them (including Dogmeat) alive till the end, but it's a burden to do so (lots of reloading, trust me). Once you get to the Military Base and/or Cathedral, it's best to just accept the fact that they won't survive. If you can't deal with the emotional loss, tell them to leave your party. Can't tell Dogmeat to shove it, though, so prepare to loose your bestest virtual friend ever...