Walk into Freeside for the first time and you’ll probably think you’ve stepped into a weird, post-apocalyptic fever dream of 1950s Americana. It’s loud. It’s colorful. There’s a guy standing on a stage imitating a man he calls "The King," and honestly, the whole vibe is just strange compared to the grim reality of the Mojave Wasteland. But if you look past the pompadours and the leather jackets, Fallout New Vegas The Kings represent something much deeper than just a gang of Elvis impersonators. They are the closest thing Freeside has to a soul.
They aren't just cosplayers. They are a community defense force.
Most players stumble into the King's School of Impersonation because they need a favor or they’re following the main questline toward the Strip. You meet Pacer, the aggressive second-in-command who clearly has a chip on his shoulder, and eventually, you meet the man himself. The King sits on his throne with a cybernetic dog named Rex at his side, radiating a kind of cool that feels entirely out of place in a world filled with Radscorpions and Cazadores. What’s fascinating is that they don’t even know who Elvis Presley was. They found a building, saw the imagery, and decided that this "King" was a god of style and dignity. They adopted his persona not out of irony, but out of a genuine desire to be better than the scavengers and thugs surrounding them. It’s a classic Obsidian Entertainment touch—taking something ridiculous and making it feel grounded and essential to the lore.
The Politics of Freeside and The Kings
The tension in Freeside is thick. You’ve got the New California Republic (NCR) trying to feed refugees, but doing it in a way that feels like a slap in the face to the locals. Then you’ve got the locals, led by The Kings, who feel like their home is being colonized by a foreign power that doesn’t actually care about them. It’s a messy, grey-area conflict.
The King—whose real name is Beau, though he never uses it—is basically a libertarian warlord with a heart of gold. He wants order, but he wants it on his terms. When you start the quest "G.I. Blues," you’re essentially acting as a private investigator for him. He wants to know why the NCR is acting so shifty. Is it because they’re planning an invasion? Or is it just the usual bureaucratic incompetence?
As you dig deeper, you realize the NCR isn't necessarily the villain here, but they are definitely the "clumsy giant." They set up a relief center, but they only feed NCR citizens. Imagine living in a slum and watching soldiers hand out clean water and hot meals to everyone except the people who actually live there. It’s a recipe for a riot. Pacer, being the hothead he is, starts taking potshots at NCR soldiers, and suddenly, you’re caught in the middle of a proxy war. If you play your cards right, you can actually broker a peace treaty between the two groups. If you mess up, or if you listen to Colonel Moore later in the game, you might end up wiping out the entire faction.
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It’s one of those moments where Fallout: New Vegas forces you to consider the cost of progress. If the NCR takes over, Freeside gets "civilized," but it loses its identity. The Kings are the identity. Without them, Freeside is just another slum under the thumb of a government that’s stretched way too thin.
Rex: More Than Just a Robot Dog
You can’t talk about The Kings without talking about Rex. He’s a Cyberdog, Model number B955883, and he’s been around since before the bombs dropped—specifically, he served with the Denver Police Department. By the time you find him, his brain is literally rotting. The King loves that dog more than just about anything else, which says a lot about his character. He’s willing to let you take his best friend across the wasteland just to find a way to save him.
This side quest, "Nothin' But a Hound Dog," takes you all the way to Jacobstown to meet Dr. Henry. It’s a great piece of world-building because it connects the urban chaos of Freeside to the isolation of the mutant settlement in the mountains. You have choices here. You can give Rex a New Canaanite brain (from a dog named Rey), a Fiend’s dog brain (Violetta), or an NCR guard dog’s brain (Lupa). Each choice changes Rex's stats and his ending slide.
- Rey’s Brain: Increases Rex’s attack power.
- Violetta’s Brain: Increases Rex’s movement speed.
- Lupa’s Brain: Increases Rex’s damage resistance.
It’s a small detail, but it reflects the larger themes of the game: What are you willing to sacrifice for survival? Are you okay with overwriting a creature's personality just to keep its body moving? The King trusts you with this, and it’s one of the few times in the game where you feel like you’re doing something purely "good" for a character who isn't asking for power or money.
Why The Kings Matter for Your Build
If you’re playing a high-Charisma or "diplomat" style character, the Kings are your best friends. Having them on your side makes navigating Freeside significantly easier. If you complete their quests successfully, you get a "favor." You can use this to get a passport into the Strip (saving you 2,000 caps), or you can ask for membership in the gang.
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Joining them is honestly the best path. They give you a customized outfit—The King's Outfit—which provides a nice boost to Charisma and Speech. Plus, you get access to their barber, Sergio, which is one of the only ways to change your hairstyle in the game. It sounds superficial, but in a role-playing game, that kind of flavor is everything.
The Tragedy of Pacer
Pacer is often the "villain" of the Freeside chapters, but he’s worth a second look. He’s suffering from a heart condition—likely from too much Jet or just the stress of trying to keep Freeside together. He sees the NCR as an existential threat. And frankly? He’s not entirely wrong. History in the Fallout universe shows that when the NCR moves in, they eventually tax the locals into poverty or force them out to make room for big business.
Pacer’s aggression is a defense mechanism. He’s the "bad cop" to The King’s "good cop." If you kill him during "G.I. Blues" (which you can do sneakily by messing with his heart medication), you solve the immediate problem of the NCR conflict, but you leave The King without his right-hand man. It’s a hollow victory.
The Best Ending for The Kings
There are several ways their story can end, and some of them are pretty bleak.
If you side with Mr. House and keep the peace between The Kings and the NCR, House actually sees them as a threat to his absolute control. He sends his Securitrons into Freeside to "liquidate" the gang. It’s a brutal ending for a group that just wanted to look out for their neighbors.
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The "best" ending for them usually involves brokering that peace with the NCR during the King's questline. If you do this, and the NCR wins the Battle of Hoover Dam, The Kings help maintain order in Freeside. They become a recognized entity, and while they lose some of their total independence, they survive. They keep the spirit of the old world alive in a way that actually benefits the people around them.
Alternatively, if you go the "Independent Vegas" (Yes Man) route, The Kings flourish. They become the de facto rulers of Freeside, keeping it a "wild" but relatively safe place for the disenfranchised. This is usually the fans' favorite ending because it feels the most consistent with their "every man is a king" philosophy.
How to Maximize Your Standing With The Kings
If you want to get the most out of this faction, follow these steps. Don't just rush the main quest. Freeside is a goldmine for experience points and lore if you take it slow.
- Don't pay the 2,000 cap credit check. Talk to Ralph at Mick & Ralph's or just do the King's quests to get your way in. Saving those caps early on is huge for buying implants at the New Vegas Medical Clinic.
- Investigate the "Bodyguards." When you first enter Freeside, talk to the various guards for hire. This kicks off a small part of the investigation for The King and shows you how much of a scam some of the "protection" in the city really is.
- Fix Rex early. Getting a companion like Rex changes the early-to-mid game. He’s a tank and can distract enemies while you pick them off with a Varmint Rifle or a 9mm SMG.
- Listen to the radio. The King has a unique dialogue set that changes based on your reputation. Being "Idolized" by The Kings feels better than being liked by the NCR or the Legion because it feels personal. They’re a family.
The Kings are a reminder that even in a world that ended in nuclear fire, people will always try to find something to belong to. Sometimes that’s a nation-state like the NCR. Sometimes it’s a cult of personality like Caesar’s Legion. And sometimes, it’s just a group of guys in leather jackets who think that being polite and looking sharp is the only thing keeping the world from falling apart.
Next Steps for Your Playthrough:
Check your current reputation in Freeside. If you haven't started "G.I. Blues" yet, head to the King's School of Impersonation and talk to Pacer at the door. If you already finished it and used your favor, go find Dr. Henry in Jacobstown to start Rex's quest—having a loyal cyberdog makes the trek through the Mojave feel a lot less lonely. Once Rex is fixed, consider how your final choice at Hoover Dam will impact the guys in the pompadours; their survival is entirely in your hands.