View Full-size

Red Rock Canyon¶

If you completed the quest Bleed Me Dry you should have already discovered Red Rock Canyon. If not, it’s east of Vault 3/South Vegas Ruins West Entrance. However you get there, once you’re there you can head north to find some tents and the Great Khan Longhouse on some ledges. Loot the tents, but avoid the longhouse, as the only quests there involve the political future of the Great Khans involving the impending rematch with the NCR and Caesar’s Legion, a decision there’s no need to make just yet.

Head west, north-west deeper into the canyon to find more tents surrounding a circular, fenced-off area. North of this circle, in a tent on a ledge you’ll find Jerry the Punk. Talk to him, ask about the Khans and succeed at a [Speech 33] check and he’ll reveal that he’s just not happy here. After he mentions the Followers of the Apocalypse, offer to ask if he can join up to start the quest Cry Me a River. It can wait until it’s time to explore Freeside… it’s not like Jerry is going to do anything in the meantime except think of more crappy poetry. Seriously, using the word “ow” five times in the last line of a haiku? Just terrible.

Red Rock Drug Lab¶

Backtrack to the south-east, but keep your eyes north and you should see a narrow passage in the cliffs. Follow it north and you’ll find the Red Rock Drug Lab, where two Khans - Jack and Diane - run the drug operations. First talk to Jack, who will tell you, in burnout cadence, about the Khans and their operation here. Ask about work and he’ll tell you to talk to Diane, starting the quest Aba Daba Honeymoon.

Most interestingly, however, offer to teach some new chems and pass a series of [Science 50] checks to teach them how to make Slasher, Party-Time Mentants and Rocket. Each recipe you teach him will earn you some Great Khans Fame and your choice of Caps (50), chems (Psycho and Jet) or Karma, depending on what you ask for as a reward. It’ll also advance time a good bit, so if you’re in Hardcore Mode, make sure you’re not wanting for food, water, or sleep.

After giving them recipes to help ruin people’s lives for profit, talk to him again and float the idea of them using their resources to make chems that are more beneficial to mankind. Succeed at a [Speech 66] check and he’ll see the wisdom in countering one drug with another. Not really a Karma-positive, thing, really… he’s just selling them the disease and the cure now. Anyways, after you convince him to cleanse his Karma, ask him how the operation is going and you’ll get the opportunity to head back into the [Science] dialogue option and teach him how to make Super Stimpaks [Science 50] and Hydra [Survival 75]. If you manage to teach him all these recipes, you can stand to gain a good bit of XP, Caps, Karma, and Fame for very little work.

Anders on a Btick¶

When you’re done dealing with Jack, turn your attentions to Diane, the brains of this operation. As such, she knows what needs to be done, and will be the one to hire outsiders looking to do some good. That’s you. Ask for work and she’ll tell you that one of her runners - Anders - went missing, and if you find him, she’ll offer you some real work.

This task is rather simple, and you can use it to set up another task, shortly. Recruit Veronica at the 188 Trading Post (if she’s not with you already) and if you visited the Boomer Museum (with or without her), she should comment on it. If so, that’s one of the three required triggers to start Veronica’s quest I Can Make You Care. Fast-travel to the Sniper’s Nest area and pick your way down the cliffs to the south-east to reach Cottonwood Cove… or at least a road outside of Cottonwood Cove, which you can follow north-east to reach said area.

Technically you don’t need to actually discover Cottonwood Cove to either get Veronica to comment on the Legion over-running Nevada, despite their primitive weapons, nor do you need to do so to find Anders, who is doing his best Jesus impersonation east of the road leading to Cottonwood Cove. Or just his best “condemned criminal in antiquity” impersonation. Jesus had no monopoly on being crucified, after all. Talk to Anders and cut him down, then talk to him again to learn that it was the Legion who strung him up. The Legion executes drug runners… doesn’t seem like something that’ll make them great bed-fellows with the Great Khans, despite their mutual animosity towards the NCR.

Return to Diane and she’ll let you pick between a recipe for Turbo as a reward, or 250 Caps. Caps can be easily obtained now by running up Black Mountain, but a recipe is unique, whether or not you’re going to use it or not. Either way, you’ll get some Great Khan Fame and another job; a real runner’s job now, thanks to Anders’ injuries. His loss, your gain. It’s doubtful he’s complaining about losing out on work after his close call with the Legion, though.

A Package For Don¶

Take the job and fast-travel to the Crimson Caravan compound, then head inside the Crimson Caravan Main Office building, wherein you’ll find Don Hostetler. Talk to him, hand over the package, then return for your reward - and your next job. This time you’ll need to deliver drugs to Motor Runner and his Fiends in Vault 3, which will give you an excuse to complete another quest that was passed over earlier, make progress on starting Veronica’s quest, and finally explore Vault 3 in detail.