Back in the Saddle is a tutorial quest in Fallout: New Vegas.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Tutorial Quest: Back in the Saddle | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Talk to Sunny Smiles at the Prospector Saloon. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Follow her outside and shoot three empty bottles. She will provide you with a varmint rifle and ammunition. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Accompany Sunny to Goodsprings source, clearing three wells of geckos along the way. | Choose to end the tutorial without finishing the rest of the available quest. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Leads to: They Went That-a-Way. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Reward: Talk to Sunny for 50 XP and 50 bottle caps. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Leads to: By a Campfire on the Trail. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
Once the player character has been cleared to leave by Doc Mitchell, completing Ain't That a Kick in the Head, he will mention going to talk to a woman named Sunny Smiles to get help finding the ones who attacked them as well as to learn how to survive in the Mojave Wasteland.
Upon leaving Doc Mitchell's house into the town of Goodsprings, one can immediately notice and talk to a roaming Securitron named Victor, the one who rescued the player character from the grave they were buried in. He does not have any useful information other than pointing out the Goodsprings Cemetery where he had found them. Walking the street to the east takes one past the Goodsprings General Store (which has a workbench and reloading bench up against the east wall as well as the first of several Mojave Express dropboxes). To the right of the general store is the Prospector Saloon, with Easy Pete seated out front. He can be spoken to, offering some background information including about the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion, but knows nothing about the attackers; though he does offer a warning about the man in the checkered coat being dangerous.
Entering the front door of the Prospector Saloon, the player character will be immediately greeted by Cheyenne, Sunny's dog, and Sunny herself. She tells the player character that the Doc informed her of their coming. One has three responses to Sunny: saying she can teach them will progress the quest while asking for directions will mark the location of Primm on the map and asking about work will get Sunny to gift some bobby pins and a copy of Locksmith's Reader along with directions to a hidden stash.
Taking the first option has Sunny request the player character follow her to the rear side of the Prospector Saloon. Once meeting her there, she will give a varmint rifle (it is automatically equipped) along with a supply of 5.56mm rounds. A shooting tutorial ensues, teaching how to shoot a firearm, aim down the sights, and crouch to steady one's aim. After shooting 3 of the Sunset Sarsaparilla bottles on the fence, Sunny offers the player character an opportunity to help her clear away an infestation of geckos around the Goodsprings source as further training. One can accept or decline, the latter of which ends the tutorial immediately but results in the loss of some potential rewards.
After agreeing, Sunny gifts an additional 60 5.56mm rounds, then runs to the southeast along with Cheyenne, in the direction of the Goodsprings source. There are three wells that Sunny wants cleared of geckos, the first one she will suggest sneaking up to them for a surprise attack. One has the option of using and learning about V.A.T.S., but it is not necessary for killing the geckos. Once the geckos are dead, talk to Sunny again and she then points out the remaining two wells. Unlike the first one, both Sunny and Cheyenne will join in attacking the geckos here.
Once the geckos at the second well are finished off (there is a shovel leaning against one of the pipes for a decent early-game melee weapon), going to the third one reveals that the geckos there are in the middle of attacking a Goodsprings settler, and if not killed quickly, they will kill her. But, if the settler survives after the geckos are killed, she can be talked to and express her thanks along with gifting 3 bottles of purified water. Additionally, saving her will reward a significant boost of fame in Goodsprings, introducing the reputation mechanic. If the Goodsprings settler dies, the player character will not receive the reputation boost or the purified water but can loot her body for a cleaver, field hand outfit and a handful of caps.
Either way, after protecting the Goodsprings source and talking to Sunny again, she gifts a sum of 50 caps and optionally offers to teach the player character how to use resources to make their own supplies, starting By a Campfire on the Trail. One can decline, for which Sunny will then immediately direct them to return to the Prospector Saloon to talk to Trudy, saying she will be able to help them start looking for the man in the checkered coat.
Quest stages[]
Notes[]
- If Cheyenne is killed during the gecko fight, Sunny will appear distraught in the next conversation, then apologize to the Courier for her display of emotion.
- During the quest, one can immediately complete it by talking to Sunny at three different points with the option marked [END TUTORIAL], leading to her pointing the player character to Trudy's location to begin They Went That-a-Way:
- After shooting the bottles.
- After killing the geckos at the first well.
- After killing the geckos at the two other wells.
- The bottles will not appear until one talks to Sunny in the saloon and follows her to the back of the building.
- The bottles that appear on the back fence cannot be picked up or taken.
- The bottles can be shot down by the player with any ranged weapon and not just the varmint rifle Sunny gives to them.
- A bark scorpion that hangs around Goodsprings Cemetery may randomly wander near the saloon.
- If one runs out of ammunition during the bottle shooting segment, they can talk to Sunny and be given a one-time additional amount of 30 5.56mm rounds to use. This can be exploited by simply dropping the 5.56 ammo directly from the inventory before starting to shoot, talking to Sunny to get the additional ammo, and then picking it back up.
- There is a small chance of a Powder Ganger walking through the hunting area. The player character can kill him which may cause a second Powder Ganger to attack later. Finally, a third Powder Ganger may attack while on the road leaving Goodsprings.
- It is almost impossible to save the settler if one only follows after Sunny. To have the best chance of gaining the town fame and purified water rewards, after killing the geckos at the second well, do not wait for Sunny and immediately run to the third and kill the geckos quickly.
Behind the scenes[]
The quest name is a reference to the song "Back in the Saddle Again" by Gene Autry.
Bugs[]
If you already have a varmint rifle, you will lose it and any mods it was equipped with, and it will be exchanged for the default one you are handed as part of the quest, even if the one in your inventory is not equipped. To preclude this, drop yours on the ground, wait for her to hand you a varmint rifle and tell you to shoot the bottles, then pick yours up again without incident.[verified]- There is a bug that may happen if you finish the tutorial after the shooting lesson, and then fail the quests Run Goodsprings Run and Ghost Town Gunfight before you talk to Trudy, the option that ends the quest may not work and the quest may never end.[verified]
- It is possible for the mission to not continue automatically. If a random critter appears outside the saloon when you follow Sunny and she moves to attack she will not give you the rifle or the mission unless you push her back to where she was standing when you come out of the saloon.[verified]
- If you already own the varmint rifle she gives you, you may auto equip the one you already have instead of receiving a new one.[verified]
- Sometimes, the distressed settler will not talk to you after saving her and she will just back away towards Goodsprings, knife drawn and crouching.[verified]
- Once the settler is saved and out of harm's way, she may continue to yell for help when interacted with.[verified]
- Making a healing powder at a campfire and then starting the quest by talking to Sunny will cause her to immediately end the quest as though you had gone through it normally. The sarsaparilla bottles, geckos, and Goodsprings settler never appear, and she does not give you a varmint rifle or ammunition.[verified]
- Sunny will sometimes move to the chairs outside the front door of the saloon. If asked for training there, she will not walk to the backyard. Entering and exiting the bar again will teleport her there and fixes this.[verification overdue]
