Happy Trails Expedition is a main quest in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Main Quest: Happy Trails Expedition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Complete Ain't That a Kick in the Head and leave Doc Mitchell's house in Goodsprings. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reach the northern passage northwest of North Vegas Square and speak with Jed Masterson; if having a total Carry Weight of >75 lbs, remove inventory items by any means, including placing them in the nearby wooden crate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pass a 50 Survival skill check or use the Strong Back/Pack Rat perk(s) with Jed to convince him to raise the weight limit to 100. | Pass a Barter 50 or Science 45 or Speech 50 skill check with Ricky to persuade him to carry some gear and raise the weight limit to 100 or to leave the expedition permanently. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speak with Jed and begin the journey to Zion Canyon. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reward: 225 caps When We Remembered Zion achievement/trophy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leads to: Arrival at Zion | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
This quest is triggered automatically after downloading the Honest Hearts add-on and then either loading a previous save made after, or stepping out into the Mojave Wasteland for the first time after completing Ain't That a Kick in the Head and leaving Doc Mitchell's house in Goodsprings. A message pops up to confirm the add-on's installation and the level-cap raise. Then the Pip-Boy picks up the Happy Trails Expedition Broadcast, delivering a request from Jed Masterson for recruits to join his expedition group, funded by the Happy Trails Caravan Company, heading to Zion Canyon in Utah; special consideration will be given to couriers and/or those carrying a Pip-Boy.
Travel to the marked location northwest of North Vegas Square within New Vegas and enter the cave at the base of the cliffside, the northern passage. In the initial chamber, one will encounter a group of five, consisting of Jed, security lead Stella, her two caravan guards and a wastelander recruit, Ricky. Speaking with Jed, one can ask him questions about the job being recruited for, the Happy Trails Caravan Company itself (including a Barter 45 skill check for additional lore), and the area around Zion and local groups they might encounter; the latter gets Jed to reveal that the expedition's main goal is reaching the mission under New Canaan established in Zion in the hopes of renewing trade ties and reviving the nigh-bankrupt company's prospects.
One can also speak with the other expedition members during this time; the caravan guards only repeat generic dialogue, however. Stella can be asked about some of her background as a former sheriff of Caliente. Talking to Ricky begins an at-length conversation about his many "accomplishments," where one can pass several associated skill checks to call him out on his lies, e.g. Survival 20, then Guns 45 or using the Power Armor Training perk, and then Guns 30 or (if playing as a female Courer) using the Black Widow perk.
Upon agreeing to join on the trip to Zion, Jed will reiterate that the journey will take several days and, due to hazardous terrain between the Mojave and Zion, he will only allow them to travel with the caravan if they can match a gear weight limit and come by themselves, requiring one to dismiss any active companions and reduce the Carry Weight of the inventory to 75 lbs maximum. Reducing the inventory can be accomplished by storing unneeded items in other safe containers, simply dropping them (which risks despawning), selling them off, or placing them in a nearby wooden crate where they will remain until after completing the add-on.
Once active companions have been dismissed and one's Carry Weight is at or below the set limit, talk to Jed again to begin the trek to Zion Canyon, triggering the opening and leading into Arrival at Zion.
Skill checks[]
It is possible to increase the weight limit from the original 75 to a higher maximum of 100 lbs., allowing for carrying more gear to Zion, by talking further with Jed and choosing one of the following methods:
- Passing a 50 Survival skill check
- Using the Strong Back or Pack Rat perk
If the above options are unavailable, the weight limit can also be influenced by talking to Ricky. There are a few choices for what to do with him before the expedition leaves, some of which can lead to the increase to 100 lbs.:
- Inquire about his possessing a Pip-Boy and a Vault 22 jumpsuit. He will try to claim original ownership as a former Vault dweller and a unique response will be available depending on whether Vault 22 was visited beforehand (completing There Stands the Grass is not required for this). For his Pip-boy, passing a Science 45 or Speech 50 check gets him to reveal that his unit is actually broken and is useless to the caravan, for which one has a couple of options to exploit this information:
- "Persuade" him to leave, causing him to abandon the caravan and leave the northern passage.
- Promise to keep silent about his fabricated qualifications if he agrees to carry some of their gear, increasing the weight limit to 100 lbs. (physically giving items to Ricky is not required).
- Alternatively, one can also pass a Medicine 45 check to diagnose Ricky as a Psycho addict, opening different options:
- Convince him to leave the expedition before his stash runs out on the trail, resulting in the same as the above option.
- Offer to sell him Psycho and Fixer for caps, at a rate of 30 per hit of Psycho up to a maximum of ten hits, and one dose of Fixer for 80. Note: This does not prevent the above scenario with the other skill checks from being carried out to convince him to carry more gear or leave the caravan.
Quest stages[]
Notes[]
- It is not possible to damage any NPCs in the northern passage; attacking them has no effect, and they will not turn hostile.
- The weight limit for traveling to Zion is only required for this quest; subsequent returns to the location after completing Honest Hearts will not require one to reduce their Carry Weight.
- If Ricky is convinced to leave the expedition, he will be replaced by another guard with a hunting rifle during Arrival at Zion.
- If Ricky is made to leave after already getting him to carry extra gear, the new limit of 100 lbs. will still remain.
- Jed has unique dialogue if one has previously interacted with Alice McLafferty at the Crimson Caravan Company compound near Freeside:
- If Alice was already killed, either independently or as a result of choosing the violent path for Heartache by the Number, he will mention her death at the player character's hands and thank them for eliminating some of Happy Trails' competition.[1]
- If Alice is still alive and one has completed You Can Depend on Me followed by Pressing Matters, he will recognize them as an associate of Crimson Caravan and question their decision to work with a smaller company.[2]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Jed Masterson: "Hang on - ain't you the one that wiped out the Crimson Caravan's Vegas branch not too long ago? Ought to thank you for that - knocking McLafferty out of the running gives Happy Trails a market to expand into."
(Jed Masterson's dialogue) - ↑ Jed Masterson: "Wait a minute, I recognize you. Yeah... you're Alice McLafferty's rising star, ain't you? You sure you want to be here? McLafferty's non-competes are pretty rigid."
(Jed Masterson's dialogue)
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