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Shit, yeah. Mayor Cobb - I like the sound of that. Running my own town will give me more pull with the guys at the prison, too.Joe Cobb

Run Goodsprings Run is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Quick walkthrough[]

Side Quest: Run Goodsprings Run 
During By a Campfire on the Trail, witness the confrontation between Joe Cobb and Trudy in Goodsprings;
speak with Cobb south of the Prospector Saloon
Agree to find and kill Ringo in the gas station
Help the Powder Gangers take over Goodsprings. 
Pass a 25 Speech/Barter skill check to convince Chet to supply the Powder Gangers. 
Pass a 25 Medicine check to trick Doc Mitchell into aiding the Powder Gangers. 
Return to Cobb with the supplies. 
Attack and kill the residents of Goodsprings. 
Speak with Cobb again. 
Reward: Powder Gangers fame
Goodsprings infamy 

Detailed walkthrough[]

The leadup to the quest starts by first completing the tutorial quests in Goodsprings, either By a Campfire on the Trail or interrupting the tutorial questchain by refusing Sunny Smiles' requests during Back in the Saddle, both of which lead to her suggesting to speak with the town leader, Trudy at the Prospector Saloon. Upon entering the place for the second time, one can witness an argument between Trudy and Joe Cobb, a convict from the NCR Correctional Facility and leader of a group of Powder Gangers, with Cobb demanding to be told where to find a man named Ringo; Trudy will dismiss his threats of burning down the town and Cobb leaves shortly after. One can optionally speak with Trudy on the issue and find out that Ringo is a caravaneer who was ambushed by Cobb's gang a short while ago and currently is sheltering in the gas station slightly west up the road, starting the side quest Ghost Town Gunfight.

Outside the saloon, instead of going to talk to Ringo, one can instead follow the road a short way to find Cobb leaning up against one of the town homes at the southeastern edge of the boundary. Speaking with him, one can discuss Ringo, to which Cobb reveals a little more about Ringo being a Crimson Caravan merchant who fled to Goodsprings to escape his gang after killing some of their number during the ambush. One can also ask questions about the state of the wasteland in general and pass a 20 Speech skill check to learn a little about Cobb's criminal past. Agreeing to help find and deal with Ringo will cause Ghost Town Gunfight to fail at this point, even if they have no intention of helping the Powder Gangers and start this quest.

Inside the gas station, if one does not immediately attack, Ringo will not either, but due to being seen talking at length with Joe Cobb, he will refuse the player character's offer to help as would happen during Ghost Town Gunfight, making it mandatory to attack and kill him. Returning to Cobb, he thanks them for their help and confirms the plan to destroy Goodsprings, though one can sway him to instead take it over and enslave the townsfolk to keep the convicts supplied, an idea Cobb agrees with. To prepare, he asks the player character to get supplies for his gang from the town doctor Doc Mitchell or Chet, owner of the Goodsprings General Store.

In the general store, Chet can be convinced to supply the Powder Gangers with leather armor by passing a 25 Speech or Barter skill check (there is no option to pay 1000 caps like in Ghost Town Gunfight). At his house, Doc Mitchell can be given a lie, then must be convinced to provide spare medical supplies for an "injured man down by the highway" by passing a 25 Medicine skill check. If the respective skill checks cannot be passed, one can always buy the supplies, pickpocket the doctor, or simply kill the doctor and take the supplies.

Upon returning to Cobb and giving him the supplies, he mentions that he saw the townsfolk gathering at the saloon, preparing to defend their homestead against the coming attack, as well as that his men have finally arrived to begin; on the player character's go-ahead, the Powder Gangers will assault Goodsprings. Most of the non-player characters in town will become hostile and must be killed, but one will have assistance from several Powder Gangers as well. If they were not killed previously, Doc Mitchell, Easy Pete, Trudy, Sunny Smiles, and Cheyenne will be found around the Saloon and will fight.

Once the defenders of Goodsprings have been killed, speaking with Cobb again to complete the quest and garner XP, Powder Gangers fame, and Goodsprings infamy.

Quest stages[]

StageStatusDescription
10 Kill Ringo.
15 Tell Joe Cobb that Ringo is dead.
20 Plan your attack on Goodsprings with Joe Cobb.
30 (Optional) Shake down Chet for supplies.
40 (Optional) Obtain Doc Mitchell's spare medical supplies for the Powder Gangers.
45 Hand the spare medical supplies over to Joe Cobb.
60 Let Joe Cobb know once you're ready to take over Goodsprings.
70Quest finishedDefeat the Goodsprings militia.

Notes[]

  • If Cobb dies in the attack on Goodsprings, but the attack is successful, then the quest will end once all hostile Goodsprings inhabitants have been killed. No further reward is obtainable since he is dead.
  • If the player character has already spoken to Ringo and agreed to help him during Ghost Town Gunfight, Joe Cobb will dismiss them when they ask to help him take over the town. Each time he is asked, he will claim he does not like the look of the player character.
  • Once this quest is completed, the surviving Goodsprings citizens will sometimes say, "That was a hell of a way to repay Doc, if you ask me." when interacted with.
  • Chet does not take part in the fight and will remain alive and act as a merchant in the general store after the quest is completed.
  • Both Ringo and Joe Cobb will talk about Ringo's safety hideout, saying that Ringo could shoot Joe Cobb through the windows. However, the windows on the outside of the gas station are boarded up, and there are no windows in the interior of the gas station, through which Ringo could shoot or see anyone coming.

Behind the scenes[]

  • This quest was designed by Jeff Husges, who was also one of the area designers working on Goodsprings as a whole.[Non-game 1]
  • Two small dialogue options were cut from the quest, pointing to an additional task Cobb would have asked the player character to perform: freeing the town's bighorners. While Joe's responses are not present, presumably, this would have been intended to create chaos in town. The option was likely removed owing to the presence of free-roaming bighorners in Goodsprings in the final release of the game, although Joe still mentions this when spoken to.
    • When asked about this cut content, Husges said that it was one quest objective that he was experimenting with, but was ultimately unable to make work.[Non-game 1]

Bugs[]

  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 When the player character kills Ringo and informs Joe Cobb, he will ask them to get supplies from Chet and Doc Mitchell. Before getting supplies, one can kill Joe and fail the quest, but Chet and Doc Mitchell will still be locked in the 'Help the Powder Gangers' dialogue option, and one can get infinite experience, leather armor at about 50% condition, 30 9mm rounds, and Powder Ganger fame. (See Fallout: New Vegas exploits.)[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Sometimes, the mission will not complete. Even though the Courier has killed every citizen in Goodsprings, Joe Cobb will still say that there are people to kill. When attempting to talk to Chet, he will simply say, "Can't talk now, there's a gunfight!" The mission is stuck in this limbo forever. This issue may happen because Doc Mitchell is stuck inside his house. The player character will have to go in and kill him to complete the quest.[verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Occasionally, the player character will not be able to loot Doc Mitchell's body if they kill him. Saving and reloading does not fix this bug.[verified]
  • PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 For some reason, during the quest Run Goodsprings Run, if the player character kills Ringo and takes his deck of Caravan cards, it may freeze for a couple seconds and make the noise of scrolling down the Pip-Boy menu, then stop and the rest of his things can be taken. It does not seem to cause any problems other than freezing for a moment with the noise. Caused by each individual card being added to the player character's inventory.[verified]

References[]

Non-game

Main quests
Act 1Ain't That a Kick in the Head · Back in the Saddle · By a Campfire on the Trail · They Went That-a-Way · Ring-a-Ding-Ding!
Act 2Wild Card (Wild Card: Ace in the Hole, Change in Management, You and What Army?, Side Bets, Finishing Touches) · The House Always Wins (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII) · Render Unto Caesar · Et Tumor, Brute? · Things That Go Boom · Kings' Gambit · For the Republic, Part 2 · You'll Know It When It Happens/Arizona Killer
Act 3No Gods, No Masters · All or Nothing · Veni, Vidi, Vici · Eureka!
Side quests
New California RepublicAnywhere I Wander · Back in Your Own Backyard · Bitter Springs Infirmary Blues · Boulder City Showdown · Can You Find it in Your Heart? · Climb Ev'ry Mountain · Don't Tread on the Bear! · Emergency Radio · Eye for an Eye · Flags of Our Foul-Ups · Hard Luck Blues · I Don't Hurt Anymore · I Put a Spell on You · Keep Your Eyes on the Prize · Medical Mystery · No, Not Much · Pressing Matters · Restoring Hope · Return to Sender · That Lucky Old Sun · The White Wash · There Stands the Grass · Three-Card Bounty · We Will All Go Together · You Can Depend on Me
Caesar's LegionBeware the Wrath of Caesar! · Caesar's Favor · Caesar's Foe · Caesar's Hire · Cold, Cold Heart · I Hear You Knocking · The Finger of Suspicion · We Are Legion
The StripBeyond the Beef · Bye Bye Love · Classic Inspiration · How Little We Know · Pheeble Will · Talent Pool · The House Has Gone Bust! · The Moon Comes Over the Tower
Freeside & Outer VegasBirds of a Feather · Bleed Me Dry · Debt Collector · G.I. Blues · High Times · Someone to Watch Over Me · The Coyotes · Wang Dang Atomic Tango
BoomersAnt Misbehavin' · Sunshine Boogie · Volare! · Young Hearts
Great KhansAba Daba Honeymoon · Cry Me a River · Don't Make a Beggar of Me · Oh My Papa
Powder GangBooted · I Fought the Law · Run Goodsprings Run · Why Can't We Be Friends?
Brotherhood of SteelEyesight to the Blind · Still in the Dark · Tend to Your Business
OtherCome Fly With Me · Crazy, Crazy, Crazy · Ghost Town Gunfight · Guess Who I Saw Today · Left My Heart · My Kind of Town · The Legend of the Star and A Valuable Lesson · Unfriendly Persuasion · Wheel of Fortune
Companion questsED-E My Love · For Auld Lang Syne · Heartache by the Number · I Could Make You Care · I Forgot to Remember to Forget · Nothin' But a Hound Dog · One for My Baby
Unmarked questsA Bit of Slap and Tickle · A Final Plan for Esteban · Access Powers · All Fired Up! · An Ear to the Ground · Andy and Charlie · Arachnophobia · Arizona Scavenger · Barton the Fink · Bear Necessities · Big Winner (Atomic Wrangler, The Gomorrah, The Tops, Ultra-Luxe, Vikki & Vance) · Bounty Killer (I, II) · Brotherhood Bond (I, II) · Caching in at the Cove · Cajoling a Cudgel · Claws Mended · Claws Out · Dealing with Contreras · Defacing the Humble Stone · Democracy Inaction · Eddie's Emissary · Exhumin' Nature · Fight Night · Flogging a Dead Corpse · Friend of the Followers · Gland for Some Home Cooking · Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger · Hat's Entertainment · Help for Halford · Hidden Valley computer virus · Highway to the Danger Zone (I, II) · Honorary Rocketeer · I Love Bananas · Iron and Stealing · Keith's Caravan Charade · Laurifer Gladiator · Lenk's Bad Debts · Lily and Leo · Long-Term Care · Malleable Mini Boomer Minds · Maud's Muggers · Meeting an Equal · Missing a Few Missiles · Most Wanted · Not Worth a Hill of Corn and Beans · Old School Ghoul · A Pair of Dead Desperados (I, II) · Papers, Please · Pistol Packing · Playing on the Old Joana · Powder to the People · Power to the People · Razzle Dazzle! · Reach for the Sky, Mister! · Rest and Resupply · Ringo's Caravan Rules · Rotface's Loose Lips · Saving (or Savaging) Sergeant Teddy · The Screams of Brahmin · Silus Treatment · Short-Term Treatment · Smooth-Talking Criminal · The Star Showdown · Strategic Nuclear Moose · Straus Calls · Strip Search · Suits You, Sarah · Tags of Our Fallen · A Team of Moronic Mercenaries · Thought for the Day · Tourist Traipse · Trudy's Radio Repair · A Trusted Aide · Useless Baubles or Fancy Trinkets? · We Must Stop Beating Like This · We Must Stop Meeting Like This · Wind-Brahmin Wrangler · You Gotta Break Out a Few Eggs · You Make Me Feel Like a Woman
Cut contentCut questsAuto-Inject Quest · Bright and Shiny · Chip Provenance · Debug Topics · Exploring Vault 74 · Jailhouse Rock · Meat of Champions (quest) · TempMan · Underpass Water Purifier · Viva Las Vegas! · Welcome to Fabulous New Vegas · World Changes Post-Endgame
Add-on quests
Dead MoneySierra Madre Grand Opening! · Find Collars (8: "Dog", 12: Christine, 14: Dean Domino) · Fires in the Sky · Strike Up the Band · Mixed Signals · Trigger the Gala Event · Put the Beast Down · Last Luxuries · Curtain Call at the Tampico · Heist of the Centuries · Big Winner, Sierra Madre · Return to the FountainCut content
Honest HeartsA Family Affair · Arrival at Zion · Bighorners of the Eastern Virgin · Chaos in Zion · Civilized Man's Burden · Crush the White Legs · Deliverer of Sorrows  · Departing Paradise · Flight from Zion · Gathering Storms · Gone Fishin' · Happy Trails Expedition · Prisoners of War · Retake the Bridge · River Monsters · Rite of Passage · Roadside Attraction · Sanctity of the Dead · The Advance Scouts  · The Treacherous Road · The Grand Staircase · Tourist Trap
Old World BluesAll My Friends Have Off Switches · A Brain's Best Friend · Coming Out of Her Shell · Field Research · He Came... And Went · Influencing People · Midnight Science Fiction Feature! · Old World Blues · On the Same Wavelength · Picking Your Brains · Project X-13 · Sonic Emitter Upgrade · Welcome to the Big Empty · What's in a Name? · When Visitors Attack! · X-2: Strange Transmissions! · X-8 Data Retrieval Test · X-8: High School Horror! · X-13: Attack of the Infiltrator!
Lonesome RoadThe Reunion · The Silo · The Job · The Launch · The Tunnelers · The Divide · The Courier · The End · The Apocalypse