Escorting_caravans On the road again Goin' places that I've never been. Seein' things that I may never see again Just can't wait to get on the road again.
--- Willie Nelson
Escorting caravans is a repeateble quest, in which the player can be hired to take part in a trade route protection. If the player reaches the destination safely along the caravan leader, he will be paid in caps, as well as allowed to keep any spoils acquired along the way.
General
If a caravan leader is present in the town of origin during the departure hours, the quest can be taken via dialogue, usualy a couple of hours before hand. From then, the player should stick nearby (in the leader's line of sight) to make sure he does not miss the departure.
From there, the caravan will take in some powerful NPC guards and embark on its adventure, following a predetermined route. Whenever it encounters something, it will stop to deal with it. The encounters a caravan gets into are the same as a player does, to the point of it being possible to "fall" into another player's encounter, scaring the shit out of him proper.
The player is free to loot any of the bodies. When finished on the encounter, the caravan can be made to set sail by talking to it's leader. This option is aviable right at the end of the combat, so it's quite possible an impatient player will set the caravan off before others are done at the encounter. Some vs. encounters, in which the caravan does not engage, can be skipped entirely right away.
On reaching the destination, the player should chat up the leader again. He will receive both caps and experience, as well as be allowed to sign up for the way back. If the leader died during the trip, a player has to pay for the mess up before being allowed on another caravan.
Gearing up
A player should survive a caravan with almost any gear, even if he comes bluesuit. However, helping out with the protection and keeping yourself is always a good idea. Also, it is advised to take some healing items with you, as healing is arguably one of the best ways to help out.
Caravan offices
Cities with outgoing caravans have their caravan offices. They serve to pay a debt for a failed mission. A player can also get the exact location for a certain caravan leader at the time.
PvP
Currently, it is possible for one player to murder another on a caravan mission without fear of repercussion. So yeah, keep an eye out for anyone fishy tagging along.
Caravan routes
Arroyo
Arroyo caravan leaders all hang around the firepit west of arroyo entrance, which is right in front of their caravan office.
- Arroyo -> NCR and back
Led by Keith Lumer, a male in leather jacket. Embarks at 19:00.
- Arroyo -> Vault City and back
Led by Salma Hayek, a female in leather armor. The caravan embarks at 14:00 with sign ups starting two hours prior. It pays 3000. In Vault City, Salma hangs south-west from the city entrance. Failing on this caravan costs 2000.
- Arroyo -> San Francisco and back
Led by Gayzum, a male in leather armor. Embarks at 17:00 and pays 3500. In San Francisco, Gayzum hangs out at the general store right west from the entrance.
Redding
Redding caravan leaders all hang out by the entrance, where their office is located as well.
- Redding -> NCR and back
Led by Savinelli, a black dude in metal armor. Embarks at 8:00, pays 4000.
- Redding -> New Reno and back
Led by Savinelli.
- Redding -> Vault City and back
Led by Ben Wade.
Eli
The game features Eli, an unique mechanic similiar to caravans. Eli can be used by players as a relatively safe taxi as far as they dont really care where are they going. Players are not paid by Eli, however, when he is done with his frantic search of dead bodies, they are free to loot them.
Eli is an in-game variant of a honey badger terminator - he goes whereever he wants, doesnt care, and pwns absolutely everything. He has a metric shitton of HP and wields his unique weapon, Eli's knife, leaving item collectors and melee characters salivating and wishing to kill him.
Eli is a refference to the main character in 2010 movie Book of Eli.