Water and Honesty

Water and Honesty is a Stranger side-mission featured in Red Dead Redemption.

Story
John notices a campsite out on the trail and decides to ask the occupant for a short rest from his travels. He meets a man named Andrew McAllister, who welcomes John to his camp. After a small conversation, McAllister tells John about how he is searching for a rich source of water for drilling.

McAllister then explains how he used a dowsing stick, and has found out that there is water underneath Pleasance House and wants to purchase the land. To get it, he needs the deed to the land and offers John a good reward if he goes out and retrieves it.

But unfortunately for John, Clyde Evans, the owner of Pleasance House, is not about to just hand it over.

Mission Prerequisites
Before this Stranger will appear on the world map, the player must complete:
 * Leigh Johnson mission: &quot;Political Realities in Armadillo&quot;

Mission Objectives
After locating Andrew McAllister, the player must:
 * Talk with him and learn of Clyde Evans and the water allegedly beneath Pleasance House.
 * Ride to Pleasance House and obtain the deed to the property from Clyde Evans.
 * Return the deed to McAllister and obtain your reward.

Mission Details
The mission starts in a camp on the road from MacFarlane's Ranch to Armadillo. A man using a dowsing stick remarks that he doesn't have the irrigation tools like the city folk do and explains to John Marston that underneath the Pleasance House there is a stockpile of water that he wants. The only way to get it is if he has the deed to the property. The owner of Pleasance House does not want to leave though. John Marston agrees to get the deed.

Travel to Pleasance House just north of Armadillo and talk to the owner. He demands $200 for the deed, says he'll buy a house in Blackwater (although he doesn't like the people there). John Marston has the choice to either pay $200 for the deed, kill the owner and take the deed or hogtie the owner (-100 honor) into giving the deed over.

Either way, you have the deed to Pleasance House and can now use it as a normal property (save your game and change your outfit, etc.).

Head back to the man at the campsite and hand over the deed. He then pays you $15, or $220 for a smooth transaction with no blood, for getting it. If you killed the owner, he notices the blood on the deed and says he didn't want anyone to die and that you should keep the deal a secret as the owner had a son in Blackwater.

After giving him the deed and completing the mission, he can be killed (-30 honor or -0 honor if you wear your bandana, random low end loot) and you can loot his corpse to re-obtain the deed to the house.

Glitch

 * Main article: Glitches in Red Dead Redemption


 * There is a glitch where McAllister notices blood on the deed, even if the player paid Evans the $200 and did not kill him, causing McAllister to act as though the player killed Evans and pay them less (this is fixed on Xbox as of at least April 2011).
 * There is a crash glitch when you change your outfit inside the shack after purchasing deed. Upon returning the deed to McAllister, game will freeze when McAllister says "Oh yeah" during the final cutscene.

Trivia

 * Even if the player does not kill Evans but hogties him instead, the game will treat it as though the player killed Evans.
 * This mission can also be completed after the final gameplay mission &quot;The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed&quot;; doing so after this point will cause MacAllister to ask "Is you the man Marston sent with the deed?".
 * After completing this mission, the player may encounter Evans' son in Blackwater when he challenges the player to a duel for murdering Clyde.
 * After the mission, if you kill McAllister and loot his body, you will receive the Pleasance House deed, allowing you to use Pleasance House as a safe house without having to return it to anyone.
 * The title of this mission most likely refers to how Marston can choose to take the "honest" route and pay $200 for the deed, and receive reimbursement later as well as a $20 reward, or choose to acquire the deed violently and dishonestly, only to receive less of a profit ($15) in the end.
 * Like in "Eva in Peril" you get your money back, and more, at the end of the mission (If you pay Clyde Evans).

Achievements/Trophies
Aiding Strangers will contribute toward the following Trophies/Achievements:

Agua y honradez