Herbert Moon is the owner of the General Store in the town of Armadillo in Cholla Springs, New Austin. He had a brother named Francis Moon, who died on 23 May 1897 after insulting Walton Lowe following a joke made about him, and is buried in Coot's Chapel cemetery, with his tombstone saying he "always took a joke too far". Herbert also has a daughter named Herberta, whom he disowned after she married a Jewish man named Isaac Solomons, and dedicated herself to helping the poor instead of selling groceries.
Herbert refers to himself as Armadillo's first citizen. It's unknown if he means the most important citizen, or was literally one of the founders of Armadillo, which is certainly possible given his age.
Events of Red Dead Redemption 2[]
Herbert Moon was miraculously the only Armadillo survivor of the New Austin cholera outbreak of 1907. He's implied to have some sort of connection with the Strange Man that possibly made him immune to the plague, as the Strange Man's shack has allusions to the outbreak and Armadillo, and Herbert himself keeps the Strange Man's portrait hung in his store. John Marston states that the man in the picture looks familiar and asks about it, with Herbert simply shrugging it off.
Events of Red Dead Redemption[]
As the owner of the General Store, Herbert Moon will sometimes appeal to the player to help intervene after being robbed by an outlaw. Additionally, the player has the opportunity to rob and/or kill Herbert Moon themselves.
Herbert Moon can be found working behind the counter in his shop or playing poker in the back room at the Saloon in Armadillo. Around night-time, when he is not playing poker, he can often be found drinking in front of his shop or sweeping around it with a broom.
Events of Undead Nightmare[]
Note:The events of Undead Nightmare are not considered part of the same canon as Red Dead Redemption. The following description is therefore not contiguous with the preceding section on Red Dead Redemption.
In Undead Nightmare, during the survivor mission "Dinner for Two", John walks into the General Store and asks Moon if he has seen Jonah or Eli. Moon asks if they are Jews (since their names are generally common Jewish names), before going on a rant about the infection, blaming every ethnic minority (Jews, Catholics, Natives, the British, and homosexuals, among others) for causing it. John, realizing that Moon is of no help, comments on how remarkably hate-filled he is before walking outside as Moon follows. Oddly, Moon takes this as a compliment. Moon asks John if he wants to join him in his fight. John refuses, and Herbert goes on his own to stack crates outside, but is quickly assaulted by three Undead. While being eaten, he shouts, "You can't eat me! I'm Herbert Mooooon!" in vanity while John looks on, with a smirk on his face. Afterwards, Herbert Moon comes back as a fresh Undead, and the player may kill him, hogtie him, or flee.
Character[]
Personality[]
“
I don't like Jews. Or colored folk. Or natives, now that you mention it... I bet you like Catholics. Can't stand them neither. Nor women, Fabians, socialists, homosexuals, Asians, or British.
„
—Herbert Moon tells John whom he doesn't like
Moon is notable for his constant and unabashed anti-Semitic and otherwise racist rhetoric, often greeting his customers by asserting that nothing in his shop is Jewish-made, how he considers everything he says to be perfectly correct, and his over-the-top sense of pride and confidence, made evident by the way he says his name almost every time he talks to John. He also takes a lot of pride in running his General Store, claiming it helps out the American families in the era. Herbert Moon can be heard accusing "the Jews" of various nefarious plots and influences, like controlling various companies and agencies, even being responsible for the death of President Abraham Lincoln. On another note, he also likes to bash on Mexicans, calling them "pepperguts" or "chilli eaters" and claims to be against the building of the railroad from Nuevo Paraíso to New Austin.
Appearance[]
1907[]
Herbert is a middle-aged man with neatly middle-parted hair that has begun to gray along the top, along with his moustache. Along with large spectacles, he wears a pinkish vest with an apron over it, and also sports a red bow tie. He is notably healthy-looking, especially when compared to his sickly peers in Armadillo.
1911[]
By 1911, Herbert has aged slightly, but his overall appearance is generally unchanged. His hair, now balding, and his moustache, which is significantly bushier, have gone completely white. Moon has also gained weight slightly, and his new glasses are smaller and more worn-looking than the pair he had in 1907.
While in a duel, Herbert bears a gun belt and holster containing a Cattleman Revolver.
Unless you start working for the Peppergut, he'll keep Johns as far as possible from the Governor's mansion.
„
—Herbert Moon, discussing Nate Johns
“
The Jews killed Lincoln. That's why there is a triangle on the money.
„
—Herbert Moon on presidential assassination conspiracies
“
Ha! Thankfully not.
„
—Herbert Moon, in response to John Marston's inquiries to whether he has ever even met a Jewish person
“
Not in my store. Oh I see, I see you acting clever.
„
—Herbert Moon when John asks him if he ever even met a British, catholic or homosexual
“
That John Marston used to be a hired killer for the Jews, ya know?
„
—Herbert Moon, spreading rumors about John Marston's employers
“
Ya know, if Johns is elected Governor, he's gonna open the rail lines to Allende.
„
—Herbert Moon, discussing a possible partnership between Nate Johns and Agustin Allende
“
Reyes is as revolutionary as Napoleon! He just likes riding horses in a fancy uniform.
„
—Herbert Moon discussing Abraham Reyes
“
You're a little behind with the news, there...
„
—Herbert Moon discussing recent events
“
I knew that, already!
„
—Herbert Moon discussing recent events
“
I'll raise you.
„
—Herbert Moon raising in Poker
“
(Grunts) I fold.
„
—Herbert Moon folding in Poker
“
Looks like you might have me on this one...
„
—Herbert Moon when playing Poker
“
I ain't no chili eater!
„
—Herbert Moon, when being attacked or hogtied
“
You ever wonder how great it must've been out here before the rail got here?
„
—Herbert Moon's idle dialogue when conversing
“
If they wouldn't arrest me for it, I'd torch that train station
„
—Herbert Moon expressing his hatred of the railway
“
Hey pard. It's me, Herbert Moon?
„
—Herbert Moon when insulted
“
I don't want no trouble, pard.
„
—Herbert Moon when insulted or threatened
“
Hello.
„
—Herbert Moon when greeted
Trivia[]
Herbert Moon will often, but not exclusively, refer to himself in third-person. He's been notoriously known to inexplicably shout "I'm Herbert Moon!" when in combat, robbed, or threatened.
Despite his significant reappearance, Herbert is almost never name-dropped in Red Dead Redemption 2. He's generically labeled as just "Shopkeeper" and seldom refers to himself in the third person as he did so much in the first. What's also odd is that he is not vocal about his antisemitism, like he is in the first game. It is possible that something happened to him during the time span from 1907 to 1911 that made him inflate his ego and get an attitude.
If the player enters his store, they are usually greeted by a statement like "This establishment welcomes you!". He may even say this if the player enters the store when he is away, such as when he goes on a cigarette break.
Herbert Moon seems to believe that John Marston is "a hired killer for the Jews." This is possibly a reference to Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham.
There are technically two Herbert Moons present in Redemption. One plays poker, and the other is the shopkeeper. He can be playing poker and watching over his shop at the same time. This usually only happens during the day, however.
At the end of the day, he can be seen going into the saloon, indicating that he plays poker and drinks in the meantime.
If the player duels Herbert Moon and wins, Herbert Moon will still be present in the store. Sometimes, immediately after being killed, another Herbert Moon will instantaneously spawn, and inspect his own corpse.
Herbert Moon is usually unarmed with a handgun as he prefers rifles, except when catching the player cheating during a game of poker. When the duel is issued, he will then be seen wearing a gun-belt and holster, carrying a Cattleman Revolver.
Herbert Moon's appearance and outfit seem to be strongly based on the appearance of the meek bartender Lutie Naylor, played by Paul Brinegar, in the 1973 western film High Plains Drifter. He also resembles the shopkeeper, played by Enzo Petito, in the 1966 spaghetti western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly who provides a pistol for Tuco, played by Eli Wallach, and then is robbed by him.
If the player instigates a fistfight with Herbert Moon and then draws a weapon, Herbert Moon will pull out either a Repeater Carbine or a Winchester Repeater and start shooting. As long as the player doesn't shoot him first, the local law officers will come after him and a gunfight will begin. As with all shopkeepers, Herbert is highly resistant to NPC gunfire, so when shot by NPCs, Herbert Moon can take a ridiculous amount of bullets; this can lead to humorous results, seeing the owner of a general store single-handedly take on and out the Armadillo law enforcement. After winning the fight (a very likely occurrence), and if his legs are not incapacitated, Herbert Moon will return to his shop and begin serving the player again, all bloodied up. This only works with the shopkeeper version of Herbert Moon, not his poker playing version. The poker-playing Herbert Moon has normal NPC health. This glitch is not unique to Herbert Moon, however, he is the most infamous subject; other shopkeepers, including Jeb Murphy, Norris Laskey and Marcos Pichardo, have this characteristic.
If Herbert Moon is killed in a duel, the player will never be informed that a shopkeeper has been killed, whereas if the player kills him outside of a duel, a notification regarding his death will appear and his shop will be unavailable for five days, as with all other shopkeepers.
If the player kidnaps one Herbert Moon, then leaves Armadillo, upon returning it is possible to gather three Herbert Moons as his character model respawns.
In Undead Nightmare, his appearance is more detailed and has a different, scruffier hairstyle. He is the only NPC with this distinction.
After listing all of the types of people he hates, he proudly admits to never meeting the vast majority of them. Oddly however, Eudoro de la Barra and Cleveland Sharp can sometimes be found working in his store, despite being ethnic minorities. This would suggest that Herbert will go against his own ideology if it benefits him.
Herbert sometimes calls Marston "pard", which is short for "partner", similarly to Seth Briars.
Before his appearance during "Dinner for Two", it is possible to shoot Herbert Moon through the window of his store. However, this will cause the mission to fail.
If he's shot in the head in Red Dead Redemption 2, he returns alive later with half of his head bandaged and proclaiming "As long as America lives! I live!". This could be another reference to his alleged deal with Strange Man.
His philosophy reflects the strong nativist sentiment of America during the era that the game is set in. However, Herbert appears to be the only person in Armadillo with these type of views.
The portrait in Herbert's shop is a miniature version of the one in the Strange Man's shack.
In Red Dead Online, Herbert is mentioned by Bonnie MacFarlane if players are doing a recovery mission as she says that his wagon is stolen.
