When playing Red Dead Redemption, players often encounter moral dilemmas that test their character's honor. One such situation arises during the stranger side-mission called "Poppycock," where players must decide whether to give Tollets money or not after completing his suspicious package delivery. This decision has significant implications for both gameplay rewards and moral standing within the game.

The Poppycock Mission Explained

In the town of Chuparosa, players meet Uriah Tollets, a mysterious man who requests help delivering a package from Nosalida to El Matadero. Nosalida is a dangerous area contested between rebels and the Mexican Army, making this seemingly simple task rather perilous. The mission requires players to:

1. Travel to Nosalida and retrieve Tollets's package from a chest on the docks

2. Deliver the package to the foreman Juan de la Vara in El Matadero

3. Receive $1,000 payment from the foreman

4. Return to Chuparosa to confront Tollets about the nature of the package

5. Make the critical decision: give Tollets money or keep it

The Moral Dilemma: Give Tollets Money or Not?

When you return to Tollets with the $1,000, you discover that the package contained opium, essentially making you an unwitting drug courier. This revelation creates the central moral dilemma of the mission – should you hand over the money to a man who deceived you into drug trafficking, or keep the payment for yourself?

Consequences of Your Choice

If you give Tollets the money:

• Gain positive honor

• Gain fame

• Lose the $1,000

If you keep the money:

• Gain negative honor

• Gain fame

• Keep the $1,000

• You must kill Tollets (walking away with the money causes mission failure)

Creative Solutions for Red Dead Redemption Players

Many players have discovered clever workarounds to get the best of both worlds in this Red Dead Redemption moral quandary. Here are some tactics that allow you to maintain your honor while still keeping the money:

1. The Lawmen Strategy: Give Tollets the money, then follow him outside. Equip your bandana and aim a weapon at him (without firing). This provokes him to shoot first, alerting lawmen who will kill him. You can then loot his body for the $1,000 without incurring a bounty.

2. The Silent Approach: Give him the $1,000, receive the honor boost, then equip your knife and bandana. Perform a "silent kill" and loot his body to reclaim the money without getting a bounty.

3. The Pathing Trick: After giving him the money, immediately run outside to block his path toward the door. When he turns around to go upstairs to his room, follow with your bandana equipped and use throwing knives or a silent melee attack.

Interesting Facts About the Poppycock Mission

• The mission title is a clever pun on both "poppy" (the plant from which opium is derived) and "poppycock" (meaning nonsense)

• If you start this mission as John Marston but complete it as Jack, Mr. Tollets will comment that "your father was a good man"

• Sometimes looting Tollets only yields $200 instead of the full $1,000

• The mission can be repeated every few in-game days if you don't give Tollets the money and just walk away, causing mission failure

• Many players accidentally acquire the Henry Repeater while completing this mission by clearing the Nosalida hideout

What Most Red Dead Redemption Players Choose

The beauty of Red Dead Redemption lies in these morally complex decisions that reflect the Wild West's harsh realities. While some players prioritize honor and give Tollets money despite his deception, others feel justified keeping the payment after being manipulated into drug trafficking.

The most popular approach seems to be using one of the methods that allow players to both maintain honor and keep the money – particularly the lawmen strategy that lets the game's justice system deal with Tollets naturally.

In the end, whether you give Tollets money or not in Red Dead Redemption should align with how you envision your character's moral compass in this masterfully crafted Western epic.