The Old West was a time and place that attracted every type of human being from all walks of life. From the absolute scum of the Earth to living saints, rich and poor, young and old, hard-working and lazy; all manner of people! But the zeitgeist of the country being what it was, most people who were actively engaging in the Old West had one thing in common: they were enterprising individuals all trying to carve a life.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is certainly one of the best simulations of the time period. Rockstar's game is filled to the brim with characters (specifically "Strangers") who embody the spirit of the Old West. Here are ten of the best of such individuals.
10 The Old Cajun
The Old Cajun can be found in the wilderness of Lemoyne, fighting off swarms of bugs that will not cease bothering him. If approached, he asks either Arthur or John if they will help him in reclaiming his home. It was taken over by a group of Night Kin, the mysterious, silent, and murderous cult that inhabit the swamps of Lemoyne.
His mission is certainly one of the most interesting out of the Strangers that can be encountered, more so for the fight with the Night Kin than the cajun himself. Nevertheless, he is a friendly fellow and quite talkative.
9 The Gunslinger: Black Belle
Maybelle Elizabeth Colter, or Black Belle, is an infamous gunslinger and a subject matter of one of Red Dead Redemption 2's most expansive Stranger missions: "The Noblest of Men, and a Woman." Not only is she one of the only women gunslingers in the game, but she is also one of the most amicable and awesome Strangers in the game.
Out of the entire Stranger mission, Black Belle is the only gunslinger who does not try to kill you, and she shows impressive skill in dispatching a group of bounty hunters that come looking for her just as you find her. When a player helps her fend them off, Black Belle gives them what they want and goes on her way to live on in legend.
8 The Naturalist: Albert Mason
Albert Mason is a nature photographer with quite an expansive mission of his own. If playing as Arthur, he can be encountered a total of five times. In the epilogue with John, however, he can only be encountered four times. This is because one of the missions asks the player to herd some horses and John does not know how to herd.
Mason is such an appealing character because of his purity and genuine love for the natural world. Despite his clumsiness and no matter how many times an animal may come to attack him, he perseveres to capture their beauty which he even gifts the player with an example of.
7 The Rival Brothers: Proetus And Acrisius
Cheating slightly with this entry, but the two characters are so inseparable they may as well be treated as one entity. One of the more comical Stranger missions that can be undertaken, the twin brothers Proetus and Acrisius can be encountered a total of three times and always in the company of a beautiful woman named Helen.
Each time Arthur or John encounters them, the brothers will ask for help in settling a contest between the two so that a person may be chosen to win the hand of Helen, who stops neither of them. Each contest becomes more and more ridiculous, and when the final incident ends with the twins going over a waterfall in barrels, their brush with death makes them realize the silliness of their endeavors. The two walk away from Helen as she follows them begging for their attention once more.
6 The Inventor: Marko Dragic
Marko Dragic is a southeastern European inventor who serves as the Red Dead world's version of Nikola Tesla. Much like the enigmatic and brilliant inventor, Marko Dragic is a man who works with great passion but is bogged down by that constant roadblock all creatives face: funding.
It is all the more tragic that, much like his real-life counterpart, despite Dragic's success in his actual work, he is never given the recognition he deserves. Dragic actually succeeds in creating a living automaton, but it ends up killing him off-screen. The robot appears to regret killing its creator and it is left up to the player whether or not they destroy it.
5 The Monk: Brother Dorkins
Who in their right mind would not want to help someone who wishes to save children from cruelty and abuse? That is exactly what Brother Dorkins asks of Arthur Morgan when they encounter each other on the streets of Saint-Denis.
The monk came across information that the nearby fence for stolen goods has been keeping a group of children as slaves in his shop. Once Arthur does help, Brother Dorkins is eternally grateful and even leads the protagonist into another, separate Stranger mission with a nun. It is always nice to see truly good people in such a cruel world.
4 The Artist: Charles Châtenay
Another enigmatic Stranger from beyond the country's borders, Charles Châtenay is a particularly promiscuous artist, even taking advantage of his subjects or muses. However, he is not necessarily an evil man by any means. He enjoys living life and the people who partake in it with him obviously love it as much as he does.
Châtenay also offers arguably the funniest Stranger mission in the entire game. He actually hosts an art exhibition where some of the nude portraits on display are of some of the guests who are present, including a few angry spectator's wives. The ridiculousness of the situation means Arthur or John has to play bodyguard quite suddenly in a relatively humorous situation.
3 The Animal Handler: Sally Nash
Sally Nash is actually the minor character of her own Stranger mission, playing second fiddle to her cross-dressing male boss, Margaret. Nevertheless, her charm and cockeyed optimism to become "the world's second bravest animal handler" is both amusing and commendable.
It is quite evident that Sally is much more competent than her employer, yet she goes along with his schemes and plans because she knows it will help her accomplish her dream.
2 The Veteran: Hamish Sinclair
Hamish Sinclair is a Civil War veteran and amputee who fought on the side of the union. He has a wooden prosthetic leg, a horse named after his commanding officer called Buell, and he takes Arthur/John on various outdoor excursions in and around his home in the mountains. They usually involve hunting of some kind.
Hamish is a man with wisdom to share and both John and Arthur seem to enjoy his almost fatherly presence. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes on their final encounter. While hunting a boar, Hamish is thrown from his horse and fatally wounded by the animal. His last request is that the protagonist takes Buell from him.
1 The Frontierwoman: Charlotte Balfour
Arguably the most touching of the Strangers in Red Dead Redemption 2 is Charlotte Balfour, who has exclusive interactions with Arthur and John respectively. In fact, she acts as more of a legacy of Arthur's actions, depending on if John meets her. When Arthur comes across her in Willard's Rest, she is weeping by the grave of her late husband and lamenting what is to become of her life as she has no survival skills. Arthur, taking pity on the young woman, offers to teach her how to hunt, trap, and shoot for self-defense.
After all these sessions, Charlotte becomes a self-sustaining person and comments on all the help Arthur gave her to John. During their interactions, she was one of the few people to witness Arthur be vulnerable after a flare-up of his tuberculosis. The two were developing a strong friendship, but alas, such is the tragedy that can befall the denizens of the Old West.