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Red Dead Redemption

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Nigel West Dickens, Voiced by Don Creech
Mission giver

Nigel West Dickens

Voiced by Don Creech

5 missions given

Nigel West Dickens hands out 5 of the 57 story missions, the first Old Swindler Blues and the last The Sport of Kings, and Liars.

Hands out work. Their initial is the marker you ride to.

Role
Mission givers
Voice actor
Don Creech
Occupation
Snake Oil Salesmen
Affiliations
John Marston, Seth Briars, Irish
Also known as
The Snake Oil Guy, Old Man

Player notes

Deputy Eli tells John Marston that Nigel West Dickens has disappeared, and that his regular customers in Armadillo are asking after him. West Dickens is a travelling snake-oil salesman who dresses and speaks like an educated Englishman while selling fraudulent medicinal tonics. John finds him wounded beside his stagecoach south of Coot's Chapel. Bandits pursue them as John takes him back to Armadillo, where the doctor treats him.

Although John has little patience for West Dickens, the salesman becomes involved in the plan against Bill Williamson at Fort Mercer. He directs John to Seth Briars and Irish, whose help is needed for the assault, and provides an armoured stagecoach for the deception. The group enters Fort Mercer using the coach as a Trojan horse, but learns that Bill left the previous morning. West Dickens says New Austin has run out of customers for him and talks of leaving for Europe or China.

John later finds West Dickens under arrest in the Blackwater police building for possessing and distributing narcotics. John tells the officer that the old salesman aided his pursuit of Bill Williamson, and Edgar Ross sarcastically calls him a hero. The police release West Dickens.

In the separate Undead Nightmare story, West Dickens sells his Elixir at Fort Mercer, claiming it cures the zombie plague and keeps the undead away. John forces him to provide free samples after one of his customers is killed outside the fort. West Dickens gives John a bottle and asks him to gather ingredients for a real cure. He later sends John to Riley's Charge for metal parts, which he uses to build a Blunderbuss, then directs him towards deserters at The Scratching Post for an army uniform. West Dickens leaves on foot, intending to reach Baghdad or die trying.

Trivia

  • โ—†His appearance, character, voice, and mannerisms seem to be based upon the actor/comedian W.C. Fields. His outfit is also very similar to Fields' most popular role as "Mr. Micawber" in the original David Copperfield film. Also, Fields played many con artists in his films, one, in particular, involves Fields' character peddling a "miracle elixir".
  • โ—†Furthermore, West Dickens' characterization and interactions with John Marston appear to be influenced by the character "Carpetbagger" from the Clint Eastwood film The Outlaw Josey Wales.
  • โ—†After the mission "Can a Swindler Change His Spots?", if the player stays at Cueva Seca, they can see Dickens urinating. Afterward. he will stop, walk away, go back and do it again.
  • โ—†When John introduces himself in "Old Swindler Blues", West Dickens recognizes John as an outlaw. If John wears the Walton's Gang Outfit or Bollard Twins Outfit, West Dickens will note his membership in the gang.
  • โ—†As seen in Undead Nightmare, Nigel West Dickens apparently owns a small valuable item, as he has a small box that he handles very carefully, with rattling coming from the box. This item could also be some of West Dickens' Elixir (which has been revealed to be a powerful Undead Bait) that the old man keeps in a little box and handle carefully to avoid spilling it (and so baiting every undead near).
  • โ—†It seems he has been lynched at one point, shown by a scar stretching across his neck. This is likely due to him being caught as a con artist.
  • โ—†Despite constantly failing at "cures" and "miracles", West Dickens says he will not give up science.
  • โ—†In Undead Nightmare, among the writing on the walls of the buildings in Blackwater one writing reads "I know a cure for all ailments." West Dickens says this to John on his way out of Doctor Johnston's office.
  • โ—†Nigel West Dickens and Seth are the only uninfected major characters in Undead Nightmare to not battle the Undead in any way.
  • โ—†He is one of the three major characters who do not ride horses at all. The others are Agustin Allende and Luisa Fortuna.
  • โ—†Nigel West Dickens is from Fort Wayne, Indiana according to the comment he made on "Liars, Cheats and Other Proud Americans".
  • โ—†West Dickens' elixir may also be a laxative as John states that 'that elixir I drank went through me like a dose of salts' during "The Sport of Kings and Liars".
  • โ—†Nigel West Dickens explains that he once tried to sell his elixir on MacFarlane's Ranch, before being chased away by Bonnie MacFarlane herself.
  • โ—†In Red Dead Redemption 2, Nigel West Dickens is referred to in an anecdote that appears in the Gunsmith catalogue's description for the Sawed-Off Shotgun. In it, a woman from Annesburg recounts having threatened West Dickens with the shotgun after her elderly parents became addicted to his elixirs.
  • โ—†He is not mentioned in the final Blackwater Ledger in 1914.

Story missions

5 missions
All missions

In story order, numbered as they are on the mission list. Not all of these are missions they hand you; some they only appear in.

Old Swindler BluesNigel West Dickens
You Shall Not Give False Testimony, Except for ProfitNigel West Dickens
Liars, Cheats and Other Proud AmericansNigel West Dickens
Can a Swindler Change His Spots?Nigel West Dickens
The Sport of Kings, and LiarsNigel West Dickens
View on Red Dead Wiki โ†’

Character data from Red Dead Wiki, CC BY-SA. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games.

Last verified September 14, 2026