Gear and progress
Crafting
Crafting is split across four places: your campfire, Pearson, the trapper and the fence. Each makes different things, so knowing which to visit saves a lot of riding.
Checked Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: CommunityCGN
| Where | What it makes | What you bring |
|---|---|---|
| A campfire | Tonics, special arrows, ammunition, fire bottles and cooked food. Some recipes need a grill. | Herbs, animal fat, feathers and other parts. A recipe pamphlet unlocks each special recipe. |
| Pearson (camp) | Satchel upgrades and decorative camp items. Needs leather working tools from the camp ledger. | Perfect (three-star) pelts, carcasses and antlers, stored in advance. |
| The trapper | Clothing sets and saddles, and the improved equipment you unlock from challenges. | Pelts, hides and legendary pelts, plus a fee. The trapper buys carcasses and meat too. |
| A fence | Trinkets and talismans, and sells pamphlets and some items. | Legendary animal parts, jewelry and unique rewards, plus a little cash. |
Source: Community checked Sep 30, 2026.
Pamphlets
A pamphlet unlocks a crafting recipe once you read it. They turn up in lockboxes around the world, or you can buy them from fences (some unlock only after a certain mission). Four come as rewards from strangers and companions. A first batch is handed over at the start of Chapter 2: cover scent, express explosive, fire arrow, fire bottle, horse ointment, improved arrow and improved throwing knife, among others.
Tonics
There are 32 tonics. They restore health, stamina or Dead Eye, but they do not refill your cores (a few horse items are the exception). To craft one, you need a campfire. Two examples:
- Potent health cure: one ginseng plus one yarrow. Doctors also sell it.
- Special health cure: two ginseng, two yarrow and two English mace or milkweed.
Provisions
Provisions, such as canned food, cooked meat and drink, are what refill your cores. As a rule, healthy meals restore Health, energy-dense food like candy and coffee restores Stamina, and luxuries like cheese, tobacco, meat and alcohol restore Dead Eye. Canned food is cheap and stores well but only restores a little.
Trinkets and talismans
Trinkets and talismans give a permanent bonus while you own them. Most are made from a part of a legendary animal, which you collect when you skin it. You cannot sell that part to the trapper. A fence turns it into the item for a small fee. A trinket needs one material, and a talisman needs three: a legendary part, a piece of jewelry and a unique reward from the world or a collection.
| Item | Effect |
|---|---|
| Beaver Tooth Trinket | Slows weapon degradation by 10%. |
| Bear Claw Talisman | Slows Health core drain by 10%. |
| Alligator Tooth Talisman | Slows Dead Eye core drain by 10%. |
| Tatanka Bison Horn Trinket | Reduces melee damage taken by 10%. |
Rockstar also added five hidden trinkets to Story Mode with the 2019 PC release, which you collect rather than craft: Hawk Talon, Cat Eye, Shark Tooth, Turtle Shell and Crow Beak. Official