RDR2 Story Arc Guide: Blood and Gold — The Braithwaite-Gray Feud (Chapter 3)
The Van der Linde gang arrives in Lemoyne and immediately plays two powerful families against each other for profit. This guide covers all the feud missions — tobacco raids, moonshine runs, stolen horses — up to the explosive conclusion at Braithwaite Manor.
Xbox button notation is used throughout this guide: LT/RT (triggers), LB/RB (bumpers), LS/RS (stick clicks), A/B/X/Y (face buttons). PC players using a controller will see these same prompts in-game. Keyboard/mouse players: check Settings → Key Bindings for your equivalents.
Two Families, One Con
In Chapter 3 the gang relocates to Clemens Point in Lemoyne and Dutch hatches a plan: play the two dominant families in the area — the aristocratic Braithwaites and the corrupt Sheriff Gray's clan — against each other while extracting money from both.
It's one of the game's best narrative arcs, gradually unraveling into disaster.
The key missions:
- The Fine Joys of Tobacco (Braithwaite tobacco raid)
- An Honest Mistake (Gray moonshine intro)
- Horse Flesh for Dinner (steal prized Braithwaite horses)
- Advertising, the New American Art (destroy Gray moonshine)
- Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern (retaliate against Braithwaite)
- A Short Walk in a Pretty Town (the ambush in Rhodes)
- The Battle of Shady Belle (take a new camp)
The Fine Joys of Tobacco + An Honest Mistake
The Fine Joys of Tobacco kicks off the feud. Catherine Braithwaite hires Arthur and Charles to burn down the Gray family's tobacco crop.
- Ride to the three tobacco fields on the east road
- Use fire bottles (or arrows with fire) to ignite the fields — aim for the center of each crop cluster for maximum spread
- Escape before the Grays respond; their ranch hands come fast
Gold Medal: Burn all crops within 3 minutes of the first crop being set alight. Start with the furthest field and work back toward the road — that way your escape route is natural.
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An Honest Mistake introduces Sheriff Gray, who suspects the gang but plays civil. It's mostly cutscene. Pay attention — Gray is running a protection racket and his moonshine is his primary income. The gang agrees to "help" protect it.
No Gold Medal requirements for this short mission.
Horse Flesh for Dinner — Stealing the Braithwaite Thoroughbreds
The gang discovers the Braithwaites have exceptional horses worth a fortune to sell. Arthur, with a couple of gang members, infiltrates the Braithwaite manor to steal them.
Phase 1 — Approach: Sneak into the stable at night. Eagle Eye reveals the guard patrol route — wait for the gap, then move to the stable door.
Phase 2 — The stable: There are guards inside. You can knock them out non-lethally (pressing B from behind in stealth) or kill them. Non-lethal is recommended — less noise.
Phase 3 — The escape: Once you lead the horses out, the alarm triggers regardless. Ride hard for the fence's location marked on your map. Pursuers from the Braithwaite estate will follow on horseback — use Dead Eye to shoot them off their horses while galloping.
Gold Medal: Steal all horses and deliver without any being killed. Keep your herd together — if a horse bolts sideways, it can get shot. Ride in front of the group to steer them.
Explore Braithwaite Manor's grounds after the main story moves past Chapter 3. There's a secret prisoner in a stone room behind the manor — this is a missable secret with disturbing lore implications. You can find it by searching the garden area on the south side of the main house. The story context makes it even darker once you've finished Chapter 3.
Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern + A Short Walk in a Pretty Town
Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern is where the charade collapses. Both families realize the gang has been playing them. The Braithwaites make a devastating move against the gang. Arthur and Dutch lead a furious assault on Braithwaite Manor in retaliation.
This is one of the longest and most intense combat missions in Chapter 3:
- The manor grounds are heavily defended; use the outer walls as cover before pushing inward
- A mortar cannon covers the courtyard — flank around the greenhouse to neutralize it
- The manor itself catches fire — work fast once inside; visibility drops and enemies panic unpredictably
- The confrontation with Catherine Braithwaite at the end is cutscene-driven; no choices change the outcome
Gold Medal: Kill 6 enemies with fire, complete within 21 minutes, and get 15 kills. The fire kills are easiest during the manor assault — fire bottles into clustered guards or wait for the building fires to trap enemies.
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A Short Walk in a Pretty Town is the Gray family's ambush in Rhodes. The gang is lured into town and ambushed from rooftops.
- When the shooting starts, immediately duck into the nearest building — the rooftop gunmen have excellent angles in the open street
- Prioritize the two snipers on the hardware store before pushing forward
- The escape through the back alleys requires fast riding; don't slow down for stragglers
Gold Medal: Kill 4 mounted enemies, get 15 kills total, complete without dying.
The Battle of Shady Belle — Claiming a New Base
With both families destroyed, the gang needs to move. Shady Belle — a decaying plantation manor in the Lemoyne bayou — becomes the new camp. But it's currently occupied by Lemoyne Raiders.
- The plantation is surrounded by marshland that limits approach angles — the front gate is the most direct route
- Don't charge the gate; two machine-gun-like positions cover it. Go left through the overgrown garden
- Clear the outbuildings before the manor — Raiders in the upper floor will flank you if left alive
- The final group retreats to the boat dock behind the manor; follow them quickly before they escape and trigger reinforcements
Gold Medal: Kill 4 Raiders with melee attacks, 2 with headshots from horseback, and complete without dying. Melee kills require closing distance — catch Raiders reloading or running and press X to execute. Horseback headshots are easiest on the retreat sequence at the boat dock.