
In the process, the Gun Runner's Arsenal DLC allows you to get a perk for reenacting his namesake's famous death: Kill him with a knife and earn the Historical Propriety challenge. First Sergeant Astor puts it best after you destroy Cottonwood Cove personally. Who would've thought one person would pretty singlehandedly turn the tables on the second largest army in the post-war world? Then, after reaching Vegas, they can kill Alerio after he gives the Mark of Caesar, foil the Omertas' plot to attack the Strip, sever their alliance with the Great Khans, upgrade the securitrons under the Fort, and, as a final nail in the coffin for their operations in the Mojave, the Courier can rampage through their main base, killing dozens of their best troops, until they finally kill Caesar himself. The Courier can kill the head of the Frumentari and all his bodyguards, wipe out a small slaving camp, cover Cottonwood Cove in radioactive waste (killing everyone there and leaving it uninhabitable), kill various Legion patrols, lead a small NCR task force to kill everyone in Nelson, kill the Legion assassins sent after him/her (which can potentially be a lot of Elite Mooks), repel an attack on Bitter Springs, destroy the Fiends and kill all their leaders, get the information from Silus, dig out the Legion spy at McCarran, and kill all the Recruit Legionaries stationed at the Techattiicup Mine. In general, the way you can absolutely destroy the Legion's operations before even getting to Vegas.
It's a level of wealth and power rarely before seen in the Fallout series. The Strip is pre-war, with clean casinos and hotels and strong security. Fallout 2 had shown some advancement in technology and society in the decades after the series began, but it was still isolated and grungy. He must've been one tough son of a bitch. He killed two young Deathclaws without any actual armor, using a knife. Next to him are two dead young Deathclaws. He has a knife, the clothes on his back and some caps.
A really minor thing, but at the entrance to Quarry Junction, you find a dead Powder Ganger.
This can be made more awesome when you finally track him down, steal the gun he used on you, and do exactly what he did to you. Benny: "From where you're kneeling, it must seem like an 18 karat run of bad luck.