Having finished the tutorial, you must now search for the men who tried to kill you. Based on what you hear at Goodsprings, they took the long route around starting in Primm.
This quest requires following the trail of evidence that Benny left behind. All these quest stages are skippable if you went directly to New Vegas and entered The Tops Casino - however most passages other than the main road tend to have difficult enemies, including deathclaws.
Primm
Head to Primm, which is southeast of Goodsprings. Upon arriving, an NCR trooper will tell you that Primm has been overrun by convicts. Ignore his warning and enter the town - there will be a few convicts on the streets and most of the residents are in the Vikki and Vance casino.
When you speak with Johnson Nash, he will refer you to Deputy Beagle and thus start the My Kind of Town quest. You can either obtain his journal, pass a Speech check of 40, or rescue him from captivity. He will mention that the group went through Nipton to Novac.
Nipton
Follow the road south of Primm and then go east to Nipton before going to Novac.
If you want to explore this area, you'll find that everything's been burned to the ground. You'll find a group of Legion soldiers led by a man named Vulpes Inculta, who provides the quest Cold, Cold Heart. You can then find a man named Boxcars inside a store, who will tell you to go to Novac, and possibly open the quest Booted.
Novac
Follow the highway out of Nipton and head north to find Novac. This part of the quest is dangerous, since there are a few viper gunslingers watching a wreckage with a grenade rifles. You can take out one viper by sneaking around from the south, and throwing explosives, or you can take a slight detour by following the railway track before turning right (or more specifically, follow the Caesar's Legion.)
Once at Novac, you have several options to proceed:
- Talk to Manny Vargas (located in the T-rex mouth during the daytime) and complete the quest Come Fly With Me to get him to help you.
- Talk to Manny Vargas and use the Confirmed Bachelor perk.
- Read Manny's journal logs on his terminal in his hotel room.
Boulder City
Take the road north out of Novac and make your way to Boulder City. Once there, talk to Lieutenant Monroe to start the quest Boulder City Showdown. This side quest is completed by resolving the hostage situation.
To complete this part of main quest, the only requirement is to speak with Jessup or to collect the engraved lighter from him.