Mel (Fallout 3)

Mel is an ineffective would-be robber the Lone Wanderer may come across as a random encounter. He wants you to give him all your money. He will appear as friendly on radar, and his clearly unassertive and stammering speaking voice make his demands laughable.

Mel's dialogue
There may be several conversation options, depending on your skills:
 * (Speech) Back off or I'll make you regret threatening me.
 * (Speech) How about I give you 5 caps and you leave me alone.
 * (Intelligence) Bullshit, a mugger in the Wasteland? A real Raider would've shot me already.
 * (Perception) That gun doesn't look loaded.
 * All right. I haven't killed anyone all day.  Let's go.
 * I can't give you all my stuff, sorry.

If you refuse to give him anything, he may turn hostile, but you can kill him and not lose Karma. You'll find a Merc Cruiser Outfit and a Sawed-Off Shotgun on his corpse. He will also drop a finger for those with the Lawbringer perk. No Shotgun Shells can found on his corpse.

Mel will fight any roving hostiles that travel near him (i.e. Raiders or critters). But, since his shotgun is unloaded, he's limited to fighting with his fists. He's about as tough as an average Raider, although without weapons, he's a limited threat.

Appearances
only appears in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes

 * Mel is an homage to Mel Gibson, the actor who played Mad Max. In Mad Max 2 Gibson threatened The Gyro Captain using an unloaded sawed off shotgun.

Bugs

 * Mel's appearance may cause slowdowns, especially after his conversation is completed. It is recommended that he be killed immediately, or use Mesmetron and turn him into a slave. This will both solve the slow down problem and earn some caps.
 * After speaking with you, Mel will hang around the area where you encountered him for the rest of the game. You are unable to speak with him, however, as the game informs you that he is fleeing (despite not moving at all).