Merchants

Merchants, with or without shops, provide venues to purchase goods.

Background
The stories for each merchant are unique. These stories can often be accessed through direct dialogue. Merchants often gather their wares by scavenging the wastes or by trading.

Interactions with the Player Character
Some merchants offer medical aid, rent beds, repair equipment, or even sell information (ex. Colin Moriarty). To discover which of these are available, the player needs to interact with each using dialogue choices. Merchants may also give discounts to the player as a result of karma, or sometimes in return for personal favors.

Quests

 * Some quests such as The Wasteland Survival Guide and You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head are only available through merchant characters.
 * Merchants can also be traders of knowledge. In Following in His Footsteps a merchant can be used to complete the player's quest.

Effects of player actions

 * Killing a merchant gives the player access to the store's wares through a key or directly on the body, but you won't ever be able to buy from the merchant again.

Inventory
Highly variable from merchant to merchant. Most of them carry chems (especially stimpaks) or other aid-category items.

Merchant groups in the original Fallout

 * Crimson Caravan
 * Far Go Traders
 * Water Merchants
 * Caravan Merchant

Merchant groups in Fallout 2

 * Caravan Merchant

Merchant groups in Fallout 3

 * Fallout 3 merchants
 * Scavenger

Merchant groups in Fallout: New Vegas

 * Crimson Caravan
 * Gun Runners