Raiders (Fallout 3)

Raiders are a hostile faction in the Capital Wasteland in 2277.

Background
The raiders of the Capital Wasteland are mostly hostile, lawless, chem-addled ruffians who roam the wastes of the Washington, D.C. area. They have little in common with the raider clans of the West Coast, except for the Fiends of the Mojave Wasteland. They are encountered in smaller groups and are armed with a fairly wide range of weaponry. They often carry low caliber pistols, hunting rifles, sawed-off shotguns as well as melee weapons and grenades. At higher levels, they sometimes begin to carry SMGs, assault rifles, combat shotguns, and even some big guns like the missile launcher and flamer. Very rarely, one may even be found carrying a Gatling laser, likely taken off a dead Outcast. They can occasionally be found hunting with guard dogs as well. All raiders wear some form of raider armor.

Raider territory tends to be marked with spray-painted symbols and mutilated bodies hung up with meat hooks on chains. These symbols include a green-blue circle with the number 21 in the middle, a "FUCK YOU" written in blood and a colorful mushroom cloud.

Raiders have no alliances with other factions and will attack everyone but other raiders or slavers. They appear to be quite cruel, as places they inhabit are usually filled with the mutilated bodies of other raiders and wastelanders, implying that they torture captured enemies and occasionally their own. The raider sadist armor is equipped with several dismembered hands that the raider has kept as trophies. Raiders appear to show no mercy toward even each other; one raider mentions killing one of his own just to make him shut up. Raiders also show very little respect for new recruits, shown by conversations with one another.

Raider hazing

 * You may come across a random occurrence of a raider hazing ritual. Four raiders surround a fifth raider initiate standing in only his underwear, each taking a turn in beating him with a melee weapon. The dialogue suggests that he has to take and accept the pain he is receiving. Sometimes the raider can be seen smoking, seemingly ignoring the beating.

Wastelander bombs

 * On rare occasions, a wastelander may come running up to you, saying that raiders strapped a bomb to them. You are given the option to disarm the bomb. However, Explosives skill does not factor into the chances of disarming it successfully. If you fail, the wastelander will run off, and die shortly thereafter in an explosion. However, if the wastelander is killed before they talk to the player, the bomb will explode either when the player approaches it or after some time.

Massacred Enclave

 * After The Waters of Life, Enclave camps will appear throughout the Wasteland. A few of these camps will be trashed with raider graffiti everywhere, and the Enclave troops will be dead and stripped. 3-4 raiders in Enclave armor are usually nearby. One of these camps can be found southeast of Bethesda Ruins and northeast of Chryslus Building and south of the raid shack. Strangely, raiders do not have power armor training, yet still wear power armor.

Mole rat race track

 * Slightly west-southwest of Grayditch, a small group of Raiders can be seen holding mole rat races on an abandoned highway. The scene is complete with a pistol shot to start the race. The mole rats then meander back to their cages to begin the process again.

Non-hostile raiders

 * West of Tenpenny Tower and north of the Warrington Station, there is a friendly Raider with a missile launcher sitting behind a car. If you talk to her she will just say, "I'm not in the mood for you, asshole." When the local Brotherhood of Steel water caravan passes by, she'll attack, and other raiders will pop out to assist. If you kill the raiders, she will continue wandering around until she is killed eventually by other means, as if nothing happened.
 * A second friendly raider with a 10mm SMG and an arclight helmet can be found in the Grisly Diner and the camp near Dukov's Place. This raider aimlessly meanders about, and sometimes swims across the Potomac.
 * In Marigold Station, there is a safe in a supply room which holds an item for the unmarked quest Grady's Package. If you managed to obtain the item, a raider named Lug-Nut will come to you unexpectedly, demanding the item. If you give him the item (thus, being unable to finish the unmarked quest) or pass a speech check, he will merely wander around the area and will not attack you nor the fire ants. Declining him will result in hostility though.

Raider Brothel
At the Evergreen Mills Bazaar, there is a passage in the Northwest corner of this central area, flanked by a pair of mannequins decorated with red lights, this leads up to a raider brothel where you will be greeted by Madame (who is unnamed in the game). A few raider women, the brothel's whores, can be found locked in cells. Upon release, the women will attack the player.

Ex-Raider
One of Megaton's inhabitants, Jericho, used to be a raider. He says he stopped because he's too old and the current raiders don't know anything about respect. Shrapnel, one of the owners of the weapon store in Rivet City also used to be a raider.

Behind the Scenes
Raiders may have been intended to become friendly towards players based on their Karma at some point during development. Raiders are set as Allied with another, mostly unused faction,. The description for this faction is "Used for Very Evil players".

Appearances
Raiders appear in Fallout 3.