Karma

Generally, Karma (as a tab on your in-game character sheet) is the reflection of all good and bad choices you make during the game. In the first Fallout, it only covered a statistic called "Reputation", as well as the special Karma/Reputation perks. In Fallout 2, what was originally called Reputation was renamed to Karma, and Reputation became a measurement of how you are perceived by various communities.

As a statistic, Karma (Reputation in the original Fallout) is a measurement of your good or bad deeds and how they are perceived by the inhabitants of the Wasteland in the wasteland.

Wanderer
You start off with the status of a 'wanderer' with 0 karma points. This Status can therefore also be called Neutral. You stay a wanderer until you either reach +250 or -250 karma points.

Defender
If your positive karma reaches 250 you gain the status of the 'Defender'.

Shield of Hope
If your positive karma reaches 481 you gain the status of the 'Shield of Hope'.

Guardian of the Wastes
If your positive karma reaches 751 you gain the status of the 'Guardian of the Wastes'.

Savior of the Damned
If your positive karma reaches 1001 you gain the status of the 'Savior of the Damned'.

Betrayer
If your negative karma reaches -250 you gain the status of the 'Betrayer'.

Sword of Despair
If your negative karma reaches -481 you gain the status of the 'Sword of Despair'.

Scourge of the Wastes
If your negative karma reaches -751 you gain the status of the 'Scourge of the Wastes'.

Demon Spawn
If your negative karma reaches -1001 you gain the status of the 'Demon Spawn'.

Fallout 3
Karma is the system in Fallout 3 that keeps track of the moral actions and consequences of a character. Karma is the principle of cause and effect, it will represent the players aptitude towards a certain status - good, neutral or evil. It is measured in points, however, the player never gets to see their numerical karma value, only the title.

Ways of lowering and raising karma in Fallout3

 * Killing an Evil character or creature: +0 karma
 * Killing a Very Evil character or creature: + 100 karma
 * Killing a Neutral or Good creature: -25 karma
 * Killing a Neutral or Good character: -100 karma
 * Stealing from a non-evil character or faction: -5 karma per item
 * Donating caps to any church: Depends on the amount of caps
 * Performing a good action in a freeform quest: At least +50 karma
 * Performing an evil action in a freeform quest: At least -50 karma