Fallout 3 random encounters

Throughout the world of Fallout 3, you can encounter random events in the Wastelands. There are certain places where random encounters can happen, but once "activated", a random encounter in a particular area won't change.

You can save outside the spawning area and keep reloading if you don't get the encounter you want. However, unique random encounters do not occur in all random encounter locations (see the list below).

Some Random Encounters will "reset" after a few game days, while others are unique occurences that only happen once. Typically, encounters that involve unique NPCs or scenarios only occur once, while encounters involving combat between two groups of generic NPCs (i.e. Brotherhood Outcasts vs. a Deathclaw) will reset every few game days.

Random encounters

 * Hitmen, Regulators, and angry mobs.
 * A Talon Company ambush if you have a Karma rating of Good or Very Good, with the "Private Contract" note.
 * A Regulator ambush if you have a Karma rating of Evil or Very Evil. Sometimes there is a Speech challenge where you can bypass them.
 * A Hitman ambush, with the "Contract for Extermination" note ordered via Mr Burke, if you did not destroy Megaton and regardless whether you killed him.
 * Four Slavers seeking to eliminate you as competition because you have made them look bad - if you capture a large number of slaves (three or more).
 * Three Megaton refugees who attack you (they only appear if Megaton is destroyed in The Power of the Atom).
 * Another Hitman ambush, if killed, you can find a note on the hitman's body stating to wipe out all persons not of Allistair Tenpenny's favor.
 * A Hitman ambush, composed of Wastelanders instead of Talon Company Mercs, who call you "slaver scum" and attack you to avenge their friends. This encounter only occurs if the player has enslaved NPCs using the Mesmetron.

Scavenger encounters

 * A normal Scavenger roaming the Wasteland with his/her pack Brahmin and possibly a pet (dog, robot, or Yao Guai). He/she has no unique dialogue, and instead has the standard Scavenger dialogue tree (offering to sell from his random inventory, or to repair the player's items).
 * A Scavenger in camp. A scavenger spawns standing stationary near a burning oil barrel.  There is usually a nearby pack Brahmin and pet (either dog or Yao Guai).  He usually has a limited number of items and small cash reserves.  The inventory is randomized in each encounter.
 * A Scavenger heading to Girdershade His entourage includes one or more of the following pets: a Brahmin, Dog or trained Yao Guai.  He'll offer you a Nuka-Cola Quantum.  You can barter with him into reducing the price.  You may randomly encounter him more than once, - meaning that once the limited quantity of Quantum has been used up off of the original map, the Quantum scavenger will become an unlimited, but random, source of it.


 * When approached he will say, Can I interest you in an extremely rare refreshment?


 * Q1-1: That sounds mighty good in this heat. What is it?


 * A1-1: It's called Nuka-Cola Quantum. It's much better than your average Nuka-Cola... it even glows in the dark!


 * Q1-2: If it's that rare, I bet it will cost an arm and a leg.


 * A1-2: Nuka-Cola Quantum is worth its weight in gold. It's much better than your average Nuka-Cola... it even glows in the dark!


 * Q2-1: Nuka-Cola Quantum, huh? That does sound good. How much?


 * A2-1: Only 100 caps, my friend, and a bargain at twice the price! Why, I know a lady in Girdershade who'd pay through the nose for one!


 * Q2-2: How is it better than a regular Nuka-Cola?


 * A2-2: For only 100 caps, you'll be the first to find out! I was on my way to Girdershade to sell it to the lady there, but you could save me the trip.


 * Barter him down to 50 and he concludes, [Success] Well, it will save me the trip. Fine, you've got a deal. Enjoy!


 * The Girdershade Scavenger carries a small randomized inventory and cash reserve so you can buy and sell items. He also does repairs.  As with any Wasteland NPC, he is vulnerable to attack and likely death from nearby hostile creatures.


 * A Scavenger heading to Big Town with his pet (either dog or Yao Guai).
 * If you have completed the quest Big Trouble in Big Town with the "guns" option rather than the "robots" option, he will tell you that Big Town has made a large order for guns, and he is headed there. You can trade with him, he carries a number of weapons and ammo.
 * If you have completed the quest Big Trouble in Big Town with the robots option rather than the guns option, he will tell you "I'm going to Big Town, there's a lot of money to be made there. They ordered a bunch of robot parts." You can tell him you could use some robot parts to trade with him. He has no robot parts, but does have a randomized inventory which usually contains some ammo, weapons, and other assorted junk. You can buy, sell, and/or repair everything, then subsequently kill him for your caps back along with whatever he had for sale. This will result in negative karma.
 * If you have completed the quest Big Trouble in Big Town with the sneak option, he will tell you that the residents of Big Town have placed an order of a few Stealth Boy units.
 * If you have completed the quest Big Trouble in Big Town with the explosives option, he will tell you that the residents of Big Town have placed an order of a lot of mines.
 * If you have completed the quest Big Trouble in Big Town by fighting super mutants alone, he will tell you that is safe there to trade.
 * If you have completed the quest Big Trouble in Big Town by abandoning the town to the super mutants, he will tell you that there is good scavenging in the ruins of Big Town.


 * A Scavenger and his pet (either dog or Yao Guai) around a dead random robot (usually a Protectron or Robobrain). He will tell you to stay away from his loot and will attack if you persist on "stealing" from him.  Even point your sights too long at the dead robot he may become hostile.  The robot spawns alive but weakened and usually is quickly killed by the scavenger before you arrive.  Even if you kill the robot before the scavenger can, he will claim it and become hostile if you loot it.  Speak to him before he becomes hostile to get the vendor options.   Killing him while he is hostile will result in negative karma, regardless of his reason for going hostile. Humorously, it's possible he'll say "Back off! Find your own robot to salvage!" (In out of dialogue, subtitled speech.)
 * A dead Scavenger with a lengthy inventory of loot on his corpse. Sometimes he will spawn holding a Fat Man in good condition, Mini Nuke, and a small number of other items instead of a large quantity of lesser valued items.
 * A dead Scavenger with 1 Mini Nuke and a Fat Man in poor condition.
 * A Scavenger with his malfunctioned Mister Handy. If you repair it, the Scavenger will give you two Energy Cells.  With a speech check, you can convince him to give you 100 caps and the energy cells. After fixing his robot, he will begin to travel the same route as the traders until he is killed. However, unlike the Caravan Merchants and Ben Canning, the Mr. Handy Scavenger will only travel if the player is in the same active map cell. Otherwise, the Mr. Handy Scavanger will remain frozen in his map cell. Waiting an hour while in the same active map cell as the Mr. Handy Scavenger will cause him to instantly travel to the next "trading stop" on the Caravan route (i.e. in front of Megaton, Rivet City, Agatha's House, etc.)

Wastelander/Slaver/Slaves encounters

 * Two Wasteland Settlers and two Escaped Slaves fighting over a refrigerator of 10 Purified Water. Opening the refrigerator will turn them hostile to the player, but sometimes just standing near it for too long can make them attack you. You can also convince them with a Speech check to share the water.
 * All four combatants drop fingers when killed if you have the Lawbringer perk.
 * Two Wastelanders pondering an Enclave Eyebot that hovers around them consistently (as opposed to a long patrol like most). They will always say the same things about the Eyebot, even if it is offline because Raven Rock was destroyed. There is no captioned interactive dialog that is possible with them, but they nevertheless hold a long dialog with one another, discussing the eyebot:
 * You see these all over now a days. I wonder what it means?
 * I don't know about you, but it sure gives me the creeps.
 * Creepy if you ask me.
 * What's it doing out here?
 * You think we should shoot it? Enclave tech...
 * I wouldn't. From what I hear you mess with their eyebots and the enclave comes looking for you.
 * I have half a mind to salvage it. "Broken when we found it!" ha ha.
 * That's worth a think. Might sell it for parts, long as we could bring it down mostly undamaged. Hmm...
 * I heard tell of a scavenger who tried that up Canterbury way... they found his body a week later, scorched with plasma bolts.
 * What's it doing out here?
 * I don't know, but I'd stay away from it. No telling what those Enclave types will get up to next.
 * It sure is shiny. I am not sure I like it though.
 * I'm not sure what to think about it.
 * What do you think it wants?
 * Hell if I know. Spying on us, probably. Nice reception, though. Wish I had speakers like that on my radio.
 * Do you think they're watching us through it? "Hi President Eden!" Maybe he'll come down for a visit sometime. Heh, heh, heh, heh.
 * I kinda like the music, though. Kind of nice to hear something more cheerful than what those hippies on GNR always play.
 * Yeah, something kind of soothing about it, though.
 * Ghoul Wastelanders around a burning barrel, telling you they were headed for Underworld but couldn't make it because of Super Mutants. They will tell you how to get to Underworld and mark it on your map.
 * This may be a continuity problem, because Willow, outside Underworld, tells the player that the Super Mutants don't attack ghouls. (confirmed)
 * One train of thought on this encounter is that the ghouls got caught in the cross-fire between the Super Mutants and the Brotherhood of Steel Knights that are at the Mall.
 * There is the fact that these ghouls may not be properly educated on wasteland survival, as ghouls may think the Super Mutants would kill them so they avoided them at all costs to be on the safe side. (Ask yourself, your old, tired, your skin is falling off, you unarmed, would you run up the big green monster and slap him?)
 * A Wastelander killing and looting a Mole Rat, or in rare instances a Mirelurk (only after completing the Wasteland Survival Guide quest). He has different dialogue options depending on whether or not the player completed all bonus objectives given by Moira and partially depending on chance (different Wastelanders may say slightly different things). If the player says he has helped with the book, a congratulatory or a mocking response is received. If the player says he has never heard of the guide, the Wastelander will provide him with a copy of the book. You receive no negative karma for killing this Wastelander. (It is also possible to watch the Wastelander killed by the Mirelurk, confirmed on the PC version).
 * Three Slavers with three Slaves. Freeing the Slaves (using high Science or Explosives skill to disable their collars) earns you positive karma, but makes the Slavers hostile towards you.
 * A Wastelander fleeing from a Deathclaw in pursuit.
 * Three Wastelanders fighting a weakened Deathclaw, one or more may already be dead. (Note that these Wastelanders do not have the schematics for a Deathclaw Gauntlet in their inventory, see below.) If you run within range of one of the NPCs before the Deathclaw is dead, he/she will stop you saying: We could use your help. That thing came out of nowhere. When you speak to an NPC after killing the Deathclaw he/she tells you: That thing would have killed us all without your help. Thanks. Listen, you may as well take this map. That's where we were headed, but that Deathclaw cured me of my itch for Wasteland adventure. He then gives you the location of Rock Creek Caverns. The "map" he gives you is listed in the "Notes" of your Pip-Boy with the description: The map shows directions to Rock Creek Caverns, with the notation: "Mirelurk King's Treasure Chamber!" The Wastelander ref ids are: 31e2b, 31e2c, 31e2d.
 * This encounter can glitch, resulting in no Deathclaw but another creature in it's place such as a Bloatfly or Protectron. (unconfirmed)
 * Three Wastelanders wearing Merc Outfits and carrying mid-level weapons, who are planning to raid Oasis. If you approach and ask them what they're discussing, they will accidentally reveal the location of Oasis and turn hostile. If you act like it's none of your business, they'll shoo you off and you can no longer initiate conversation with them; they will then remain in that location indefinitely.
 * A Wastelander attacked by Mole Rats. If you save her she'll give you a small amount of caps.
 * A Wastelander attacked by Radscorpions. If Broken Steel is installed these may be Albino Radscorpions.
 * Two Wastelanders fighting a Giant Radscorpion over a refrigerator of 8 purified water. The refrigerator itself is a spawn. Wastelander ref ids: 25dd0, 25dd2. It's also possible the wastelanders keep their distance of the Giant Radscorpion and warn you of it's presence. If you kill the Giant Radscorpion, you can take the content of the refrigerator. The wastelander won't mind it and if you talk to him after killing the Giant Radscorpion, he'll just say that you can have what's inside the refrigerator.
 * A Wastelander or Slaver fighting Vicious Dogs.
 * Three Wastelanders fighting a Super Mutant or Centaur. If at least one survives and are spoken to afterwards, they'll thank the player and hand over an item.
 * Two or three Ghoul Wastelanders in a stand-off with two or three Wastelanders or Escaped Slaves over a refrigerator full of purified water. You will get half of the water for helping one side to kill the other. If you arrive after one side has already been killed (usually the non-ghouls), you can also attempt a Speech check to take half of the water or in some cases all of the water.
 * A few Escaped Slaves who have a few dialogue options if you talk with them: if you know where the Temple of the Union is, you can give them the correct directions for some positive Karma, or lie to them for negative Karma, or just say goodbye.
 * A Wastelander runs up and tells you Grayditch is burning. (Reveals location of Grayditch)
 * Two Wastelanders near Frag Mines; one Wastelander will unsuccessfully try to disarm one of the mines. If you are lucky enough or quick enough you can save him by disarming the mines but there is no reward and he will have no dialogue options just react like a generic wastelander. For this player, this encounter seems to only happen near broadcasting stations.
 * Four escaped slaves who will ask you to remove their collars. Depending on your science skill, you could take it off for positive karma, or it could make their head explode.
 * A Wastelander who has a bomb attached to him, and is being pursued by a group of Raiders. Even if you manage to disarm the bomb (done with an Explosives skill of 100, known to fail with an Explosives skill of 89) and kill the Raiders before they can murder the Wastelander via other means, you apparently receive no reward. The Wastelander will simply stand around saying "Thanks. You saved my life!"
 * Sometimes if you fail to disarm the bomb, you could pull out a low DAM weapon like a .32 or a 10mm pistol and shoot the wastelander as he runs away then holster your weapon and try to disarm the bomb. It worked every time for me so it might work for anyone else.
 * A Wastelander named "John" with Vicious Dogs around him. You can save him and then kill him with no Karma change for a note and a key to "John's Treasure Box," located in the Scrapyard and containing 3 skill books. This event is subject to respawning, meaning John will periodically relive his mauling should you return after awhile. He may already be dead if you come across the encounter. (Note: supposedly, he is supposed to spawn dead; he will most likely be dead by the time you find him, regardless)
 * A Wastelander who talks about a "Green Mountain" before dropping dead. Searching his corpse you will find a note talking about the "Green Mountain" and how he trades there. Oasis's location will be revealed on your map.
 * Wastlender running at you on fire followed by a raider wielding a Flamer.
 * A Wastelander that, if approached will have a vision, if you ask him what he is seeing, He will say that the Wasteland will revive. He then dies and if you loot a note from his corpse, it will reveal the location of Oasis.

Hunters

 * 1-3 Hunters attacking a Giant Worker Ant, Giant Soldier Ant, Yao Guai, Vicious Dog, Super Mutant or Mole Rat. If they manage to kill the prey, they will take the meat from it. They will sell various sorts of meat to the player if asked to. The animal respawns every 72 hours. The Hunters themselves do not respawn if killed.
 * Three Hunters chasing and attacking a Wastelander. Killing the hunters results in positive Karma, and they carry Strange Meat, indicating they are roaming cannibals.
 * A lone Hunter chasing a Wastelander. If you kill the Wastelander, the Hunter will sell you meat like the others do (no karma change for killing either of them).
 * Hunters becoming aggressive and attacking the Lone Wanderer. Apparently to harvest Strange Meat, killing them results in good karma and fingers may be found on their corpses (lawbringer perk).

Raiders and Slavers

 * Three Slavers looking for escaped slaves. You can lie for positive karma, or you can charge them for information and they'll give you 50 caps. However, they will become hostile no matter the dialogue if they have to give you caps. Killing these Slavers wont turn Paradise Falls hostile.
 * Five Raiders, four beating the fifth one (with baseball bats), who is in undergarments, from all sides, in turns. It seems to be an initiation. If you sneak up and listen closely, you will hear what they are saying as they're beating the one without clothing:


 * "Pain... Pain is your ONLY friend... pain is your friend... That's right, LOVE the pain... embrace the pain... Are you gonna cry...? Come on, cry for me... Pain is your only friend... Don't flinch, you coward! You think you're good enough to run with us?! Just say the word and it's all over... 'Course then we'd have to skin you alive and eat your liver..." (this is repeated until either attacked by the player or the player is spotted)

(Note: The Raiders in this encounter respawn fairly regularly every few days in-game. If you were fortunate enough to encounter this event at or close to a location you can fast travel to, this could be a tremendous boon for Lawbringers or progress towards Doesn't Play Well with Others, as these Raiders don't seem particularly tough or well-equipped.) Grenades work very well here. Another useful tip here is to crouch a little distance away, and practice your out-of-V.A.T.S shooting, the Lincoln's Repeater works best here. The raiders will not notice that their friends are dying, and continue the ritual.
 * Three Raiders and a Wastelander with a time-bomb on him. (Bug: see Wastelander.)
 * Two Raiders fighting two Eyebots. The Eyebots usually win.
 * Two Slavers who will shoot you if you fail the Speech challenge.
 * A single Raider fighting Vicious Dogs.
 * 1-3 Raiders attacking 1-3 Wasteland Settlers.
 * Two Slavers with 2-3 dead Slaves around them. Dialogue indicates that they killed them. possibly because they tried to make a run for it.
 * Two Slavers with a live slave. Oddly, attacking the slavers will make the slave hostile.
 * One Slaver with three slaves. He will tell you he is taking the slaves to Paradise Falls and to mind your own business in floating text. If you kill the slaver, you may attempt to disarm the collars. Note, however, that there is no way way to know the chances of succesfully disarming the collar, so it is best to save before disarming each one.
 * For the 360, if you try to disarm a slave collar and fail, then quickly talk with them and try again, you have a chance to succeed the second time. The collar will be removed and then the head will still explode as if you failed, but without karma loss. (If you just fail and don't retry, you will lose karma)
 * A dead Raider next to a baby carriage. The baby carriage is an exploding trap.
 * A friendly (non-hostile) Raider sitting on a wrecked car. When talked to says "I'm not in the mood, asshole!" or "I don't want no trouble."
 * Two Raiders playing Baseball.
 * A raider gang (5-6 raiders) go to the horse races... only instead of horses, they have Mole Rats.

Corpse encounters (with or without animals/monsters)

 * A Deathclaw and a dead Wastelander. You can find the schematic for the Deathclaw Gauntlet on the dead Wastelander. (It is possible to save him; dialog will get you the schematics and a location marked on your map where he was attempting to go.)
 * Freddie Gomez dead and a Giant Radscorpion - if you drove the Vault 101 dwellers out of the Vault during Trouble on the Homefront.
 * Freddie Gomez's corpse can be found anywhere in the wasteland regardless of your actions in the quest Trouble on the Homefront he will have been killed going out to get purified water for the Vault 101 citizens.
 * A dead Brotherhood Outcast and two slightly wounded Deathclaws.
 * A dead Radscorpion will fall out of the sky if fast traveled to WKML radio station.

Exceptional monster encounters

 * A Deathclaw surrounded by the bodies of various robots, wasteland creatures, raiders, slavers and wastelanders.
 * A friendly Giant Radscorpion fighting 1-4 Giant Worker Ants. It will become sometimes hostile if you get too close to it. This will usually happen at Super-Duper Mart if fast traveling there.
 * A random number (up to six) of Mad Brahmin.
 * A random number (up to six) of Brahmin.
 * One to four Giant Ants around a toxic barrel with one being bigger than the others.
 * 5-7 Radroaches.
 * 2 Yao Guai and a small pack of mole rats hunting Brahmin. The brahmin may be dead by the time you arrive.
 * A friendly Mister Gutsy unit. All he will say when interacted with is the typical, "Another glorious day in this man's army!" slogan.
 * 3 Albino Radscorpions attacking 3 Hunters (W/ Broken Steel)
 * 1-3 Deathclaws surrounded by dead Brahmin (Or in the act of killing them)
 * A dead Giant Radscorpion facing a dead Yao Guai. Both appear alive and to be standing.
 * 5-7 mole rats attacking a wastelander. ( commonly encountered at the farm behind vault 101 ( 360 )
 * A group of Super Mutants with abnormal color schemes. (One was grey, another green, etc.) I don't know if this is intentional or just a glitch. Found on Xbox 360.
 * A friendly Mr. Handy trapped in a cage. When released says "Aha! I finally found you!" he then wanders off to a random location and gets killed by Raiders.
 * A friendly Mr. Handy locked in a closet. When Talked to he will only reply with "What is it now sir?"

Brotherhood Outcasts

 * One Brotherhood Outcast Robobrain.
 * One Brotherhood Outcast and a Robobrain fighting a Radscorpion
 * Two Brotherhood Outcasts and a robot. The robot is a Protectron, Robobrain, or Sentry Bot, possibly depending on level.
 * Two Brotherhood Outcasts with a Robobrain fighting a small group of Enclave Soldiers.
 * Two Brotherhood Outcasts armed with a Laser Rifle and Missile Launcher fighting two Yao Guai.
 * Three Brotherhood Outcasts. Two with Laser Rifles and one with a Gatling Laser.
 * Three Brotherhood Outcasts armed with Power Fists.
 * Three Brotherhood Outcasts fighting a Deathclaw.
 * Three Brotherhood Outcasts fighting Raiders.
 * Three Brotherhood Outcasts fighting Talon Company Mercs.
 * A small squad of Brotherhood Outcasts being chased by two Deathclaws.
 * Two Brotherhood Outcasts and a Robobrain Sometimes at the entrance of the Scrapyard.
 * One Brotherhood Outcast and a Sentry Bot fighting a group of Four Raiders and a Deathclaw outside Smith Casey's Garage
 * One Brotherhood Outcast holding a missle launcher and a dismembered outcast.
 * One Brotherhood Outcast running up a hill by Super-Duper Mart into an Enclave camp and gets killed.
 * A small squad of Outcasts fighting two Super Mutants before making a mad dash towards the inaccessable entrance to Vault 87.
 * Three Brotherhood Outcasts fighting the AntAgonizer



Item encounters

 * Four Frag Mines scattered with no one around.
 * Five Frag Mines which cannot be disarmed placed in a Square shape with one in the centre.
 * A UFO exploding overhead, dropping Firelance and spilling exactly 24 Alien Power Cells all over the area. It helps to have Dogmeat search for the remaining ammo if you can't find it.  Also, if you get this encounter to spawn near a building like the Super-Duper Mart, it's possible the ammo or the gun will clip through the building.  The only way to get the ammo is to have Dogmeat search for the ammo or gun, then when he is running up against the structure you can push him through it.

Other

 * Attacking a group of enclave soldiers (Usually with a Deathclaw) at an outpost. Afterwards, a Vertibird flies overhead. But it doesn't attack.
 * Two Protectrons dueling.
 * A Vertibird getting hit by a missile and crashing near you.
 * A Vertibird landing, dropping off a combination of Enclave soldiers and/or Sentry Bots, and then flying away. (Unless you shoot it down first.) In certain areas, will repeat over and over again, dropping off endless armies of enclave.
 * 7 Vicious Dogs attack you all at once.
 * 7 mole rats, hostile without the animal friend perk.
 * 2-3 mole rats eating a dead wastelander's corpse.
 * A Vertibird flying overhead, without stopping, and bombing the immediate area with Mini Nukes. This usually happens if there are other enemies in the area, usually Super Mutants, Raiders, or Talon Company Mercs. This is common in the vicinity of the Capitol Building, where the area is stricken with Super Mutants and Talon Company Mercs intent on annihilating each other.
 * An Enclave soldier running naked while being attacked by 2 raiders(one of the raiders having the Enclave power armor on with his raider armor unequipped in its inventory), there's also an enclave officer dead on the ground.
 * Three Enclave soldiers without helmets standing near a dead Enclave officer. If you talk to them they say "we don't want any trouble" or "this is none of your business"
 * 2 Talon Company Mercs Being chased by a radscorpion.
 * An Enclave outpost overrun by Raiders. The shields are knocked down, the Enclave soldiers are dead, and the Raiders are wearing the Enclave power armor(somehow, without power armor training), yet using typical Raider weapons, such as a baseball bat or a .10mm pistol.
 * The AntAgonizer and 3 Giant Worker Ants attacking a Wastelander. (only occurs after completing The Superhuman Gambit)
 * Just a Toxic Barrel
 * A random Protectron flying out of nowhere.
 * A lone Enclave soldier patroling. Can be encountered at any point in the game regardless of player level or storyline.
 * 5 Talon Company Mercs chasing an Enclave Eyebot in circles.

Special/unique npc encounters

 * A random member of the Tunnel Snakes from Vault 101 (Not Butch DeLoria).
 * Amata being questioned by two hostile Enclave soldiers and a non hostile Enclave officer; they will ask her where she obtained her Pip-Boy, and then ask for the location of her vault. After telling them however, the Officer will simply tell the troops to open fire, killing her; you can save her for no reward or dialog options, but she will only say "this is all your fault", even if you convinced her that her father/the new Overseer destroyed the Vault.
 * Amata being attacked by a Mr Gutsy, she will say the same things that she would say if attacked by the Enclave
 * Ben Canning. He is dying of thirst and asks for water. He will accept Purified Water or Dirty Water (unlike the other water beggars who only accept Purified Water). If you help him, he will join the Caravan Merchants' rounds around the wasteland (but not actually sell anything) until he dies.
 * Donovan from Reilly's Rangers engaged in battle with three Super Mutants. Save him and he will give you a Mini Nuke if you completed Reilly's Rangers. However, if he dies and you loot him and take things such as his unique wrench, it will make the rest of Reilly's Rangers hostile towards you the next time you see them at their base.
 * Laszlo Radford, hostile and will open fire on you with his Railway Rifle.
 * Mel, a modern Highwayman who will demand caps and items from you. You can either utilize speech options, or kill him.
 * Sam Warrick shooting at a Wastelander (if he kills the Wastelander, he'll turn on you).
 * Susie Mack, if you made Amata the Overseer of Vault 101 during Trouble on the Homefront. She will tell you that the Vault is doing fine and give you Purified Water.
 * Uncle Leo, a friendly Super Mutant. If you tell him you're going to rob him, he'll give you a Dirty Pre-War Businesswear as a present. If you attack him he'll run away instead of fighting.
 * "Wasteland Doctor", a Doctor/Merchant that can heal you and/or sell you medicine. (if you are willing to take the karma hit, killing her can result in a good 20-30 stimpaks and other medical supplies.)
 * "Wasteland Junkie", a Merchant that can sell you chems.
 * "Wasteland Merchant". After having a talk with him about the Great One, he'll collapse and die. You'll find a Wasteland Merchant Note on his body about him going to Oasis the next day. You can also loot a Roving Trader Hat and Roving Trader Outfit, which will give a combined +10 points to the Barter skill for a mere 3 points of inventory space.
 * If you receive a Chinese Radio Beacon over your Pip-Boy you'll find a dead Chinese Commando at the spawning point. The ref id is a0a4d and the commando carries a Chinese Jumpsuit which provides +5 to small gun skill. Also carries an Chinese Officer's Sword, pistol, and chems. If you get this encounter at Anchorage Memorial the commando is on the inaccessible statue in the middle.

Type A
Water-Related
 * Man dying of thirst in wasteland
 * Two wastelanders and two ghouls in standoff over water supply. (Good karma player with high speech can defuse situation)
 * The player encounters a group of Wasteland wanderers who are trying to get water from an old fire hydrant (or refrigerator) guarded by an abnormally huge Radscorpion. The player may help the wanderers get to the water or take it for himself.
 * Group of settlers in standoff over water supply

Misc
 * Settlers being pursued by Deathclaw
 * Deathclaw bones
 * Chinese soldier with radio beacon
 * Exploding UFO (Firelance)
 * Mel, the incompetent mugger
 * 3 Hitmen
 * Robot stuck in a conversation loop. On-looking technician requests help.
 * Two people trying to disarm a mine. They are unsuccessful and After it goes off one runs away, and the other refuses to talk to you.
 * Raider initiation rite
 * A dead scavenger carrying a Fat Man along with other mundane loot.
 * Laszlo Radford

Post-Quest
 * Post Quest: A traveling merchant is headed to Big Town (if you decided to save big town in the "Big Trouble in Big Town" quest)
 * Post Quest: Scavenger on his way to loot Big Town because it was destroyed and left deserted by Super Mutant attack.
 * Post Quest: Superhuman Signature (A child will walk up to you and ask for your signature. Occurs after completing The Superhuman Gambit and while wearing either one of the superheros' armor)
 * Post Quest: Watch Your Back (Mr. Burke sends hitmen after you. Occurs after disarming the bomb in Megaton.)
 * Post Quest: Vengeance for Megaton. (Megaton Refugees will attack player. Occurs if you detonate the bomb in Megaton).
 * Dead wastelander with John's Treasure Box Note.
 * Post Quest: Bragging Rights (Sydney attacks the player. Occurs if Sydney is still alive and the player did not team with her during the Stealing Independence quest.)
 * Post Quest: Oasis Traveling Merchant
 * Post Quest: Trouble on the Homefront if you choose to remove the water sources, you get Amata's Fate.
 * Post Quest: Wasteland Survival Guide (A wastelander battling any creature or a protectron, help them win and tell them you helped write the Wasteland Survival Guide they will give you caps or stimpacks, radaway etc...)

Type B

 * Post Quest: Reilly's Rangers encounter
 * Post Quest: Encounter with Susie Mack after Trouble on the Homefront
 * Mad Brahmin attacks anyone in the vacinity.
 * Cannibals hunting their "prey".
 * Sniper blows away his bait, then targets you.
 * "Human bomb" trap and raiders lying in wait.
 * Cannibals selling Strange Meat
 * Wastelander fleeing from Grayditch (Giving you the location of Grayditch)

Locations
These are the known locations so far:

Videos
thumb|300px|left|Manipulating random encounters