Raiders

Raiders are any group of people who pillage, plunder, murder, or otherwise ruin the day of anyone unfortunate enough to not be one of them. If there were still laws, they'd be outlaws. Raiders tend to organize into loose confederations of gangs in the post-apocalyptic wasteland and are a constant problem, because it's much easier for them to just shoot people for their money, food, and other valuables than to earn a living. Raiders typically prey upon travelers and very small towns, leaving more populous areas alone, where they are outnumbered and have no element of surprise.

There are three distinct raider groups referenced by the first Fallout: Jackals, Vipers, and Khans, although only the latter appear in the actual game. All three groups originated from Vault 15. Quoted from the Fallout Bible:
 * The Jackals: The first clan, the Jackals, is your typical group of crazies. They have no morals except one: survival. They use group tactics to overmatch their enemies. They are craven cowards, though, and will not attack unless they know they can win. They band together in their hideaway and fight over the spoils.
 * The Vipers: The second clan, the Vipers, are mysterious followers of an ancient religion (or so they claim). They usually only come out at night to hunt for food or to conduct raids. They are very ruthless when it comes to combat. They prefer stealth to strength. They usually carry bone knives dipped in Pit Viper venom. This poison, when in the blood stream, paralyzes the victim. Most victims captured in this way are taken back to their hideout.
 * The Khans: The last group, the Khans, is probably the most dangerous. They live the lifestyles of Mongol warriors, raiding towns, burning what they cannot take and capturing the survivors for use as slaves. They usually travel in small scouting bands, but sometimes they roam as full war parties. The Khans above all else respect strength. They are eager in combat to prove their worthiness to the clan by engaging in hand to hand combat with fists or clubs. The Khans carry very few firearms (since they are for cowards). Anyone showing superior strength is worthy of their respect. The leader of the Khans is so because no one has beaten him in combat....yet.

There are numerous other groups of raiders in Fallout 2, among these are the cave-dwelling raiders somewhere North of Broken Hills, protected by raised plates, falling traps and barbed wire-walls with locked and trapped doors. They are actually hired by the Bishop family of New Reno with arms supplied by the New California Republic to lay pressure on Vault City to force them into becoming annexed by the NCR. Or so they hope to achieve...they're actually more like mercenaries, but in the eyes of Vault City, they are raiders, only more tactical: Never going through a line of fire, having officers, and laying supression fire on important targets. It seems as if they have no weaknesses, except for a hidden back-exit they are supposed to use in case of retreat. There is also an alternative entrance. The New Khans, led by the only survivor of the original group, also appear in the second game. They are hiding out inside the secretive corridors of the ruined Vault 15, protected by squatters.

Fallout 3
In Fallout 3, Raiders are crazy, lawless, or criminal humans who live out in the wild of Washington D.C. you should expect to encounter them often at lower levels and they carry all sort of different weapons. They are usually armed with hunting rifles, SMG's, Assault Rifles and other low class weaponry, however they can also be seen sporting melee weapons, grenades and even big guns like the missile launcher and flamer. Occasionally one will see them hunting with guard dogs. (An unarmed raider with no armor has been spotted as well.) They are however poorly armored, and tend to die quickly.

Known places of Fallout 3's Raiders are Springvale Elementary, Evergreen Mills, and Super Duper Mart. Also in the Bethesda Ruins there is a larger-sized band of Raiders. They can also be found roaming around the Capital Wasteland. Raiders also inhabit Wheaton Armory and all of them respawn with different weaponry every day or two. This comes in handy when the PC has gotten Law Bringer and has trouble finding evil characters. They also come in handy when fighting super mutants, where the raiders will focus on killing the mutant first, instead of going directly for the Lone Wanderer (the PC).

Raiders have no alliances with other factions and will attack everyone but other raiders. They appear to be quite cruel, as places they inhabit are usually filled with the mutilated bodies of other raiders and wastlanders, implying that they torture captured enemies. The Raider Sadist Armor is equipped with several dismembered hands that the raider has kept as trophies.

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