Smuggler

Smugglers are hostile non-player characters encountered in the Fallout 3 add-on Point Lookout.

Background
Roving bands of smugglers occupy much of Point Lookout, moving in to plunder the area of its natural resources, or slaying those who venture into their camps. They carry a wide variety of equipment, and seem to have a reasonably stable social order, although they have been known to execute their own from a plank high above the cliffs overlooking the Herzog Mine. Ruthless, unrepentant, and well-armed, they cannot be reasoned with, and must be fought.

Smuggler at Herzog Mine
Above Herzog Mine is the mutilated corpse of a recently-shot smuggler, which has just fallen from some wooden planks. His corpse contains leather armor, brass knuckles, and the Smuggler's confession holotape, explaining his death in better detail. If you walk away from the mine and look up you will see two smugglers; one holding the other prisoner at gun point and then see him shoot the other in the back. You can kill the smuggler with the gun but you cannot save the prisoner (because he is scripted to die automatically), both smugglers appear friendly on your map.

Sometimes if you are at the entrance to the mine and you look up, you will see the "ghost" of the smuggler above you, only to revert to a lump of meat if you climb back up to the planks. If you approach the Herzog Mine for the first time from the water and work your way up, you can actually see him fall from the planks. Also, if you walk towards the smuggler from the Ark & Dove cathedral, he is still standing on the planks but unresponsive. He yells out things like "Hey!" and "Stop that!" if you attempt to pickpocket him or shoot at him.

Effects of player's actions
Smugglers will always be hostile to the player. They will usually travel in groups of 3-4, so they can prove to be trouble for lower level characters, but more of a nuisance for the Lone Wanderer with a high level.

Appearances
Smugglers appear only in the Fallout 3 add-on, Point Lookout.

Bugs

 * Sometimes the smuggler above Herzog Mine will appear alive and friendly. If you talk with him, you will find a blank dialog box and he will say nothing. He does not fight back when attacked and you will receive experience by killing him (as much as a normal smuggler) but no karma loss/gain. He can also be pick-pocketed for leather armor, brass knuckles, and the Smuggler's Confession holotape.
 * The smugglers may never appear at the lighthouse.
 * The smugglers may never appear anywhere in the game at all, leaving their camps empty and not a single encounter with the lone wanderer whatsoever.