OK I searched through the forums, but couldn't find an answer to my question.

So, I located the family, I killed the family, I found Ian, gave him the letter... oh and yea, I robbed them blind LOL (Heck, they were outlaws and they were dead...).
I thought the people of Arefu would be happy that I took care of the Family. But nooooooooo, upon exiting the subway station, I got a message that said:

"The people of Arefu are now hostile towards you" and Blood Ties failed. I was like huh, why? o.0 Anyone? The Family turned hostile towards me (well I went into sneak mode and moved past the guard and picked the lock) so I just defended myself. Picked up some nice gear, too LOL

Thanks for any explanation you can provide. Can I clear my hostile status? Just wondering.

This quest is really easy to foul up. Picking the lock on the door turns the Family hostile, killing the Family turns Arefu hostile and any of the Arefu folk being killed by a wandering mirelurk will turn them hostile and fail the quest too. I read that you might be able to clear your hostile status with Arefu by using the Wait function for at least 24 hours before receiving the message that Arefu is hostile to you. If that doesn't work, all you can do is reload a save to before picking the lock on the door.

For what its worth, you're not missing out on any great reward by failing the quest and once the quest is completed, there's not much of a reason to go back to Meresti or Arefu either one. All you'll miss out on is a trader at Meresti and he's a pain to get to anyway.

Oh ok, yea I kind of figured that it's no great loss. I just thought the Family would be hostile from the start, the way the people of Arefu talked about them... LOL Ok cool, good to know though for my next play through.

Thanks a lot for your reply, ghoul! (now get away from me, you zombie! hahahaha) (-10 Karma... yea yea lol)

I expected them to be hostile also but if you go there peacefully, you'll have a long conversation with their leader, Vance, who is one of my favorite characters in the game but it's nothing that can't wait until your next game

Now I actually feel bad. First I enter their hideout without permission, then I proceed to wipe them out. I'll definitely take the peaceful route next time around!!

There is also a unique weapon that can be obtained in Meresti along with a perk that lets you use all those blood packs you find laying around. These are only available if you find a peaceful solution to the family's raids on Arefu.

Vampire's Edge is still in the cabinet if you wipe them out so all you miss out on is the perk which isn't very useful. 20hp per blood pack is sad.

I did the exact same thing my first play through , except I actually tried talking to them. But after they didnt see things my way. I was like "oh ya , have a few rockets for breakfast" hehe.

If stimpaks werent so prevalent, the 20hp on bloodpaks might be better,except they have weight. Vance will buy your bloodpaks though. Its about like selling scrapmetal to that guy in megaton ,not very lucrative.

Yo, I rely on those bloodpacks. The perk is great. (Can only carry a limited number of stims, so any other health bonus is good.) Though yes, it's a pain to get to Meresti just to trade (no fast travel for me). Though Karl has an unusual amount of scrap metal for a location.
A little off topic:
I've tried repeatedly with no luck, but can you enslave anyone from the Family? Or Arefu for that matter?

Actually selling scraqe metal to Walter is the best deal. You get caps and karma. And the weight loss isn't that great for the amount of caps you get.

I'm not 100% positive since I don't have the Geck open at the moment but I don't believe any of the Family or Arefu people are mezzable. It's a shame because it would give you another option for playing out the situation or something to do after the quest is over. Evan King would look so nice in a collar

Limited # of Stimpak carry count? Is that a self imposed rule mod?

For self imposed rule mods , I did like saying I could only use blood paks during combat via a hot key. They have twice the hp as cola and water. plus werent that prevalent in the wasteland. With this rule I was only useing stimpaks as the healing gained through sleeping. 1 stimpak = 4hrs through the wait function.

On a side note ... I was making a ton of caps selling chems related to AP since I never used Vats , and also selling excess stimpaks,food,alchohol.

Since I had really low str to simulate a better carry amount. Collecting scrap metal seemed a pittance compared to the money made from chems. Plus all the way back to megaton with no fast travel gave it even less sense with my self rule modding.

The Intended scripting for scrapmetal is pretty good, especially in the beginning. Oh ya , I forgot about the Karma gain.

As far as enslaving either The Family or Arefu, there is a mod, FNNCQ, that allows you to enslave practically anyone in the Wasteland.

I go to the vendor, Carl, at Meresti Station last on my rounds to all the vendors when I’m selling loot or looking for ammo. He’s kind of rude, but the whole game is that way, isn’t it? The quest there is OK if you take it easy and don’t start blasting. Patience!

Oh, and by the way, there is a nuke on top of the platform on the left when viewed from Vance’s position. Shoot it off with a sniper rifle. Doesn’t seem to bother the residents.

"Oh, and by the way, there is a nuke on top of the platform on the left when viewed from Vance’s position. Shoot it off with a sniper rifle. Doesn’t seem to bother the residents."
Warning, don't try this if you are using FWE. The mini nuke will detonate.