So after shooting some Powder Gangers in the head, my character helps himself to their things and loses karma. So looting their bodies is totally kosher but the dynamite sitting out on the table isn't? So how about a fix for the karma system that it's no longer "stealing" after you've already killed the owner?

'Ok, guys, I know stealing is wrong... but only if you don't murder your victim first. Lol!'

Right.

Could you repeat the part where you think it's totally morally cool to kill someone for their possessions? Of course you're still going to take a Karma hit... Hell, it should be multiplied since you're just piling on the crimes now.

It's a faction owned item, not a personal owned item. You can't kill a faction. Well, you technically can, but killing one guy ain't doing it.

I'm beginning to think the system simply has an implemented "owned" tag and leaves it at that.

In other words, Fallout 3.

As I've said in other threads, the simplest explanation is the developers didn't have the resources to make Karma and Factions play nice, so they went with this.