I Refuse to be overly challenged. But I still want decent XP. What are the % drops/gains of XP of the difficulties? 1st Fallout 3 Playthrough l

For your first playthrough normal.

Just don't change it, keep it on normal because normal is the most balanced. If you find that too easy crank it up to Hard, then to Very Hard if you wish. But for now based on your description I am guessing Normal.

ok normal seems fine. But how do XP rewards differ?

On Very Hard you get 1.5 times the experience point as normal. That means you can level fast. Alot of people think it's way too fast. On Very Easy you get half the points as normal.

I'd also recommend normal. The unmodded game is not all that difficult, even on very hard (and I don't think I have spectacular combat skills). My first playthrough was on Normal and I thought it was okay for me. I would not recommend anything easier than Normal, you might consider increasing difficulty if it gets too boring on Normal.

Wow, really?? I didn't know that.