I helped Ringo in Goodsprings, got villified by the powder gangers, and am now at the NCR CF. The gangers are all attacking me on sight, but i lose karma from looting the containers....why? Is this a bug?

because your stealing from the powder gangers. your taking that which doesn't belong to you but another faction. Ignore it, you can steal hundreds of items and it would be negated by killing a few "bad guys". Frankly I don't know why you should pay attention to karma anyway. IF you want to be good if you do good deeds it far out weights a few "bad things".

And because if you had completed "Run Goodsprings Run" instead, they would be your allies.

-Nukeknockout

Then why dont i get penalized for looting random raiders and other assorted "bad guys" in the wasteland?

When they die they aren't mark as part of the faction anymore?

Because you don't get bad karma for taking from those who invariably attack you on sight. You also don't get bad karma for taking from corpses. Basically, if it shows up in red and says "Steal" taking it is going to give you bad karma. Similarly, if it says "Pick Up" instead of "Take", steel yourself for something script-based to happen.

The Powder Gangers are a faction, one which the player is capable of aligning with if the opposite quest to "Ghost Town Gunfight" is completed. The difference is that one is always hostile, the other is only hostile under some conditions.

-Nukeknockout

What annoys me is killing random bad guys with sneak attack gives good karma, why the hell is that ? Whats good about cowering behind a rock 100 yards away with Ratslayer taking potshots at them?
Killing is bad so why am I being reward for killing Fiends/FeralGhouls/PGs/Legion/Omertas etc. Even if I believe the Legion to be good guys I'm doing a good deed killing them. :confused: :teehee:

Yet more proof that there really is some greater system of justice, in the universe. :foodndrink: