Hi there, new player of Fallout here, longtime FPS player since DooM, Quake....S.T.A.L.K.E.R. most recently: yadda

Anyway, After I tell the sheriff in Megaton about the shady guy who wants to blow the town up, I cannot get the sheriff through the encounter alive.

Even using V.A.T.S. he manages to get one shot off, which kills the sheriff instantly. ONE SHOT. After replaying the encounter 3 times I just moved on.

Sure it is nice to have that AK so soon (why is it called 'Chinese Assault Rifle'?), but I read here that the sheriff will give you keys to your own house after completing a quest.

Being dead now, I doubt that will happen!

Any suggestions?

reload your older save,you dont need to tell the sheriff about the shady guy, you can just straight up kill burke before you even talk to him, no one turns hostile. the only way to get simms through that alive is to not tell him about burke, also you need to side with simms and disarm the bomb for a house or blow it up for a room in tenpenny tower (dont do it.)

Without spoilers...

When was your last save? I have found that if you spam VATS right after Burke finishes, I can get VATS set up before he takes the shot. You need something more than a 10mm pistol to kill him with a headshot though. An assault rifle might work, maybe even a hunting rifle, but it all boils down to your small guns skill as well.

Truth be told, as a single dad, it breaks my [censored] heart to leave young Harding without a father, so I might agree to help out Burke initially, but I would be crossing my fingers behind my back.

i do the same, i only talk to him to pass his speach challenge