Greetings,

I've started playing Fallout 3 recently and I'm not sure if it's a glitch or not but I keep getting ''caught'' even though I sneak kill someone in an isolated place.

For instance, I sneak kill a man in an isolated place or room, whenever I go out in a public place, they suddenly all know it's me and keep shooting me.

I crouch and wait for the [Hidden] mark then I proceed to use V.A.T.S. and at the top left corner it notifies me that I've Critical Sneak Killed the target or something along those lines yet when I go out in public, I get attacked instantly.

Also, does Karma influence my gameplay? I lose Karma every time I steal something even though I'm perfectly hidden or even alone.

-Thank you

What are you using to kill them? Sneaking or not, they're going to hear a gunshot if you lack a suppressor.

I use melee weapons like a baseball bat or a knife.

Hmm... Could you specify who's attacking you? There are a few towns that even if you stealth kill someone, the faction will turn on you and things like that.

I was in Megaton. I killed a man behind closed doors with a melee weapon while being perfectly hidden and when I got out of the room. All the little rectangles, in the map/bar at the middle bottom of my screen, were red and I was getting shot.

Sneaking has no effect on Karma. If an object is owned by someone or some faction, you're going to lose it. The only benefit of sneaking while stealing is that you're less likely to be caught by the owner who may decide to attack you.


That's one of the areas that REL-Dovahkin mentions. If you kill one of the Megaton faction members the others will turn hostile on you regardless of whether anyone saw you or not.

What does Karma do? Does it take away from my charisma or speech?

Because what I'm trying to achieve is a very trustful/friendly persona yet being a thief under the covers.

Oh..that's..unfortunate. Why is it like that? That takes a lot away from the stealth aspect of the game.

Is there a mod out there that modifies that rule?

It determines how people are going to relate to you. If you're Good they'll be friendly and helpful, but if you're Evil they'll be less willing to deal with you and may even turn hostile.


You can counter negative acts like stealing with positive ones like giving water to a beggar or donating to a church. But it's really not that hard to become good even without those things. There are a number of quests that will reward you with Good Karma just for doing them.


Well yeah, the whole mechanism could have done better, but the point is that you're not really supposed to go around killing innocent people without any sort of consequence. Especially if you're trying to play a "good" character. However, if you stay away from there for 3 game days they should calm down again.

Wow, that just killed my feeling to play. I'm usually the backstabber kind of guy when it comes to open world RPGs.

I put as much charisma and speech as possible so people perceive me as a nice person but then I lose karma for doing things no one has witnessed and I get automatically caught if I kill someone without witnesses or sound.

Ehh..is there any mods that fixes these issues?

Also, is New Vegas the same?

New Vegas is even worse as far as pissing off factions is concerned. They won't forgive you if you simply disappear for a few days like in Fallout 3. Your actions against a particular faction has a big influence over the way the game plays out, with some quests not even being available unless you align yourself with certain groups. There are 4 distinct pathways to complete the game, depending on which faction you align yourself with. Though one of them is more of a neutral path where you're mainly out for yourself, rather than helping out some group.

And you don't automatically get caught. It's your actions against the faction that counts, particularly Good factions, not your stealth attack. If you kill someone while sneaking who's considered Evil or an enemy, then there are no penalties.

Thank you for these quick replies. I'll give New Vegas a go.

Are there any other Beth games that have the stealth mechanism totally working? Skyrim for instance?

I haven't played Skyrim yet so i don't know how it works there. Oblivion has a more relaxed system and there's no Karma, only Fame and Infamy. And stealing has no effect on those. And if you murder someone, people don't necessarily turn hostile on you unless you're caught in the act. Though you will be paid a visit from someone while you sleep. i don't want to give away too much in case you decide to play the game