Fallout 3 merchants Merchants can be found at various locations throughout the Capital Wasteland , the Pitt , and Point Lookout in 2277 . Background . Most towns in the wasteland have merchants selling food and drinks , with those in more prosperous settlements also offering weapons , armor , and clothing . Doctors can treat various ailments for a fee , and certain traders can repair the player character ' s equipment . In addition to these traders , there are also four caravan merchants traveling the DC wastes , with one dedicated to food and chems , one to weapons , a third to armor , and a fourth to junk items . Other wastelanders can be found selling random , and sometimes rare , items . Special encounters with doctors , chem vendors , and hunters ( food vendors ) are also possible when traveling . Due to the transient and vulnerable nature of traveling the wasteland , it is advisable to consider the caravan merchants and wasteland scavengers a temporary system of bartering meant to be used early in the game . Merchant inventories will scale with the player character ' s level , although certain advanced items such as power armor and plasma weapons will not normally be available . Prices are the same from store to store , but can also be affected by the player character ' s Barter skill . Merchants will have a new inventory at 12 : 00 AM every Sunday and Wednesday . Any caps paid to merchants can be found in their inventories should they be killed . Merchants . Merchant overview . Sells Mesmetron power cell s only . Caravan merchants . Caravan merchants are named roving salesmen that carry goods across the wasteland . They travel accompanied by a single armed caravan guard , and a pack brahmin . Crazy Wolfgang , Crow , Doc Hoff , and Lucky Harith can be encountered on their trade routes , stopping to sell their wares at various locations . Each merchant specializes in a specific category of item , and also offers repair services . Attacking any caravan merchant will result in all four caravan merchants refusing to trade with the player character . Caravan investment . At Canterbury Commons , Uncle Roe offers the player character a map showing the paths of the merchants and their various trade stops . He also gives the option of investing in any of the caravans . The player character can choose to invest twice in each merchant , with 200 and then 500 caps ( or 100 and then 250 with the Master Trader perk ) . Investing in a caravan allows that merchant to sell a wider variety and higher quality of items , and increases the number of caps they have available when trading . It also raises their Repair skill ( up to 75 in one case , with the second investment ) , allowing them to restore the player character ' s equipment ( i . e . weapons and apparel ) to near perfect condition . Caravan guard overview . All caravan guards are equipped with R91 assault rifle s and leather armor . They are significantly better combatants than most other human non - player characters , and are roughly on par with a non - player character companion or super mutant master in terms of durability . Caravan routes . Each caravan follows the same route across the wastelands . They often use roads even though the roads are dilapidated . In order of travel , the merchants stop just outside each of the following areas : The merchants cycle through the caravan waypoints in the same order : Doc Hoff , Crazy Wolfgang , Crow , then Lucky Harith . They move around the game world at different rates depending on whether time passes in real game - time , or wait - time . For example , when looking at Doc Hoff and using the Wait feature to jump ahead two or three hours , Crazy Wolfgang will appear there instead . However , if one does not use the Wait feature and actually stands there in real game - time , no one will appear for the next five + hours . Even if the caravan owner and bodyguard are dead , their pack brahmin will still follow the trade route . However , the brahmin offers no interaction options . Even if the key to the merchant ' s inventory is looted from his body , the dead merchant ' s inventory will never restock on the brahmin . Caravan death and injury . Caravan merchants have more health than standard non - player characters , and their caravan guard bodyguards are significantly tougher than normal , even wearing their basic leather armor . Both the merchants and their guards also carry a couple of stimpaks for healing wounds in combat . Pack brahmin have a large amount of health , considerably more than a regular brahmin . Nonetheless , caravan merchants are still susceptible to death due to the dangers of their routes : deathclaws , yao guai , Enclave soldiers , raiders and super mutant s . Although the merchants usually slip by the danger if the player character is not in the area , caravans may be attacked any time they are in the same area or cell as the player character — regardless of whether they are visible or not . Certain areas of the route are extremely dangerous . For example , the route from Megaton to Rivet City goes past Arlington Library and the Citadel , through Central DC , and across the super mutant - infested bridge across the pipes leading into Jefferson Memorial . As one progresses along the main quest and achieves higher levels , the more powerful monsters will take a toll on the caravan merchants . The Enclave will establish camps directly on the caravan route or near enough to produce an encounter , like the large camp controlling the crossroad south of the Temple of the Union , which will pose a problem if the merchant approaches the camp while the Lone Wanderer is in the area . Late in the game , it is not uncommon to see a lone merchant without either their pack brahmin or guard . One can check to see if a merchant is dead by talking with Uncle Roe and asking to invest . It is not possible to invest in a dead merchant . Any surviving bodyguards will hang around Uncle Roe ' s house in Canterbury Commons . A dead pack brahmin , however , may respawn . If the caravan merchant ' s brahmin survived , it may still encountered , fully stocked and wandering the Wasteland . Increasing caravan survivability . Players may be able to stave off the demise of a caravan merchant by various means . Methods by which players may do this include forcibly providing better equipment to the merchants and their bodyguards ( see Pickpocketing and Planting items ) , pre - clearing areas where they travel of enemies ( See locations that fall on caravan routes and Enclave camps ) , purposely spawning only friendly random encounters along their caravan routes ( see random encounters and their locations ) , and avoiding entering map cells that they travel in altogether , when at all possible .