This page lists all new encounters and changes to existing locations in the Capital Wasteland in the Fallout 3 add-on Broken Steel.
These encounters including all non-player characters involved will respawn after three game days.
New buildings in existing locations[]
Jury Street Metro Station[]
At Jury Street Metro Station a new building called Hank's Electrical Supply has been added. There are two raiders on the roof and three more raiders inside, protecting stolen aqua pura barrels. As a result of this being a random encounter spawn point, the raiders may be found fighting random characters, i.e. Talon Company mercs or Sam Warrick.
Montgomery County Reservoir[]
- A silo is added a little northwest of the raider-held Montgomery County Reservoir. Inside are several stolen barrels of aqua pura.
Encounters in fixed locations[]
Arlington Library[]
South of Arlington Library, there is a triangular building to the west of the Talon Company Outpost. In between two buildings, there is an abandoned aqua cura barrel with tin cans around it. Upon approaching the barrel, 3-4 Talon Company mercenaries will appear around a corner (to the south-east) and will ambush you.
Big Town[]
Encounter a little north of Big Town involving four or more slavers ambushing a water caravan. Slavers are not hostile towards the player. There might be a large group of raiders as well, probably from the camp along the river, but not always.
Chevy Chase East[]
Just outside Chevy Chase East station, there is a super mutant overlord guarding several barrels of aqua pura.
Evergreen Mills[]
Evergreen Mills now has empty aqua pura crates in the front of the entrance with a sign that says "Free Water". There are several raiders ready for an ambush on the cliff above, and there may be a new corpse trap (a Wastelander's body rigged to explode like a baby carriage (which can be disarmed)). Note that the empty crates appear before Take it Back! has been completed. The wastelander can sometimes be found alive, with 1-2 bars of health left. He still explodes if you approach him though, and can be disarmed as per normal. If you try to talk to him he tells you that he has nothing to say to you.
Fort Bannister[]
At Talon Company's headquarters in Fort Bannister, Brotherhood of Steel member Paladin Jensen can be found being held captive in the outside tents. Rescuing him causes him to charge the fort's defenses. Shortly afterward, a Brotherhood of Steel squad will launch a large-scale attack on Fort Bannister and its Talon Company defenders. This encounter may not occur if Talon Company's Commander Jabsco is killed before finishing the Take it Back! quest.
Jefferson Memorial[]
On the end of the catwalk in front of the Jefferson Memorial heading towards Rivet City, the player may find a Brotherhood Initiate burning mirelurk corpses. If spoken to, the Initiate will inform the player that all of the mirelurks in the basin are suddenly dying and he has been given the task of burning the "floaters". Apparently, mirelurks can't survive in the Tidal Basin's non-radiated water. There is also a Brotherhood Initiate to the right of the Tidal Basin shooting any living mirelurks remaining.
Kaelyn's Bed & Breakfast[]
Between Kaelyn's Bed & Breakfast and VAPL-58 Power Station three non-hostile, but not welcoming, female wastelanders wait around a small shack. On a table inside the shack is a holotape labeled "Wastelander Holotape#1". This holotape details their role in ambushing caravans. If attacked the others don't become hostile but instead say "better him than me."
Megaton[]
In front of Megaton a group of residents are trying to take the rest of a water shipment from a caravan bound for Big Town. If left alone, the Megaton residents will pull guns and get killed in short order by the Brotherhood of Steel, as will Stockholm, Deputy Weld, and any other non-player character in front of Megaton. A successful speech challenge will avoid the bloodshed and provide Good Karma. Of course, you can also tell Megaton's residents you'll back them up if they try to make a move for the water, at which point they will promptly attack the Brotherhood of Steel caravan guards, the caravan driver, and strangely enough the brahmin carrying the aqua pura.
(Also the residents can sometimes be attacking the caravan upon exiting Megaton without being able to talk to them.) 
(If a giant ant spawns the residents will attack it then turn on the brahmin and only the brahmin; niether the scavenger nor the Brotherhood of Steel will react. The caravan will continue along its merry little way, one Paladin will follow the scavenger while one will stay put. Alternatively, the residents will follow the caravan without attacking while one Paladin still remains at Megaton.)
Nuka-Cola Plant[]
- On the street north-northeast of the Nuka-Cola Plant there is a crate full of aqua pura barrels being fought over by Talon Company mercs and a group of raiders.
- A group of 3 neutral, helmetless Enclave soldiers standing around an Enclave Camp just north of the Nuka-Cola Plant. Talking to the Enclave soldiers while they are non-hostile will only result in each of them saying, "I've got nothing to say to wastelander scum like you." A Brotherhood Outcast patrol will walk by eventually, and the Enclave soldiers will run up to the patrol, saying, "Don't shoot! We surrender! We fragged our lieutenant, we just want some water. Please." Whoever the Enclave soldiers speak to will reply with, "Hahaha. We're not Lyons' pack of softies. We're the real Brotherhood of Steel. This is how we deal with people like you." The Outcasts and Enclave will then fight, typically resulting in the death of the Enclave soldiers. If the player is allied with the Outcast faction, the Enclave soldiers may become immediately hostile to the player as well as the Outcasts once the patrol makes their intentions clear.
- Though both the Enclave soldiers and the Outcast patrol will respawn (as well as the "fragged" Enclave officer) this encounter only occurs once properly. After the initial fight the Enclave soldiers are immediately hostile to the Outcast patrol.
Springvale School[]
In the Enclave Outpost by the river North-East of Springvale School, the Enclave officer can be found executing their own men (who, similar to the ones at the Nuka-Cola plant outpost, are helmetless and apparently trainees or recruits). Both the Officer and the Enclave soldiers (if they are somehow saved by the player) remain hostile towards the player.
Seward Square[]
Talon Company camp outside the Capitol Building in Seward Square with one or more Talon Company mercs depending upon the PC's level and a holotape Talon Company Merc Log#1.
Tenpenny Tower[]
Encounter west of Tenpenny Tower involving a water caravan approaching a non-hostile raider disguised as a wastelander dying of thirst. When the caravan is close enough, the raider becomes hostile, taking out a missile launcher and the caravan is ambushed by four more raiders. The Brotherhood Knight will likely kill the raiders, but the merchant may die.
Moving encounters[]
Water caravans[]
Water caravans travel through the Wasteland and can be seen along their route:
- Jefferson Memorial - Irradiated Metro - Citadel - Arlington Library - Flooded Metro - Nuka-Cola Plant - Andale - valley south of the Overlook Drive-In and Cliffside Cavern - Robco facility - Smith Casey's Garage - they stay on the road between Little Lamplight and Charnel House, road between Jalbert Brothers Waste Disposal and Everglow National Campground until Five Axles Rest Stop, where they turn to MDPL Mass Relay Station - A Wanderers Camp - Paradise Falls - Reclining Groves Resort Homes - MDPL-13 Power Station - road between Greener Pastures Disposal Site and Alien Crash Site - Old Olney - Republic of Dave, where they turn and go back more or less the same way they came until crossroads southwest of Jalbert Brothers Waste Disposal where they stay on the road which passes Fort Bannister to Jury Street Metro Station - Enclave checkpoint E of station - military checkpoint on the hill - Fairfax Ruins - truck east of Andale and back on the original route until Jefferson Memorial.
- Sometimes the caravan will stray from the above course if they are attacked.
- If you ever lose the caravan and want to find it again, simply wait for 1 hour at the Jefferson Memorial and it will appear at the bridge.
- A water caravan passes outside the Republic of Dave, guarded by two paranoid Rivet City Security Officers. Exclamations of "They're everywhere!" are accompanied by the guards shooting at nothing.
- Water caravans travel between Rivet City and Jefferson Memorial.
- Unlike the trade caravans, the water caravans will respawn if killed.
- Ordinarily caravans are guarded by 2 Rivet City Security Officers, but a bug exists where the caravan will spawn with only 1 guard. The other guard can be found by waiting at the Jefferson Memorial. However, the guard will be lagging behind the caravan by several hours and therefore he/she may never catch up with the rest of the caravan.