Hello.

I've had an intense love-hate relationship with Fallout 3 for a long time.
The first time I played it was magical.
I got as far as Megaton at the time and fell in love with some of the game features.
VATS - finally there was a game with shooting elements that didn't need superfast reflexes. I could take combat at my own pace. The focus was on the roleplaying aspect and not in a "shoot everything you as fast as you can" manner that so many similar games had.
Despite my intense fear of zombies all I wanted to do after meeting Gob was give him a big hug.
Moria's enthusiasm for her research was contagious and filled with so much gleeful wonder that any caution towards my character promptly left.
The story of locating the main character's dad struck a deep cord and I thought I was ready to turn the Wasteland upside down to find him. ... Until I found the game's wiki entry on enemies.

I just saw pictures and never encountered them ingame, but centaurs gave me nightmares for months.
Feral ghouls were essentially a formula 1 model of zombies and due to a recently acquired phobia of cockroaches, the redroaches were not helpful either.

I thought "There's no way I can play a game with these creatures in it."

Now I've decided to try and give Fallout 3 another chance.
But ... this time I'm fully armed with mods against the phobia-inducing enemies of the Wasteland.

First off I definitely need replacers.
In my current playthrough, I've found these two mods to be fully compatible with each other and can remove just about any frightening creature.
- "Mutants Be Gone- Creature Replacer" by naugrim04
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/20194/
Note: all of these replacers can be used together without compatibility issues. I'm not far enough in the game yet to see if any quests involving specific creatures suffer. If all else fails, there's probably a console command somewhere to advance the quest or complete it.
- "DeleteRadroach" by Khyrin
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/2556/

If all of the above replacers are used most animals left in the game are dogs and yao guai.
It can be repetitive and the default bears are somewhat disturbing so some variety would be welcome.
- "K9 Breeds - Random dog breeds for Fallout 3" by hikky71
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/16654/
- "Ursus - Random Yao Guai breeds" by hikky71 and Sinvence
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/21185/
Personally, I'll go with the "healthy only" version.

Next the only creatures I'm still nervous about - feral ghouls.
- "Attack fix for alternative ghoul animations" by Celor Benor
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/10891
I've yet to test it, but hopefully, it can save my sanity. XD
Fallback protocol:
- "Ghoul Friendship Bear" by request by neunen
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/4059/
Somehow a bit less creepy than the ghoul mask.

I like deathclaws so it'd be nice if they could behave.
- "Neutral Deathclaws" by ninjavtaco
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/22064/
That's a good overgrown lizard. ;)

Not sure if I'll see any behemoths, but better safe than sorry.
- "Fuzzy Furry Behemoths" by AmaccurzerO
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/22479/
Hm, furry? Yes, that's a lot of fur. But I don't quite see the fuzziness.

Now that the creatures are taken care of, I need some reliable company to help me brave the Wasteland.
- "Its a Dogs World - Dogmeat Overhaul" by Nivea
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/21854/
It'd be perfect if the (slight) grammar nazi in me wouldn't be torn between: "Must quote the name correctly." and "But, but ... IT'S is correct!" Oh well, at least the nostalgia boost of Inspector Rex is guaranteed. :)
- "Alternate Dogmeat Location" by Elderwind
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/8688/
Since I really need his assistance in all his fiercely loyal and bravely fuzzy glory, I say a shortcut is excusable.
- "Ties that Bind - a narrative companion mod" by TheFourWings
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/19941/
WARNING! SPOILER AHEAD. Sure, let's add to the family drama and to the list of people to rescue. SPOILER END.
I'm double emotionally charged to brave the Wasteland now.

Hopefully, this can make Fallout 3 less bland and bleakly grey.
- "The IMAGINATOR for FO3 - Visual Control Device" by MyGoodEye and Marcurios
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/16875/

And if ALL else fails ... Feral ghouls, I will snipe ye with zeal!
- "Vats Long Range" by Whadam
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/16874/

Ooh, shiny.
- "Demonocus special gear" by demonocus
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/18945/
Paralysis and stealth? Beyond awesome. :D

It'd sure be lame to drown after all that.
- "Diving Teddy Bear" by hdela
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/16782

P.S. I reserve the full right to make my game as imbalanced as I wish it. Nothing is overkill when one is trying to beat a deeply rooted fear. *plans a thorough destruction of every single feral ghoul*

On a serious note, I hope this list can make Fallout 3 more playable for any other scaredy-cats out there.
Failing that, its silliness should at least provide some laughing material. ;)

If feral ghouls won't eat away my sanity, I'll try to make a similar list for Fallout New Vegas, provided I can find appropriate mods.

Just looking at the mod pages did provide some entertainment :)

I have yet to get to playing Fallout 3. I ran around FO:NV for a while, before I was distracted by something else shiny (looking at my Order history, Dragon's Dogma looks like the culprit). I'll try to keep this list in mind for when I get back to FO. I don't mind most of the nightmare fuel stuff, but I don't mind unbalancing my game either, as long as it makes it more enjoyable. Some of the items look like nice additions for an explorer.

Not the post's original purpose, but OK. :)
I'm glad it was helpful in some way.

What I meant by "siliness" was the style of writing (I can't produce a text without at least a bit of humor). XD

Edit: If you're looking for mods to add more (semi)serious content to the game, check out these two.
Both should add quests and the chance to help communities.
- "Moira Brown - Craterside Enterprises" by grigoriprime
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/20710
Given that this is Moria, the romance should have some siliness and helping Megaton at the same time sounds awesome.
- "Vault 101 Revisited" by KineticKat
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/13308/
I kept wondering what happend in the vault while the player's character was gone.
- "Vault 101 Revisited Amata Essential" by weeurey and Kinetickat
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/19041
It will make it less dificult, but it will keep Amata safe.

Would you look at that, it's even translated to Czech.
- "Vault 101 Revisited - Czech translation" by KineticKat and translation by Trefan99
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/22991

I may be weird, but I actively avoid localizations. Proper language for a game is English. Hitpoints should be hitpoints, not "body zásahu". Doublewelding (sic, an innocent typo in english, missing an "i") should be doublewielding, not "dvojité svařování" (translated literally from the typoed original - almost as if the transator never saw any computer game and just ran it through automated translator. Welding in medieval/fantasy game like Sacred... this atrocity makes me cringe even many years after).

Side-effect - painless and free English training for me.

Painless? You might change your mind about that when a deathclaw sinks its claws and teeth into you. There are several reasons why the game has an age limit of eighteen; hard moral choices, horror and extreme violence being some. I think changing the game to more of an exploring game is alright since I thought that exploration was the best part of Fallout 3 anyway.

Curious, but I understand your point.
Literal translation is a blight and should be avoided unless you're dealing with citation.

That's the problem with the Slovenian translation of Harry Potter. It's done quite well except some "genius" decided to translate people's names (in the most literal way possible). If someone only read the translation, they won't have a clue who's who expect for the main trio.

P.S. HP was originally short for "health points".

Linguistic rambling:

Not that I know any Czech, but I might have some general idea about some the words on the mod page.
I found it interesting that "popis" would mean "description". In Slovene "popis" would mean "the act of cataloging or making a list of items" (especially in the sense of checking inventory).

A similar thing can be observed between English and Croatian. E.g. with words "poroka", meaning "wedding" in Slovene and "message" in Croatian, and "trudna" when describing a woman, in Slovene it's an informal way saying that she's tired, while in Croatian it would mean she's pregnant.

… I should probably stop before this gets too sidetracked. The side effects of being a linguist: an immense interest in words and their meaning (and other things “normal” people would find boring as Hell). XD

I've played through the "Those!" quest and here's what changes with the replacers.

The quest is fully playable and can be completed normally.

While in the hatchery I encountered dogs and yao guai mothers, the latter were invisible, but were detected and killed by companions. The dogs can be fought normally.
The queen ant wasn't there.

The terminal in the hatchery can be intercted with normally.
Even after destorying the samples, I passed a speech check and was still able to get the lab coat and the perk reward.

Any fire ants remaining in the area look like miniature dogs with an extra pair of ant legs. They are tiny a lootable and will not endanger the player (they are already dead).

I'll test the second chapter of the Survival Guide next.

And I'm done with the second chapter of the Survival Guide.

The mirelurks have been replaced by swapmfolk so killing them will result in failing the bonus objective.

Other than that the quest can be completed. Locate the egg and place the observer in it then report to Moria.

No such luck with molerats. Redrocahes may look like tiny molerats with the replacer mod, but the game won't register them as such.

So unless the molerat replacer is temporarily disabled for the quest, you'll have to go with console commands.

My attempt worked, but not perfectly.
I wrote "CompleteAllObjectives 14E96" while having the molerat quest active.
I was able to complete the quest but only by lying to Moria about the results (sorry, research enthusiast).

On a positive note I've encountered some feral ghouls, but they ignored me thanks to the ghoul teddy bear mod.

The easiest way to obtain it is to start the game with the mod activated and type "coc ghoulroom" in the console.
After that, make sure to pick up the bear, drop it and pick it up again.
You'll be able to fast travel from the room despite it not having doors.

I've also found this mod insanely useful in dark places.
- "Nightvision Goggles - Powered (Special Edition)" by Clockmon
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/23057
To use them press "N" after buying them form Moria.

If you need energy cells or just want to behold some of the scary creatures in way that will guarantee they won't attack, try this mod.
- "All Out Summoner Mod" by zombiemaster
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/4995

The mod is designed so that after the player acquires the appropriate summoning glasses, they can spawn a creature of their choosing to their current location. Given that the creature won't attack, it can be observed in peace.

Killing the creature will give the player a small amount of EXP and loot that normally comes with creatures of that type. Robots are great for "mining" energy cells for the goggles.
I haven't tested it with any of the replaced creatures.
It'd be safe to sells the summon glasses you won't need/use. They can be sold for 300-400 caps a piece.

Tired of having to manually loot everything and miss half the loot?
These two mods give the perfect solution.
- "Fallout 3 Auto Loot" by lasere200
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/22762
It will auto-disable in player homes, but can be reactivated outside with the "L" key.
- "Mega Weight" by SZlodey
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/92
It's refreshing to be able to explore the Wasteland without having to franticly search for a trader just to sell extra equipment.

There are several fast travel mods.
I've found these two work well.
- "Megaton-RC-TT Quick Travel" by farbentier
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/4307
No need to get lost in Megaton ever again.
- "Fast Travel from Indoors" by Eli
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/7624
Note: I'm not sure about DLCs. It works for the base game, but it didn't work in Paradise Falls.

After about 20 hours, I've finally got to the point where I can enjoy Fallout 3.

How did that happen?
Well, it was a combination of good companions, cool equipment and 3 Dog's encouragement.

After I completed the Wasteland Survival Guide quest, Moria decided to travel with me, along with Amanda, Vinchii, Dogmeat, and Victor. There's nothing in the Wasteland our team can't handle.

Victor is a character form this mod and a professional hitman.
- "Elite Assassin" by AmaccurzerO
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/21977
Warning: He is NOT essential. Therefore, he can die.
However, he seems smart enough not to get in the way of my bullets unlike Amanda or Moria (luckily those 2 are essential and can't die).
Through his dialog option to "kill someone", he took care of Moriarity for me. Now Gob can have his bar.

Vinchii is a good shooter despite a few curse word every now and then.
She's part of this mod:
- "Vault61" by Ldemon666
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/16349/?
Unlike the other in-game vaults made by Bethesda, this mod gives the player a friendly vault with companions, a doctor, and repairman for their gear.
As I was headed for Minefield for Moria's research anyway to found Vault 61 nearby.
Besides Vinchii and the other companions, it's worth it to snoop around Vault 61 a bit to find some awesome armor "V61 Overseers Power Armor". Not only is it powerful, it also has some blue on it (bonus if blue's your favorite color).
I've yet to find the stash Vinchii's dad left for her.

After I had the armor, I wondered if there's a shortcut to be able to use it.
Turns out there is.
- "BA_SamuraiJack" by Shiholude
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/10846/?
He's close to Rivet City and among other awesome things he can teach the main character, there's also the usage of power armor.
Note/warning: He can also teach the player some perks that can normally be acquired only by solving certain quests. The Dreamcrusher perk will bug Moria's quest form her mod. If you want her with you leave the Dreamcrusher perk unused.

I'm pretty sure it was via mod, but I can't recall which one, that I got a Gatling laser.
It's like a minigun except it fires laser beams and turns most opponents to piles of ash.
Here's the wiki entry: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Gatling_laser_(Fallout_3)
It can be acquired via console.
Similar to the money cheat "player.AddItem f X" (in which X is replaced by the amount of caps you want to receive), just replace F with the laser's item code "0000432e".

I usually switch between a sniper rifle for scouting and the laser, but thanks to the VATS mod, even the laser can be used from a safe distance from the target.

As weird as it sounds, the better gear actually made me feel safer as it made it look like my character had become a nearly indestructible walking tincan with an awesome laser that would only leave a small pile of ash of any scary enemy that dared to cross her path. :D

For additional havoc there are other weapon mods.

- "Nuke Weapons At Vault 101" uploaded to the Nexus by KEVIN465M0RAN
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/22687/
Warning: Do NOT use at close range, if you or your companions get caught in the blast it could wipe out your entire party.

- "Vault Armory v1_0_00" by Versa
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/10090/

- "The Vault Dwellers Stash" by grigoriprime
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/20163/

Now there's the matter of 3 Dog.
This mod will let you listen to his radio station without having to complete his quest.
- "GNR Everywhere" by Xaulete
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/16920/

If you're frustrated at the radio station's lack of subtitles and just want music, check out this mod.
- "Wasteland Radio All Music All the Time" by MrRobertman
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/20599/

I also went through an underground metro station and to my horror, it was infested with feral ghouls.
At first, I was terrified, then I took a couple of calming breaths, let GNR play and looked back at my loyal team that was more than capable of handling the ferals.
I did some testing and thanks to the Ghoul Bear mod they didn't react to me. They just walked by like I was empty air.
Except for the one I tried to shoot, but luckily he was alone and too far from the pack to alert the other ferals.
His color did change from ally blue to enemy red, but by that point, he was a pile of ash.
In the end, I opted to walk by the remaining ghouls as they ignored me.

Here are some other mods I've used but forgot to mention in my earlier posts.

- "2Perks Per Level" by Xodarap777
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/18960/
Because there are just too many awesome perks to choose from.

- "Tough Girl Perk" by Slyvena
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/1590/
Note: You need a female character to use the perks.

- "Start a New Game Almost Perfect" by SleepIncarnate
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/20723/
Warning: You need to start a new game via vanilla tutorial to be able to use it.

- "Force Lock Chance Always 100 Percent" by HellFireXS
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/7599/
Note: You still need the required skill level to attempt to pick the lock.
Force opening a lock will still get you some EXP.
Plus the lockpicking minigame leaves you as blind as the one in Skyrim does.

- "Easy Hacking GER_ENG" by Black101
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/15019/
I picked the "1 word" version.

- "Pick Pocket Chance Always 100 Percent" by HellFireXS
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/7627/

- "Karma-less Petty Crime" by The King of Swag
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/546/
Note: Locks and items activated by the looting mod on its own will still give you negative karma, but it's a small amount.
What can I say, I like a sneaky thief character. ;)

- "Bobblehead Cheat" by Orctor
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/1355/
Given all that I've read on the game's wiki, I'll stay clear of any other vanilla vaults.

- "HT Unlimited Ammo for Player and Companions" by Ouka
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/17666/
If I'm already going all out, why would I need to worry about ammo? ;)

- "13 Eyes 27 Hairs BETA WIP" by Talon Company
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/10515/
Finally some choice for the character's look. :)

- "Essential Quest Givers" by Deadmano
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/21729/

I haven't tested these yet, but they look cool and useful.

- "DALCO Inventory Sorter" by DaveLessnau
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/16943/
Note: Judging by the description and comments the mod does not support item from other mods (so non-vanilla items).

- "EVE - Energy Visuals Enhanced" by weijiesen and Cipscis
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/8340
I'll be sure to test it ASAP.

- "Beauty Salon - Change Appearance" by CelticGirl
Nexus link: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/20805/

That should cover every mod I've ever used for Fallout 3.

There's a strange bug I've noticed with Dogmeat.

For a while I thought his equipement was invisible for some reason.
After some time I had 2 Dogmeats in my party one with all the gear one without.

Clikcing on the unequiped duplicate and typing "disable" in the console solved the issue.
The "disable" command is also a great way to clear out enemy corpses after looting them.

---

I've tested the EVE mod and the inventory sorting mod.

The EVE mod works great. The Gatling laser looks so badass now.
If I ever play Fallout 3 again, I'll definately reinstall this mod. ;)

The inventory sorter has mixed results, it does sort items by catergory raher than by name, but the items it does not recognise are left alone.

At this rate I might leave it just to make it easier to tell which item is from a mod in which is from the original game. XD

So I'm discovering new locations in Wasteland with Moria in toe.
After my character trained her in some skills, I checked the option about improving her shop (I already hired her assistants) and there's an option about getting better alcohol in Megaton, but turns out we need permission form Moriarity.
Who's been dead in my playthrough for a while.

I did some research and here is the console command sequence needed to bring him back.
Warning: Make sure you're in a safe location first, preferably Megaton, because at the end of the sequence the game will spawn Moriarity near you.

"prid 00003b3c
enable
resurrect
moveto player"

It goes in that order and without the quotation marks.

After talking to him, he'll laugh in your face and give you a note.

Now to complete the quest.

Edit: Turns out all I had to do after that was talk to Moria about it.

I've also figured out that using the "pric" command combined with "moveto player" makes it a lot easier to solve quests in which it's hard to get to NPCs.

it sure made solving the "Replicated Man" a lot easier.

I found a way to "smuggle" equipment into the Pit.

Have your other companions wait in a safe location (e.g. player's home in Megaton) and take Moria with you to the map marker for the Pit (some sort of train tunnel).

Give Moria the equipment you want to sneak in via the equipment sharing dialog option.

Once you make it inside the Pit, your equipment will be taken, however the terminal item form Moria's mod will remain.

Use it to summon Moria and use the equipment dialog option to recover the gear that you gave her.

P.S. The other thing worth getting out of Vault 61 is the Overseer's rifle.

It ocurred to me that a reference load order would be good since messy load orders frequantly cause crashes.

I haven't experianced any crashes or major bugs in about 40 hours of gameplay with all those mods.

Here's my load order (copied from the Nexus Mod Manager):

GameMode=Fallout3

Fallout3.esm=1
Zeta.esm=1
ThePitt.esm=1
Anchorage.esm=1
BrokenSteel.esm=1
PointLookout.esm=1
Weight.esp=1
ImaginatorFO3.esp=1
Vault 101 Revisited.esm=1
EVE.esm=1
BA_MasterKeys.esp=1
13eyes27hairsucanplay.esp=1
2Perks Per Level.esp=1
Beauty Salon.esp=1
Dogmeat_WaitMegaton.esp=1
Hacking 1x Word (firmly).esp=1
EssentialFollowers+Caravans.esp=1
Caravan Tracking.esp=1
animalfriend.esp=1
Ghoulbear.esp=1
GNR_Everywhere.esp=1
FuzzyFurryBehemoth.esp=1
HT Unlimited Ammo.esp=1
Karma-less Petty Crime.esp=1
K9BreedsPatchDLCPitt.esp=1
K9BreedsMoreDogs.esp=1
K9Breeds.esp=1
megatonquick.esp=1
100% Pick Pocket Chance.esp=1
Start Almost Perfect.esp=1
SFO.esp=1
Tough Girl.esp=1
Ursus.esp=1
UrsusBS.esp=1
VATS Long Range.esp=1
Vault_61.esp=1
Vendors More Caps - Lore Friendly.esp=1
Wasteland Radio - All Music, All the Time.esp=1
Vault Armory.esp=1
Nuke Weapons.esp=1
NightvisionGoggles(Powered).esp=1
demonocus-specialgear.esp=1
Bobblehead Cheat.esp=1
ArtilleryBinoculars.esp=1
All Out Summoner Mod.esp=1
EliteAssassin.esp=1
MutantsBeGoneBloatfly.esp=1
MutantsBeGoneMirelurks.esp=1
MutantsBeGoneMolerats.esp=1
MutantsBeGoneRadscorpions.esp=1
MutantsBeGoneSuperMutantsCentaurs.esp=1
MutantsBeGoneAnts.esp=1
MutantsBeGoneBrokenSteel.esp=1
DeleteRadroach.esp=1
ClawCompanion.esp=1
BA_SamuraiJack_Guru.esp=1
100% Force Lock Chance.esp=1
Diving_TeddyBear.esp=1
Life_Dome_v2-4.esp=1
Alternate Dogmeat.esp=1
AutolootFAllout3.esp=1
money loot.esp=1
EVE_CHEAT.esp=1
DALCO Inventory Sorter - Fallout 3 & All DLCs.esp=1
DALCO Inventory Sorter - EVE.esp=1
MoiraCompanion.esp=1
V101RAmataEss.esp=1
1nivDogmeatOverhaul.esp=1
fasttravelfromindoors.esp=1
TiesThatBind.esp=1

Note: 1 = enabled.