[UncleScratchy]

While you are in Modoc you have the opportunity to find and rescue the leather workers missing son. As a reward he gives you an improved leather jacket. But I sense you want something a bit better. In Vault City is a merchant in the courtyard who is easy to pickpocket. He has metal armor that you can steal if you pickpocketing skills are good enough. He should have the Leather Armor Mark I but its not available when stealing from him. But you can pickpocket him for whatever he has and then sell it back to him or trade for the better armor. After you become a citizen one of the suppliers inside the walls has Metal Armor Mark I. There is a free set of the Metal Armor Mark I in the lowest levels of the Redding mines that are infested with aliens. Its hard to spot so you have to drag your mouse pointer over the area of the big entrails covered room down there until you spot it. Of course you have to be able to kill the aliens as well. A quick way down is to go to the west side of town where Frog Morton shows up. There is an elevator there that takes you down to the aliens egg area and the alien mother. Kill her and any other aliens and go east in the tunnels and then double back into the big yucky room to find the armor. Use your Detect Traps skills to find and disarm the traps that are around the mine elevator when entering it from the warehouse level.

On the second floor of the Vault City vault is a room (with a locked door or a stuck door) that you may be able to open. There is a set of Combat Armor in there if you are strong enough/good at lockpicking. The electronic lockpicks work well on these doors (except the stuck ones where I think you need at least 9 strength to open them - just pop one or two Buffouts).