How to get starting equipment? (fallout 2)

[Monstergelo]

I already know a few:
-Steal Sulik for leather jacket
-Steal Dunton brother during Torr quest for spiked knuckle
-Sledgehammer in Klamath's slaughter house
-Kill shopkeeper at the den for small guns

Care to mention more?
Especially lockpicks, books, and explosive locations.

 

[zegh8578]

By exploiting every bit of loot, I can get the "leather armor" (as opposed to "leather jacket") by my first visit to Klamath - not just one, but two. I also leave Klamath with a 10mm pistol, and over 200 rounds.
It's all about squeezing every drop out of what is offered to you.

But what you're doing is clever enough - although I would let Sulik keep his armor, because, hey, it's armor - he needs it!

There is a stick of dynamite in the rat-tunnels below Klamath. If you have a high lockpicking skill, you lockpick the door next to it, instead of blowing it up - and tada - dynamite for you! Whatever on earth you need it for - you have it now!
There are, afaik, two books in Klamath, one gun-book in an empty house just near the entrance, and then a survival-book on one of the kids over in trapper-town.
Klamath has lots of nice free loot to steal or lockpick, which is practical for early boosting.

And why kill the shopkeeper? Just help Lara's gang defeat Metzger's crew outside that church, and you have plenty of handguns to trade.

I will often use my steal-skill in the start of a game, to give my character an edge. By stealing and lockpicking eagerly, like I said, you can leave Klamath with a companion, both of you suited up with leather armor, armed with 10mm pistol, and I will typically leave the Den with a hunting rifle instead of the pistol, and by then I stop stealing, because you will practically be showered in loot to trade. Just be patient, and snoop around!

 

[Monstergelo]

And why kill the shopkeeper? Just help Lara's gang defeat Metzger's crew outside that church, and you have plenty of handguns to trade.

It's faster just to kill them, waiting Lara's gang is taking too long.

Anyway where i can buy combat armor?

 

[zegh8578]

And why kill the shopkeeper? Just help Lara's gang defeat Metzger's crew outside that church, and you have plenty of handguns to trade.

It's faster just to kill them, waiting Lara's gang is taking too long.

Anyway where i can buy combat armor?

Whaaa? Completing _one_ mission "takes too long"??
May I ask what your purpose is for even aquiring armor, if you consider quests and action to be too time consuming?

Combat armor can be found in NCR, but cost a lot. Free sets are found in Sierra Army Depot, but require quests to unlock the area (no way around it). A combat armor mk2 is found in the toxic caves, but electronic lockpick (and repair) is needed to aquire it.
There are available metal armors before that time, but these require involvement in quests to get hold of.

If you wanna risk it, you can even find your way to Mariposa, suicide your way through the super mutants, and get a free power armor

I am still a bit puzzled here, but hey, you play it as you prefer

 

[Yamu]

*Lockpick skill. You will see a significant improvement in early-game gear and overall wealth starting out if you invest in Lockpicking. It pays off as soon as Klamath.
*Behind various locked doors in Klamath you'll find gecko/golden gecko pelts that are worth a fair bit in trade.
*If you take on the Rescue Smiley the Trapper quest and are an able hand at combat (especially if you've recruited Sulik) or are fairly stealthy, you can complete the quest before leaving for The Den and learn to skin geckos from Smiley, making all those bothersome lizards in Klamath and the Toxic Caves a handy source of wealth.
*There are a few goodies to be found if you keep your eyes peeled in the rat caves below Trapper Town in Klamath, the most important of which is a 10mm pistol. You'll find it on a corpse in an alcove to the north of Keeng Ra'at, and if you're sneaky enough you won't even have to fight him. If he does attack, any critical attack to the eyes will take him out.
*A Velvet Elvis painting worth $300 can be found behind a locked door in the Golden Gecko in Klamath.

Remember, too, that you can enter combat mode to knock down some of the locked doors in Klamath if you can't pick your way past them. There should be more than enough loot in town for you to leave with a 10mm pistol/sledgehammer/spiked knuckles (depending on your preference), a suit of leather armor, a leather jacket, and Sulik, even if you don't do the Toxic Caves before leaving for The Den.