Have you tried to buy some potions from the woman, near the brigde?
She sells some good potions wich makes you stronger and faster.
Also, try to fight with only one thug at time, don't fight with all the three at the same time.

Unfortunately, you may have to. But if you have Sogg, and the first guy at the crash site (Vergil I think) along with a grenade or some sort of explosives, you may be able to stand a chance. Are you tech or mage?

Tech. Im just gonna restart because i can't get Sogg and i don't even come close to taking on the bandits. Kind of annoying to hit a brick wall so early but shouldn't take all that long to get back to where i am. Ah well.

You don’t need a restart. Sogg is not a very important npc story wise (although he is a competent melee fighter) and you will probably leave him for more interesting characters later anyways.
As for the bandits there is always a way around them, even if you don’t want to side with them. Try to pickpocket the bridge key during night or win the fight with a lucky grenade/dynamite. I find stun grenades to be very useful this early in the game.

This is one of those things that will make this game so replayable. My current character didn't get any option of this sort in the dialog with the bandits and I ended up using grenades. It's nice to know that one can make a different sort of character and get much different results right from the get-go.

I Just went stupid with the traps as my mechanical technologist. Lurkan Tends to die after stepping on 3 his guards aren't so weak though they use unarmed and knock the fatigue out of you.

That's what I did. And there's no way I'm gonna be able to get rid of Doc and his two Lvl 8 compadres this early in the game, with only Virgil at my side.
I tried lobbing the grenades and use my Fate point to get a Critical Attack, but Doc is too powerful: his hit points never go low enough for Virgil and my character to kill him.
Talk about frustrating.
And it seems I've killed all the wolves I could find in the region to try and get one point in my CHA to hire the ogre in the Inn.
I'm stuck.
I wish the creators of the game had thought the Bank quest through!

If you have the unlocking cantrip spell and you use it while prowled and not detected they wont attack, I did it just then after losing about 20 fights with them and thinking that either my character or I was retarded since Virgil and I are both level 5 and they were only level 3. In any other game it would have been an easy fight, this is my first time playing arcanum after years of wanting to, awesome game so far.

I tried something yesterday...
Basically after persuading them I attacked them so I can still net the second fate point. I placed Virgil inside the Temple to wait. Lured them to the temple. Planted the Dynamite on them just before reaching the Temple and so by the time they reach the temple they will end up clustered together. The Blast will kill all 3 of them, Lukan and his 2 Bodyguards. Be careful on the explosion though and make sure they're not that close to the door so you won't die yourself.

Does anybody know how to get to the underground without talking to the bridge guys?
I want to kill these bastards but I also want the underground quests.

SPOILER!

Are you talking about Tarant's thieves guild? You must stole elven artefact for rich lady in Tarant (she stands near the bridge and metro station) and then talk to man near her house.

To add something, I believe her name is Cassandra Pettibone. She lives on the street that is the first one on the left as your enter Tarant over the main bridge.

Thanks, thats what I wanted to know.
Now I am playing a:
good, female, elf, diplomatic, mage char
She did this quest but not the quest for the thief guild, because she is good (and the open doors spell is too loud for robberies^^). I did not know that this quest was a trigger for something else, but the fact that the man stands next to her house might be a clue.

When I finish this game, next thing will be betrayal at kronor

If I ever play arcanum again I want to make a:
evil, brutal, male, half-orc, thief, scientist
motto: -when the quest is killing someone, then kill him.
-when the quest is getting an item, then kill the person who has it.
-Try to pickpocket everyone and open every chest.
-I don`t need friends, diplomacy or good reaction when I have 2 good arguments: a pyro axe and a tesla gun.
PS: I will end up with a good alignment anyway because many quest have no "evil" sollution and I don`t want to kill every quest giver after doing the quest (like someone said in another thread).

If you join the "evil" side of the main quest you'll do enough evil things to stay negative in your alignment value.

i was able to kill him with the Quality Revolver i started with by using a potion of haste, i was able to shoot him like 7 or 8 times in 1 turn, and the first hit was a critical that caused 100% normal damage.

i was able to kill him in 2 turns