Alright so dying to really stupid ways is pretty easy in Fallout 1. I was wondering if there was some helpful hints people could throw my way to get me started. I tried to talk to the leader of Shady Sands and she just tells me I look like her baby.
EDIT: Oh yeah, stealing from Ian is a bad idea. Although it was sort of entertaining to kill the whole town before Ian caught up with me.

Check out this thread.

Well, I don't think you should be using tips for such a game - figuring out everything on your own is half the fun. That said, here's a few tips and tricks from the developers themselves: The Fallout Reviewer's Guide and here's a strategy guide. Try to avoid spoilers if you can, though.

hahaha, last night after recruiting Ian and clearing out the radscorpions, Seth was all 'yo, you gonna kill them raiders.' and I was all 'lol, pay me.' and then he got all ticked off and shot me. so Ian and I (so weird, my name is Ian IRL) cleared out the whole town. Then got wasted by the raiders.

I think you talked to the wrong person there, the only one I've seen say that was below their plantation and she's not the leader. (you get the "tell me a story" or "I want to hear a story" option, right?)
The one you should talk to is in one of the first buildings on your right if you run straight down as soon as you enter the village at the entrance.(arrakesh or similar name, hooded, standing in a corner)