Games PC FALLOUT 2 User Manual

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS....................	5
INTRODUCTION ..............................	7
THE VAULTS ......................................	8
LIFE ON THE OUTSIDE ............................	9
ENEMIES OF THE STATE ............................	10
THE MASTER ......................................	11
THE VATS ........................................	12
MY RETURN TO VAULT-13 ..........................	13
THE TRIBE ......................................	13
INTERFACE ..................................	15
MAIN MENU ......................................	16
STARTING A NEW GAME ............................	17
PRE-GENERATED CHARACTERS ........................	19
Modifying Pre-generated Characters ..........	20
CREATING A CHARACTER ............................	20
How to create your Character ................	21
Character Concept ............................	21
Primary Statistics ..........................	22
Derived Statistics ..........................	24
Traits........................................	26
Tag Skills ..................................	28
Name, Age and Sex ............................	30
Finishing your Character ....................	31
Character Screen Options ....................	30
MAIN GAME SCREEN ................................	32
THE ACTION CURSOR ..............................	33

1

MOVEMENT CURSOR ................................	34
Walking ......................................	34
Running ......................................	35
Things that affect movement ..................	35
COMMAND CURSOR ..................................	35
Action Icons ................................	36
INTERFACE BAR ..................................	39
SKILLDEX ........................................	44
INVENTORY........................................	45
Cursors ......................................	45
Moving or Dropping Multiple Items ............	46
Inventory Screen ............................	46
Other Inventory Actions ......................	49
CHARACTER SCREEN ................................	49
Basic Info and Statistics ....................	51
Hit Points and Medical Information ..........	51
Skills........................................	54
Perks, Karma & Kills ........................	54
Information Card ............................	56
Print, Cancel and Done ......................	56
THE HOLY ROBCO PIPBOY 2000 ......................	57
Functions of the PIPBoy 2000 ................	58
The Clock and Calender ......................	58
Status........................................	59
Automaps......................................	59
Archives......................................	60
Close ........................................	60
MAPS ............................................	60
World Map ....................................	60
World Map Movement ..........................	61
Terrain ......................................	62
Random Encounters ............................	62
Town Map ....................................	63
Automap ......................................	63
NPC INTERACTION ................................	64
DIALOGUE ........................................	64
Chatting Dialogue ............................	65
Extended Dialogue ............................	66

2

BARTER ..........................................	68
How to Barter ................................	69
Price Influences ............................	70
PARTY MEMBERS ..................................	71
Party Member Inventory ......................	71
Party Member Combat Control ..................	72
OPTIONS..........................................	76
Save Game ....................................	76
Load Game ....................................	78
Preferences ..................................	79
CHARACTER REFERENCE ..................	84
INTRODUCTION ....................................	85
STATISTICS ......................................	85
Primary Statistics ..........................	86
Derived Statistics ..........................	88
SKILLS ..........................................	91
KARMA............................................	99
Karma ........................................	99
Reputation (Town) ............................	100
Reputation (Special) ........................	101
PERKS............................................	101
The Perk List ................................	102
EXPERIENCE ......................................	115
Skill Points ................................	117
Spending Skill Points ........................	117
COMBAT ......................................	118
MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH ......................	119
STARTING COMBAT ................................	119
TARGETS..........................................	120

3

ACTION POINTS ..................................	121
Actions in Combat ............................	121
Movement......................................	122
Attacking ....................................	123
Inventory ....................................	124
Other Actions ................................	124
PROBABILITIES....................................	124
RANGED WEAPONS ..................................	126
Weapon Modes ................................	126
MELEE WEAPONS & HTH COMBAT ......................	128
TARGETED SHOTS ..................................	130
DAMAGE ..........................................	131
ARMOR............................................	134
ENDING COMBAT ..................................	136
Victorious in the Battle
and Looting the Dead ........................	136

APPENDIX 1: APPENDIX 2: APPENDIX 3: APPENDIX 4: APPENDIX 5: APPENDIX 6: APPENDIX 7:

APPENDIX 8:

APPENDIX 9:

Tutorial		......................	138
Hints	and	Tips ................	141
Credits ........................			143
Technical		Support ..............	150
Warranty		......................	153
World	Wide Web Site ............		156
“The	Big	One” Pancake ..........	158
“Carrion		Kabobs” ..............	159
Quick	Keys ....................		160

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INSTALLATION

Thank you for purchasing Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game from Interplay Productions. You are about to enter a world of mutants, radioactivity, big guns and vacuum tubes. Before you can start playing, you need to install Fallout 2 on your computer and do a very simple setup procedure.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

You should have the following in your Fallout 2 survival kit:

*Fallout 2 Game CD-ROM

*The Fallout 2 Manual

*Interplay Productions Reference and Troubleshooting Guide

The basic requirements to run the game are:

*IBM or 100% compatible Pentium™ 90 w/16 Megs of RAM

* Windows® 95/98/NT w/ DirectX 3.0a or higher

*DirectX certified SVGA card

*4X CD-ROM drive

*100% Compatible Microsoft Mouse required

*DirectX certified sound card

WIN95/98/NT INSTALLATION

INSTRUCTIONS

If you have Win95/98/NT installed on your computer, you should install the Win95 version of Fallout 2. DirectX must be installed prior to running SETUP.

To install the Win95/98/NT version of Fallout 2, follow these steps:

(1)Insert the Fallout 2 CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.

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(2)If you have Autoplay enabled, then you will shortly see an Autoplay menu. Click on the Install button.

(3)If you do not have Autoplay enabled, open the CD-ROM and double-click on the SETUP icon.

(4)If necessary, you will need to install DirectX 3.0a or higher. You can install it from the Autoplay menu, or run DXSETUP.EXE from the DirectX directory on the CD-ROM.

To Uninstall, go to the Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs, select FALLOUT 2 and click on the Add/Remove button. The uninstaller only removes the files installed by the installer. Any files created after install (config files, save games, etc.) must be removed by hand.

README FILE

The README.TXT file on the CD contains up to date information that was not available when the manual went to press. We suggest you view the README to get the latest information and changes. You can do this from the Win95/98/NT Autoplay menu by clicking on the View Readme button.

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INTRODUCTION

one good thing about growing old is that you get your way. The new leaders of

Tribe (they refuse to call themselves Elders until I have

on, which should be soon, if lucky) want me to record my

knowledge for future generations. What knowledge they need is be found with sweat and blood,

some letters on a page. But future is a great unknown, they may have a point. To

make them happy, I’ve written down what I feel will be important. (The important words

“what I feel will be important.”)

They want me to write my memoirs. Fine. I’ll do it.

But as the song goes, I’ll do it my way. And I’m old

enough that I will get my way.

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NOTES						The Vaults
						members of the Tribe, I
						Like all of the original
				The	War	came from the		Vaults.
I know little about the						Before the War, the
War,		but it		doesnÕt		government of the			United
really		matter.			A lot	States, which numbered
of people died when a						in the	thousands		of
lot of atomic bombs went						villages, and had			many,
off	and		nearly destroyed			many tribesman per
the	world.			If	you	village, paid to			have
donÕt		know		what	an	these huge holes dug in
atomic		bomb		was,	then	mountains and huts				of
imagine			the	worst thing		metal and stone built
possible.			Atomic		bombs	underground.		There		were
were		worse		than	that.	many Vaults.		Some		were
						close to cities,			and
some far away. These Vaults were to be used as
safe places in case of atomic war.							As you may

guess, when the War came your ancestors made it to a Vault. Vault-13 to be specific.

For several generations, your ancestors and mine lived within the Vault. As best as they could figure, it was too dangerous to try and leave the Vault. They grew their own food, recycled their waste, read, worked, slept, had families, and even purified the necessary water within the Vault. I was born in the creche, and was raised by the community (and a robot). It was a good life, but all good things come to an end. About three generations after the War, the water-purification chip the Vault relied on to create the fresh water broke down. All the spare parts were missing or busted, and without the water-chip the Vault was doomed. Something had to be done.

The Overseer gathered the healthy of us between a certain age and made us draw straws. Guess what? I drew the short one. Wouldn’t be much of story if I didn’t, would it?

I left the Vault the next day.

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Life on the Outside

My first few days were harrowing to say the least. I fought off some giant mutant rats that were more interested in eating me than they should have been. My only clue was the location of another Vault, number 15. I spent a couple of days stumbling through the desert before I came upon a small settlement. I stopped there for help, and encountered the little town called Shady Sands. I helped them, and they helped me. Understand that survival requires that you work together, even with people you may not trust. I did earn the trust, however, of two prominent citizens of Shady Sands - Tandy, and her father, Aradesh.

With their knowledge, and the help of a man called Ian, I continued on my way to Vault-15. The ruins of Vault-15, to be more specific. Ravaged by the elements, scavengers, and time itself, Vault-15 was no help for my people. The control room that contained their water-chip was buried under tons of fallen rock, and I had to move on.

After a small problem with some Raiders, who would continue for years to plague not only myself, but the Tribe, I found myself in Junktown. It was here that I learned the most important rule of all: doing a good thing sometimes means being a very bad person. My memories of Junktown are tainted, and I feel no remorse for my actions in that place. It was there that I came across a dog, who adopted me and was my faithful friend from there on. I miss Dogmeat to this day.

While Junktown was a city of traders (and traitors), it did not have a water-chip. I was not desperate yet, as there was still time for me to recover the chip and return to my home, but I needed to move on. Fortunately, they pointed me in the direction of the Hub, the largest city in the wasteland.

The Hub was a larger city than both Junktown and Shady Sands combined. You could drop the Vault in there, and you probably would not notice. But the

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people of the Hub had no life, and it was a desolate place just the same. It eased my mind, however, to hire some merchants to bring water to the Vault. Looking back, it was probably a mistake to do so, but I was still innocent of the evils that lurked through the ruins of civilization.

A small clue led me to the city of the ghouls, the place they called Necropolis. It was there that I encountered large mutants, armed with weapons of an unknown origin. It is with heavy sadness that I say that Ian lost his life in the city of the dead. A super mutant burned him to death with a flamethrower. The passage of time is no proof against the memory of burning flesh. His sacrifice was not in vain, as I did find the waterchip buried beneath the city. It was with easier steps that I returned to Vault-13.

Enemies of the State

While the Overseer was obviously happy to see me returned to the Vault, alive and with the necessary water-chip, he was distrought at my description of the super mutants. It is here that I realized the mistake I had made with the water-merchants. I had pointed them, and others, in the direction of our home. Without the protection of anonymity, the Vault could easily have been destroyed. The knowledge of the fate of Vault-15 did not help.

The Overseer tasked me with a new mission. Find and destroy the danger of the super mutants.

Once again, I left the Vault. This time, it was was easier on my heart. Looking back now, I realize it was also the first time I should have seen the true hearts of the other vault-dwellers and the Overseer.

I returned to the Hub, looking for clues. Some time was spent there, and I discovered a shady underworld amongst the hustle and bustle of that large city. They thought they could manipulate me, but I proved them wrong and used the crooks instead. I did rescue a young man who belonged to

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the Brotherhood of Steel. A few trouble-makers tried to stop me, but I learned much about survival since leaving the Vault.

It was in my best interest to leave town for a while. I journeyed to this Brotherhood. Thinking they would have the knowledge I sought, I tried to join them. They required me to go on a quest before they would let me in. Thinking it would be a short and easy quest, I agreed and set off for the place they called the Glow. The horror of atomic war was never so obvious to me until then.

The Brotherhood was surprised to see me, and even more surprised to see that I had not only survived their quest, but succeeded. They gave me the information I required and some of their technology, and I set off in search of the Boneyard.

On my way, I took a detour and stopped by Necropolis in order to see some old friends. Unfortunately, that place was now truly the city of the dead. All the ghouls had been slaughtered. Large mutants roamed the streets. I found one survivor who told me that the mutants had attacked shortly after I had left. Before he died, the ghoul told me that the mutants were looking for pure strain humans, and one in particular. The ghoul’s description of the mutants’ special target fit me perfectly. It was with a heavy heart and a cold burning on my soul that I continued on to Boneyard.

The Master

The city of Los Angeles must have been the largest in the world before the War. The LA Boneyard stretched forever, the skeletons of buildings lying under the

sun. Not even the wind entered this dead city.

I found many enemies, and a few friends, in the Boneyard. I killed when necessary and learned more about the nature of my true foes.

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Deep under the ground, I found an evil that was behind the mutants and their army. Within a dark and forbidding Vault, where the walls dripped with human flesh, and the screaming of dying echoed through the halls, I found many evil creatures and mutants.

Walking among the misshapen ones, I killed one of their servants and took his clothing. Hidden from casual searches, I made my way to the bottom of the Vault. The deeper into the Vault I went, the more gruesome the journey. More and more flesh was to be found, integrated into the very walls. The worst part of it was that the flesh was still alive, and even aware of my presence.

After a while, I found myself in the presence of the most hideous sight yet. I still cannot bring myself to write of this discovery, but let it be known that when I left, the Beast was dead and the Master of the mutant army was no more.

The Vats

My job was still not finished, for I still had one task remaining. The Master had literally built his army one mutant at a time. Humans, preferably with little radiation damage, were to be captured and sent to the Vats. There they were dipped in something called FEV, which transformed them into the large, grotesque mutants.

I had to find these Vats, and put them out of action as well, lest another take the Masters place and continue to build the mutant army.

Fortunately, my friends at the Brotherhood had a few clues, and helped me reach my goal.

Invading the Vats, I came across more mutants and robots. None could stand in my way. I had a mission. I had a goal. I had a really large gun. It was here that Dogmeat fell, a victim of a powerful energy forcefield. I miss that dog.

I destroyed the Vats that day, and with it, the mutant army. The last I heard, they splintered and disappeared into the desert.

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My Return to Vault-13

I was not treated to a heroe’s welcome when I returned to Vault-13. The overseer met me outside the massive Vault door, and told me point blank that while my services to the Vault will always be remembered, he could no longer trust me or what I had become. He said something along the lines that I had saved the Vault, and now I must leave. Bastard.

So, I left.

The days and weeks that followed were hard on me. I had met few true friends outside the Vault, and they had died following me. Now, my family had kicked me out and said that I could never return.

I screamed. I cried. Slowly I came to realize that the Overseer may have been correct. I had changed. Life outside the Vault was different, and now I, too, was different. But I have never forgiven him for doing what he did to me.

I wandered the desert, but never moved far from the mountains that shielded the Vault from the rest of the world. Perhaps I wanted to return, and force my way in, or plead for them to take me back. Fortunately, it did not come to that. I found a few wretched souls, a small group of Vaultdwellers, who upon hearing of what happened to me, had decided to leave the Vault and join my side. They knew little of the outside world, and would have died if it were not for my assistance.

Together, our little group moved north, away from the Vault, and away from that old life. Slowly, I taught them what experience had taught me. And together we learned to thrive.

The Tribe

Over time, our ragtag group turned into a tribe. I fell in love with one of them, and we raised a family, like all of our tribespeople.

We founded the Village, beyond the great cliff. It is a secure home thanks to our hard work. We would send scouts back towards the Vault, to help

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others who thought like ourselves, but that slowly came to an end. We no longer head in that direction. I often wonder what became of Vault-13, and the other Vaults, but I never had the time to go exploring again.

I taught the others the skills they would need to survive and grow strong. Hunting, farming and other skills to feed us. Engineering and science to build our homes. Fighting to protect what was ours.

My love and I led the village and the Tribe.

The Tribe grew, and grew strong with our help. But all things come to an end. Our sons and daughters are now the leaders. I’m sure that the Tribe will continue to grow strong under the leadership of our children.

My love perished years ago, and not a day goes by that I do not think of Pat’s

face. I see it everytime at our children. This

our legacy to them, to their children, and to the rest the Tribe.

That is my story, and I am sticking to it.

-The Wanderer

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INTERFACE

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Main Menu

When you start Fallout 2, after watching the introductory movie, you will see the Main Menu. This is probably the single most important screen in the entire game, since without it you can’t actually start playing.

Select from the following:

INTRO - Replay the intro movie. Use this to amaze your friends.

NEW GAME - Start a new game. Create a character, or select a pre-generated character, and start playing Fallout 2 from the very beginning. If you have just installed Fallout 2, or you have never saved a game, you will need to press this button. See page 16 for more information on starting a new game.

LOAD GAME - Once you have started a game and saved it in order to return to it at a later date without having to start a completely new game, this is the button for you. Pressing this button will take you to the Load Game screen (see page 78), where you can select from any of your previously saved games.

CREDITS - Press this button to see a list of the fine people who have brought you Fallout 2. Your enjoyment is all they have thought about!

EXIT - Pressing this button will return you to your normal operating system. You will not be asked to confirm the exit when you press this button. Zap! One second you are playing Fallout 2, the next second you are back to work. Life just isn’t fair.

Also displayed on the Main Menu screen is the current version number of the game. Check the Interplay website (see page 156) for the most recent version.

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Starting a			NOTES
New Game						You	can
When you first start			bypass a		movie		in	Fallout
playing Fallout 2, you			2 by pressing the space
will need to start a			bar or the ESC key.
new game.	This will		You should not do this
start you off with a			until you have viewed the
new character at		the	movie	at least			once.
beginning of the		story.	Important			information and
A character is a			background			story		is
representative of you,			often	conveyed			via	a
the player, in the			movie.	Besides, they
story. The	character		look	good.
will be your alter-ego,
and follow your
commands and pay		the
consequences for those			actions.	Obviously,				your

character is the single most important facet of the game and you should spend some time deciding what

kind of character to play. The decision about your character is the most important decision you have to make at the start of the game.

There are two ways to decide on a character: select a pre-generated character or create your own. Both ways have their

plusses and minuses, and we’ll leave the choice up to you.

When you click on NEW GAME from the Main Menu, you will see the character selection screen. This screen will always display one of three pregenerated characters. Besides a picture of the pre-generated character, you will see a brief summary of their primary statistics and their biography. You have four choices on this screen to choose from.

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NOTES

NEW CHARACTER -

Go

immediately

to

the character

You

can

creation screen and do not

start the game until you are

use

the

left

and

done

there.

This basically

right

arrow

buttons

gives

you complete control

underneath

the

of your character, but at

character

portrait

to

the cost of a little more

change

between

the

time before you can begin

three

pre-generated

playing.

Some

players like

characters.

to investigate the game a

little with a pre-generated

character

and then restart

and create their own

character

then.

More

advanced players can jump right into the character creation screen. This is probably the most emotionally satisfying way to select a character. See page 20 for information on the character creation screen.

SELECT CHARACTER - Take the currently selected pregenerated character and start the game immediately. This is the fastest choice, as it will get you into the game in the shortest amount of time. This choice is recommended for beginning players. See page 19 for a brief bio on each of the pregenerated characters.

MODIFY CHARACTER - Take the currently selected pregenerated character and go to the character creation screen. This is a compromise between NEW CHARACTER and SELECT CHARACTER. Once on the character creation screen, you will see the statistics and skills of the pre-generated character. You can then modify that character to suit your own nefarious needs.

CANCEL - Return to the Main Menu without starting a new game or selecting a character.

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Pre-generated Characters

If you don’t want to spend a lot of time at the beginning of the game before you get to play, then start here. Pick one of the three pre-generated characters and hop right into the action. Some players will want to experience the game for a little while before creating their own character, and others will want to see the game to completion using any character. These three characters are all capable of finishing the Fallout 2 adventure. Pick the character that you like the most and start playing immediately!

Mingan

Mingan’s whisper-soft tread and acquisitive fingers have always aided his natural curiosity. Several years ago the tribe decided that Mingan’s talents would be best used on

someone else. Since then Mingan has been the tribe’s most accomplished scout. However, the tents of nearby tribes provide little challenge these days. It’s time to scout farther afield.

Mingan is a thief character. Players that would like to sneak around, and “liberate” items from other characters should select Mingan.

Chitsa

Chitsa has always been able to convince others to do things her way. Her winning personality and stunning good looks, have often caused others to underestimate the tribe’s best trader. In the course

of her frequent journeys, Chitsa has learned to deal with the perils of travelling the Wastes. Now the

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tribe needs help and new paths beckon to Chitsa. Chitsa is a diplomat character. If you would

like to talk to people and wring the most information from them without having to resort to violence all the time, then you should select Chitsa.

Narg

Narg’s exceptional physique has made him one of the best hunters in the tribe. Narg’s first, and usually only, impulse is to crush anything that he can’t figure out. Narg has become quite adept at crushing, and slicing, and dicing. Narg

would like to prove his worthiness to lead the tribe and he’ll let nothing stand in his way.

Narg is a barbarian fighter. If you want to cause the most damage, select Narg.

Modifying Pre-generated Characters

From the main menu, one of the options is to MODIFY CHARACTER. This will let you load the statistics for the currently selected character into the character creation screen. Here you can modify the character to your heart’s content, or just look at the character detail.

Creating a Character

The other option is to create your own character from scratch. Using the character creation screen, you will make choices that will determine how your character will start the game.

For more information on character abilities, see the Character chapter and the following pages:

Primary Statistics	Page	22
Derived Statistics	Page	24
Tag Skills	Page	28
Traits	Page	26

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You can also click on any element of the character screen to get more information from the info card in the lower right hand corner of the screen. If you want details about any statistic, skill or trait, simply click on the part

in question. The card will change to show you a graphic cartoon of the statistic, skill, or trait and you will get a small text description.

How to create your Character

The easy way to create your character is to follow some simple steps. The character editor does not require that you follow of all these steps in order, so you can branch out and make little tweaks as you work on your character.

1.Think of a concept for your Character.

2.Select the Primary Statistics.

3.Select up to two Traits.

4.Choose three Tag Skills.

5.Select the sex of your Character.

6.Adjust the age of your Character.

7.Type your Character’s name.

8.Save your Character for future reference or changes.

9.Start the game!

Character Concept

Start with a brief idea of what your character should be. Determine what kind of character you would like to play. Should the character be male or female? Strong or weak? Smart or dumb? Good with ranged weapons, melee weapons or martial arts? The answers to these questions, and others, will determine your character concept. Some characters are very specialized, others will be good in many different skills and be generalists.

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Primary Statistics

Adjusting the seven primary statistics will give you the most control over your character. See page 22 for more detailed information on primary statistics.

ST - Strength - The physical strength of your character. This statistic affects your ability to carry inventory items, do damage with melee weapons and use powerful weapons effectively.

PE - Perception - The ability to see and hear. A high Perception is critical for sharpshooting characters.

EN - Endurance - How tough your character is. Characters with a high Endurance can take more damage, and they are more resistant to poison and radiation.

CH - Charisma - The ability to look good and act charming. If your character has a good Charisma, it will make your relationships with non-player characters (NPCs, see page 85) in the game easier.

AG - Agility - How well your character moves. How far you can move in combat is directly related to the Agility score of your character. It will also affect the rating of many physical skills.

IN - Intelligence - How bright and smart your character is. The number of skill points you get each experience level, and the starting ratings of many mental skills, is based on your character’s Intelligence.

LK - Luck - This is the most unusual of all of the primary statistics. It covers nothing at all, a

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little bit of some things and everything. All at once. Luck affects many things in tiny amounts.

You start with a base of 5 points in all of your primary statistics. This is average. Primary statistics are valued from 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. The following chart will give you an idea of the differences between the various levels.

NOTES	Click	the
small +	and -
buttons	next	to a
statistic	level	name

to adjust the statistic.

1)Very Bad

2)Bad

3)Poor

4)Fair

5)Average

6)Good

7)Very Good

8)Great

9)Excellent

10)Heroic

You also get 5 free CHAR POINTS that can be spent on your primary statistics. You must spend all of these free points before you can start the game. You can spend these free points in one statistic, spread them out over several statistics or in any combination you desire.

If you need more points, since you may want to increase more than one or two statistics to higher levels, you can always decrease any number of statistics. You cannot lower a statistic below 1. Any free points gained from lowering your statistics will appear in the CHAR POINTS display. You must also spend these points before you can start the game.

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Lowering your statistics is a drastic measure, however. It should be considered with care. Lowering your Intelligence below four, for example, can have serious consequences on what your character can say to other people in the Fallout world.

Adjusting your primary statistics is the single most controllable thing you can do during character creation to define your character. The initial level of your skills, the derived statistics, and what you can excel at during the beginning of the game are based on your primary statistics. Choose wisely, as it is very difficult, if not impossible, to permanently modify your primary statistics after you are finished creating your character. Your skills will increase, and you will gain equipment that will allow your character to do different things, but your primary statistics will rarely change in any meaningful way.

Derived Statistics

Derived statistics are based on one or more primary statistics. While you cannot directly adjust a derived statistic, as you adjust

your primary statistics, you will see the values of the derived statistics change. See page 88 for more information and detail about all of the derived statistics.

HP - Hit Points - The amount of damage your character can take before buying the farm, croaking, taking a long dirt nap, and otherwise exiting the corporeal world. Based mostly on Endurance, but modified by ST as well. Fortunately, as you improve and gain

experience levels, you will also gain more hit points.

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AC - Armor Class - How likely you are to be hit in combat. Slightly different than Damage Resistance (see below). High AC is better than low AC. Based strictly on Agility.

AP - Action Points - How much you can do in a single turn of combat (see Combat, page 118). The higher the number, the better it is. Based solely on Agility.

Carry Weight - The total amount of equipment you can lug around the world. Characters with high Strength scores can obviously carry more than characters with low Strength scores.

Melee Damage - How much bonus damage your character does with melee weapons or in hand-to-hand combat. Bigger is better. Based on Strength.

DR - Damage Resistance - If you do get hit, how much less damage to you take compared to the next fellow. Higher DR means you take less damage. Starts at 0% and goes up from there. Not based on any primary statistic.

Poison Resistance - How much damage you take from poison attacks is based on this derived statistic. The larger your poison resistance, the less damage you take. Based on Endurance.

Radiation Resistance - The larger your resistance to radiation, the less damage you will take when exposed to it. Based on Endurance.

Sequence - This statistic determines when you get to take an action in a combat turn. It is based on your Perception.

Healing Rate - How many points of damage you heal when you rest. Based on Endurance.

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Critical Chance - The chance of causing a critical blow, and doing some form of additional damage, is based on this statistic. This statistic is based solely on Luck.

Traits

Traits are characteristics that better define just exactly who your character is. They don’t really fit into a single statistic or location, but are instead just called Traits. They all have a good and a bad impact on your character. If you want the good side of a Trait, you must take the bad with it. Fortunately, Traits are optional. You do not

have to take a Trait to finish your character. If you do want to select Traits, you may select up to two. You must do this during character creation, since you cannot select a new Trait once you start the game.

To select a Trait, click on the small button next to the Trait name. Select Traits will be highlighted. Click the button of a highlighted Trait to deselect it. You

can have at most two Traits selected at a time.

Fast Metabolism - This will increase your Healing Rate, but reduce your radiation and poison resistances.

Bruiser - This increases your Strength, but lowers your Action Points. Popular with the mean and nasty crowd.

Small Frame - At the cost of a reduced carry weight, you gain some Action Points. You will not be able to carry as much inventory, and this can have a major effect after the beginning of the game.

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One Hander - You are more likely to hit with smaller, single-handed weapons, and less likely to hit with larger, two-handed weapons.

Finesse - You do less damage, but have a greater chance of doing a critical hit.

Kamikaze - You act before other people, since you have a higher Sequence, but you lose some Armor Class and are easier to hit.

Heavy Handed - You do more damage in melee or hand- to-hand combat. And while you have the same chance to cause a critical hit, your critical hits are not as good as the next fellow.

Fast Shot - You can use a projectile or thrown weapon more often each combat turn. The AP cost to use a weapon is reduced by one. Unfortunately, you cannot make targeted shots if you have this Trait. You will not even be able to switch to targeted shot mode if you are a Fast Shot.

Bloody Mess - This has no real game effect, beyond the fact that you will always see the bloodiest way a person can die. This is based on the setting of the Violence Level in the preference screen (see page 77.)

Jinxed - Everyone in the game is more likely to have a critical failure when fighting. That includes you, too.

Good Natured - Your combat skills start lower than normal, but your skills in First Aid, Doctor, Speech and Barter start higher.

Chem Reliant - Your chance to be addicted when using a Chem is higher, but you recover faster.

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NOTES		To	select a
skill to Tag, click the
small	button		next to
the	skill name. The
button will be lit, and
the	skill name
highlighted.			To
deselect the			skill, in
case you want to Tag
another skill,			simply click
the	button again.

Chem Resistant - Chems only affect you half as long as normal, but your chance to be addicted is reduced by half as well.

Sex Appeal - This trait increases your chance of having a good reaction with members of the opposite sex. Unfortunately, this trait tends to annoy members of your sex. Jealous twits.

Skilled - The trait increases the number of

skill points you receive every new level of experience. The cost is that it takes longer to gain Perks, additional abilities, that also come from earning experience levels.

Gifted - You have more innate abilities than most, but at a serious cost. All primary statistics are improved, but at a cost of lowered base skills and a reduced number of skill points as you advance in experience levels.

Tag Skills

Skills are learned abilities. You will be able to improve your Skills as you gain experience and learn more. All skills have a skill level, expressed as a percentage. The higher the skill level, the more likely you are able to succeed at using the skill.

Tag Skills define what skills you are especially good at. They are specializations. You must select three Tag Skills before you can leave the character creation screen.

Selecting what Skill to Tag is important. Tag Skills get an immediate +20% bonus, and more

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importantly, improve faster than normal skills. When you gain experience levels, you will gain a number of skill points to spend. Each skill point is doubled when spent on a Tag Skill. See page 111 for a detailed explanation of gaining experience levels and skill points.

For more information about the various skills, see page 91.

Small Guns - The use of pistols and other small firearms in combat. Based on Agility.

Big Guns - The use of bigger firearms and other massive ranged weapons. Based on Agility.

Energy Weapons - Using energy weapons in ranged combat. Based on Agility.

Unarmed - Using your fists and feet in hand-to-hand combat. Based off of the average of Strength and Agility.

Melee Weapons - The use of melee weapons, like knives and spears, in battle. Based on the average of Strength and Agility.

Throwing - How well you can aim a thrown object. This is used with grenades, thowing knives, and other tossed weapons. Based on Agility.

First Aid - The healing of minor wounds. Based on Perception and Intelligence.

Doctor - The healing of major wounds, and crippled or broken bones. Based on Perception and Intelligence.

Sneak - The art of moving silently. Based solely on Agility.

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Lockpick - How skilled you are in defeating locks and other mechanisms designed to keep you out. Based on Perception and Agility.

Steal - The skill of acquiring what is not yours. Can be used to steal items off of a person, or to give a person an item without them knowing about it. Based on Agility.

Traps - The skill in spotting and disarming traps. Also used to set traps and explosives. Based on Perception and Agility.

Science - Knowledge of all things scientific, like chemistry and computers. Also includes knowledge of machines, but not how to repair or jimmy them. Based only on Intelligence.

Repair - The practical side of the Science skill. How to fix (or break) machines and other man-made devices. Based on Intelligence.

Speech - How well you can talk to other people. A high speech skill can improve your chances of talking people into doing what you want them to do. Based off of Charisma.

Barter - The skill of trading items. A good Barter skill will allow you to trade less and get more. Based on Charisma.

Gambling - The skill of cards, dice and other gambling games. Based only on Luck.

Outdoorsman - The knowledge of plants, animals and living in wide open areas. Based on Intelligence and Endurance.

Name, Age and Sex

Click on the NONE button in the upper left hand corner of the screen to change your name. You

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