 | The following is based on J.E. Sawyer's Fallout RPG and is not canon. |
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J.E. Sawyer's Fallout Role-Playing Game is an unlicensed Fallout tabletop role-playing game created by Joshua Sawyer and originally published on his personal wiki in 2004, following the cancellation of Van Buren and his departure from Black Isle Studios.
The original wiki devoted to Simple has shut down and it is now archived both here and on the Fallout PnP wiki. The raw data can be found on pastebin or in pdf form here. As a historical document, it should not be used for referencing directly, except for the purposes of historical commentary in behind the scenes sections of relevant articles.
Contents
Title page
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The following is a transcript of J.E. Sawyer's Fallout Role-Playing Game. Please do not alter the contents. |
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Fallout was originally a computer role-playing game created by Interplay Entertainment Corp. in the late 1990s. Although the game was a success and spawned a sequel and two spin-offs, the company never developed a robust tabletop version of the game system or setting.
A fan version of Fallout pen and paper rules has already been created; this set of rules is simply another version. It is not meant to be official or definitive. There may be elements of these documents that contradict or re-write elements of history or functionality that were covered in the computer games. This is intentional. Different people have different tastes, and some things work better in a tabletop game than on a computer.
Caveat lector: This system is not finished, not professional, and the author makes no claims that it is great or even good.
Introduction
What is Fallout Earth?
Fallout Earth is the setting in which Fallout games take place. In the Fallout Earth setting, twenty-first century America descended into an era of paranoia and mania similar to the 1950s. The U.S. government became more and more militant and aggressive against real and imagined enemies. Other world powers were often just as bad. As the world’s fossil fuel supplies started to dry up and conversions to nuclear power lagged, people became desperate. Somehow, at the height of hysteria, someone launched nuclear weapons. Those who did not die in the following exchanges lived in darkness or misery for decades. Living in subterranean vaults or frozen in cryogenic chambers, humanity persevered. The Core Region was one of the first areas of the world in which significant interaction emerged, eighty years after the war. Though many regions of the formerly-civilized world are waking up, humanity has a long way to go if it is to ever stabilize.
What is the Core Region?
The Core Region is a portion of Fallout Earth that corresponds to the twentieth century’s American west coast and southwest in general. It was the focus of the Fallout computer games and, as such, has much more detail to it than other regions of Fallout Earth. It is the setting with which fans of the computer games are most familiar.
Simple overview
Simple is the game system used to run Fallout tabletop games. The system used in the Fallout computer games was SPECIAL. SPECIAL was a variant of Steve Jackson Games’ GURPS.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! What’s up with all of these acronyms?
GURPS = Generic Universal Role Playing System. GURPS was designed to be an extremely flexible, extensible game system. Using GURPS, players can run fantasy games, sci-fi games, or even cowboy-western style games.
SPECIAL = Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck. SPECIAL was designed to work for Fallout’s computer medium. Though it used a lot of different formulae to derive attributes and calculate the results of combat checks, it was not problematic because human beings were not required to do the calculations.
Okay, so what’s up with Simple?
Simple is designed to be easy to get into, but have long term flexibility for players. It is not intended to be as flexible as GURPS or as detailed as D&D 3.5. Though the mechanics for high technology and high skills can become more complex, the basics are, well, simple.
These rules assume that people want to play Fallout tabletop games because they enjoy the setting and are more interested in the idea of what their characters can do in the game world than what they can do on a piece of paper. You will not find rules on aging penalties, rolling for weather, or how to create bigger and badder versions of equipment. It uses levels and hit points for ease, but does not use things like alignment or class.
The Simple rule system requires the use of three types of dice: six-sided (d6), eight-sided (d8) and ten-sided (d10). These dice are mostly used to calculate weapon damage. Skill checks make frequent use of two ten-sided dice, which are sometimes referred to as “percentile” with one die representing the tens digit and the other die representing the singles digit (d100).
Characters are statistically defined through Primary Attributes, Derived Attributes, Floating Attributes, Skills, Perks, and Traits.
Character creation
Creating a character for Fallout using the Simple system is fairly similar to many other pen and paper systems. It involves allocating primary statistics, establishing secondary statistics, then calculating derived statistics and allocating points. The final stage, equipment selection, is always performed in close cooperation with the Overseer.
Please note that this section does not cover the very important Background and Personality Creation that should occur in any campaign oriented around role-playing.
| Allocating Attributes |
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As you will find in the Primary Attributes section, all characters have six statistics that define their basic mental and physical capabilities. All characters start with -3 in every statistic. The player may allocate a total 24 points across all six statistics. No statistic may be raised above 5.
Simple's Secondary Attributes are either determined by the Overseer or decided by the player at character creation. For example, some Overseers may decide to start a high-level campaign where all characters start at 10th level. This has a large effect on allocating points later on. Attributes like race may be limited by the Overseer, but otherwise may be selected by the player.
All of the Derived Attributes in Simple can be calculated using the primary attributes and secondary attributes. Although allocating points will change these values later on, it is best to calculate derived statistics before the point allocation phase.
"Points" include all of the following elements, and should be done in the following order for ease:
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- Equipment Selection
Fallout and Simple do not use a traditional method of equipment selection. Characters are not allocated money to spend on items with fixed values. Instead, the Background and Personality Creation of the character, combined with the flavor of the character and the power level of the campaign, should determine starting equipment.
| Equipment Selection |
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- Primary Attributes
These skills represent the raw capabilities of a character. They do not reflect much learning or development.
| Primary Attributes |
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Strength |
- Secondary Attributes
In addition to primary attributes, characters also possess attributes that are either "fluff" statistics or statistics used to derive other statistics (see Derived Attributes, below).
| Secondary Attributes |
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Level
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- Derived Attributes
| Derived Attributes |
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Combat Sequence
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Traits
| Traits |
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A little slower, but a little bigger. You may not hit as often, but they will feel it when you do! Your combat sequence is -4, but your damage with melee and unarmed attacks are increased by 2.
You are more easily addicted to chemicals. Your chance to be addicted to chemicals is twice normal, but you recover faster from their ill effects.
You try to avoid the quick thrills of chemical enhancements. Chemicals only affect you half as long as normal, but your chance to be addicted is half normal.
You don't have time to take aim because you're too busy firing off shots as fast as possible. During the charge phase, you can fire a firearm instead of charging (eliminates you from the action phase of that round), but your critical hits with firearms always come in 6 point increments.
Your attacks show a lot of finesse. You don't do as much damage, but you cause more critical hits. -2 to damage, +2 to attack rolls for purposes of determining critical hit results.
You are naturally superior to those around you, but you often rely on your natural talents instead of putting effort into mastering a variety of skills. You gain +7 points to spend on primary attributes, but you earn perks only once every four levels.
You're a friendly person and are hesitant to employ violence to solve problems. You have +2 to Medic, Persuasion, and Science. However, your combat sequence is -4.
Your metabolic rate is increased. This means that you are much less resistant to radiation and poison, but your body heals faster. -10% to radiation and poison resistance, +2 to healing rate.
By not paying attention to any threats, you can rush in where angels fear to tread. You are easier to hit, but you act earlier in combat. -2 to Evade, +4 to Combat Sequence.
When performing actions at night (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.), you do things better. During the day, however... It has nothing to do with the level of light, just the time of day. You're not a morning person. +2 to all skill checks at night, -2 to all skill checks in daytime.
You excel with one hand, but two-handed weapons cause a problem. +2 chance to hit with one-handed weapons, -2 to hit with two-handed weapons.
You're not particularly lucky or unfortunate, but when lightning strikes, it strikes hard! Whenever you critically hit or fail, a second check is made at five times the base chance to see if it actually happens. If it does, the result on the critical chart is bumped up +30 points in severity.
Since you spent more time improving your skills than a normal person, you gain an additional Tag skill. However, you gain -1 skill points every level because you often spread yourself too thin.
You are smaller than average. It's hard for you to carry heavy loads, but it's easy to avoid the lumbering giants of the wasteland. -50 to Carry Weight, +2 to Evade. |
Skills
The following list of skills is a general skill that covers most tasks in the Fallout setting. Each skill lists its skill bonus in parentheses and has several entries for sample task difficulties. Use these task difficulties as a guide for completing similar tasks in the world.
To make a skill check, roll 2d10 and to it, add your skill ranks, skill bonus, and any other appropriate modifiers. If the sum is equal to or greater than the task difficulty, you successfully make the check.
| Skills |
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Task Difficulties:
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Perks
Perks are special bonuses that allow characters to do things above and beyond the normal capabilities provided by their base attributes and skills. A perk might allow you to do more damage with melee weapons, heal allies more efficiently, or even attract fanatical followers. Most characters start with one perk at first level and gain an additional perk every three levels. Characters may take any perks for which they meet the prerequisites. Primary attribute requirements assume base stats, not stats modified by chems or implants. Skill requirements assume ranks, not total scores.
| Perks |
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Accelerared Healing
Prerequisites: Medic 5
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Actions
Combat in a world filled with firearms, radscorpions, and hostile plants can be a tricky thing. Simple tries to break the process down into easily digestible chunks for your gaming pleasure. Simple combat is sequentially turn-based, with characters performing independent actions in order of combat sequence. Combat begins when characters take aggressive action against one another or when the Overseer believes it is imminent. Combat ends when hostilities have ended for a reasonable period of time, determined by the Overseer.
| Actions |
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Even though Simple is a relatively uncomplicated system, you will still need the following items to carry out accurate combat calculations:
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Combat Procedure
Combat in Fallout is divided into three distinct phases: move, charge, and action. All characters involved in a battle will resolve their movement before any are allowed to charge (if able) and all characters will resolve their charge before they are allowed to take their action. This style of combat may seem strange, but it provides the capability for interesting tactical choices and events.
| Phases of Combat |
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The Three Phases of Combat
At the beginning of every combat, all characters must determine their combat sequence, which is followed for the entirety of combat. Roll a single d10 and to it, add your combat sequence. If two or more characters are tied, have them each roll a d10 to determine order, with the highest always winning out. Once the order is established, the number itself isn't important. Characters will always act in order of sequence in each phase.
During the move phase, characters can perform one (1) of the following actions:
During the charge phase, characters can perform the following action, once.
During the action phase, characters can perform one (1) of the following actions:
The round ends when everyone involved in combat capable of taking actions has done so, and all combat sequences are accounted for and re-sorted. The next round starts with the lowest sequence character acting first in the movement phase, then going through the queue. In the charge and action phases, the highest sequence character acts first. Unconscious characters are skipped. |
Actions in Combat
When a character's combat sequence comes up, it is likely that the player will want them to do something. The following mechanics cover those actions.
| Actions in Combat |
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When a character makes an attack against another target, they must use an attack mode from their weapon against the specified target (character or hex). Though some critters may have special attack modes that fall outside of what is listed here, this list should encompass most weapons and attacks. There are two important terms that may come up in a few of the attack modes: narrow cone and wide cone. A narrow cone is defined as a 30° cone, the angle between a hex vertex and the middle of an adjacent hex face from the center of a hex that contains both. A wide cone is defined as a 60° cone, the angle between a hex vertex and an adjacent hex vertex from the center of a hex that contains both. Players need not use cones strictly on the hex vertices and faces, but a cone originating from their hex will always have its source at the center of their hex. A hex and its occupant(s) are considered to be "inside" a cone if more than half of the hex is within the cone. Cones angles that fill the exact same fraction of hexes on the left and right should be specified as left-biased or right-biased hexes. A left-biased cone will affect hexes on the left and a right-biased cone will affect hexes on the right.
Beans, lobs, and throws all use the melee skill, but may be performed with a variety of items (even non-weapons). Throws travel in a straight line and are intended to cause damage with the force of the attack. Lobs can be thrown at hex targets even if the attacker does not have a line of sight, though he or she must be able to reasonably reach said target with a vertical arc. A lob is not intended to cause direct harm, but to get the item into a specified hex. Lobs are often used to toss grenades into the center of a crowd or to toss equipment to allies. Lobs have half the range that the item normally uses (use improvised weapon rules for non-weapons) and suffer a 4 penalty to hit. A bean is the equivalent of a smash: throwing an improvised weapon at an enemy in the hopes that it will cause some small amount of damage. They operate like throws, but suffer a 4 penalty to hit.
Burst attacks allow the attacker to fire off a number of rounds from a firearm in a very short period of time, always at one target. Weapons that are burst-capable will list the number of rounds the burst fires. All bursts suffer a 5/10 penalty to hit for rounds after the first. The first penalty is applied to the second round in the burst. The second is applied to all subsequent rounds. Only one attack roll is made for all rounds in the burst. E.g.: Frank has a 9mm submachinegun with a 6 round burst and a 5/10 burst penalty. He needs a 15 to hit his target. His total, after rolling, is 21, which is enough to hit. The second round has a 5 penalty, pushing him to 16, which still hits. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds are at 11, so they all miss.
A disarm is essentially an unarmed attack and can occur during either the charge or action phases. Disarming a small item requires only one open hand. Disarming a large item requires two. To disarm, the attacker must make an Unarmed skill check against a Very Easy difficulty plus the target's Unarmed skill total. If successful, the item is in the hand(s) of the attacker.
This is identical to single shot, but two barrels are firing simultaneously. It is used rarely, mostly for weapons like double-barreled shotguns.
Characters using weapons that take SECs or MFCs as their primary ammo can perform an action called "overloading". The overload action itself is a standard action, but the process takes one or more full rounds. For each round of overloading, the weapon will effectively fire another charge of ammunition during a single shot. Performing one round of overloading costs twice as much ammunition as a single shot would normally require. Once the overload maximum has been reached, it costs one shot worth of ammunition per round to hold the overload (regardless of the number of overloads that have been performed). A character can release the overload harmlessly as an action.
Without weapons, most creatures can still make punches and kicks. These are strikes with hands/forepaws/pseudopods/feet and similar appendages. Without augmentation, punches and kicks have the following stats:
A single shot attack mode comes from a firearm. Though the weapon may have an explosion damage subtype, ultimately it is only fired at one target. Full damage listed for the weapon or ammo is applied to that target only.
Smashes, swings and thrusts are melee attacks, though they are not always performed with melee weapons. Swings and thrusts are normally performed with standard melee weapons and have standard chances to hit. Smashes are performed with items that are not intended for hand-to-hand combat (e.g.: the butt of a rifle) and use the following statistics:
Spray attacks are typically used with "scatter" ammunition like buckshot or a wave gun. Spray attacks work somewhat like sweep attacks, but there are a few fundamental differences. First, each action only costs "one round" of ammo. E.g. one round of shot from a sawed-off shotgun can hit multiple targets. Like a sweep, a spray can hit a number of targets falling within a narrow cone or wide cone (usually non-adjustable, based on weapon). Unlike a sweep, attack rolls can be made at all targets in that cone unless the attacker has no line of sight to them. All attacks are rolled with a normal chance to hit. However, if attacks do hit, the damage rolled is reduced based on the distance the target is from the attacker. In a wide cone, for every hex away the target is, the damage is divided by that distance and rounded down. In narrow cone, for every two hexes away the target is, the damage is divided by that number and rounded down. E.g.: Bob fires his sawed-off shotgun in a wide cone and catches Tom and Frank. Tom is 3 hexes away and Frank is 6 hexes away. Bob hits both and rolls 25 and 32 damage against them, respectively. Tom takes 8 (25/3) damage and Frank takes 5 (32/6) damage.
A sweep is a firearm attack mode meant to cover an arc in front of the character. Unlike a burst, which is focused at a single hex, the sweep intentionally moves across an arc. Sweep actions use burst data from a weapon to determine how they work. To perform a sweep, a character must have at least as many AP as the burst action requires. Sweeps also use the same number of rounds as a burst. The player may divide all of the rounds of his or her burst between any number of targets as long as all targets are in hexes within or falling on the edge of a 60° cone (hex edge to hex edge or mid-face to mid-face). As with normal firearm single shots and bursts, no targets may be selected that are blocked by something between the attacker and the target. Targets must be specified before attacks are rolled. Once the targets are established, the attacker makes one roll against each target. All attack rolls suffer the worst penalty for a burst attack on the weapon. All rounds that hit do normal damage.
To hit an opponent, a target must use an attack mode and specify a target for the attack mode that threatens that target (see attack modes). The chance for the attacker to hit the target is determined using the normal skills check. The "other modifiers" to hit typically include Range Penalty + Visibility Penalties - Proximity Penalty.
This is determined by the attack type from the attack mode and the character making the attack.
This is determined by the attack mode's range and the distance the target is from the subject. Range penalties only apply to thrown and fired attacks (e.g.: a grenade, a gun, etc.). The attack mode's range is the range at which the weapon suffers no penalties to hit. This is called Point Blank. There are four other ranges into which a target may fall. If a target falls within any of the subsequent ranges, there are increasing penalties to hit it. An attack cannot be made beyond Maximum Range.
The above penalties for range assume that the creature is human sized (large). A small target, like a dwarf or small radscorpion, is effectively twice as far away for purposes of determining range penalties. Tiny targets, like scurry bots, are effectively three times as far away. Minute targets, like mice, are effectively four times as far away. Great targets, like huge radscorpions and security robots, are effectively half as far away. If a creature can change stance, it can effectively make its size smaller for purposes of range penalties. A crouching target is one size category smaller for purposes of range and cover. A prone target is two size categories smaller for the same purposes.
Targets inflict penalties to hit on the attacker depending on how difficult it is for the attacker to see the target.
Proximity penalties are applied to attack modes from specific types of weapons when an enemy is standing within one hex of them and is not stunned.
Typically only used in situations of desperation or extreme advantage, characters can use a weapon in each hand simultaneously (or perform other actions simultaneously). The player chooses to perform two actions simultaneously. The actions must be logically possible one-handed. A character could not, for instance, fire one gun with their right hand and reload another gun with their left hand. Both actions can be performed, but both actions suffer an 8 penalty to any related skill rolls on top of all other penalties.
Wow, you hit the target! Now it's time to calculate damage. All weapons or ammunition types have damage values associated with them. Roll the damage value for each target. Subtract the target's appropriate Damage Threshold (DT) for that damage type to arrive at final damage. Remember: DTs are applied on a per-hit basis. If a target is hit with six bullets, his or her DT is subtracted from each of the damage rolls. |
Critical Hits
Critical hits in Simple are covered a bit differently than they were handled in SPECIAL. When a character hits a target, the normal assumption is that the hit is a "flesh wound" that has no secondary effects. If a character's attack roll is significantly over the required number to hit, the player or Overseer will have the option to execute a critical hit effect in addition to the damage total. For every 5 points over the number needed to hit, the attack gains one Critical Point. It is important to note that while all weapons are capable of doing critical damage, not all are capable of the other critical effects. Please refer to Weapons for details.
N.B.: If a critical hit results from an explosion, use the d6 scatter diagram to determine where each point of the critical result goes. Critical results that fall in empty hex cones have no effect. The player is still free to assign critical effects for cinematic purposes.
| Critical Hits |
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The most common application of critical points is for critical damage. When the character causes critical damage, each critical point allows the player to roll half of the base damage of the character's weapon (always one die).
Critical knockback allows the attacker to drive a standing target away. Every four points of damage rolled drives the target back one hex.
Critical knockdown allow the the attacker to force the target to drop one stance for every critical point spent. Every four points of damage rolled drives the target down one stance.
Critical stun allows the attacker to apply a stun effect to the target, effectively removing them from action. Every point of damage rolled goes into the target's stun pool. Please refer to Vital Status for rules on stun effects.
Called shots are an important part of Fallout combat. They allow characters to inflict devastating status penalties on characters that would otherwise not be possible. A talented combatant can break limbs, cause internal bleeding, and even blind opponents. Called shots exist independently of the critical hit system, though a character with enough talent can stack the effects of a critical hit and called shot if his or her margin of success is high enough.
N.B.: A "double-whammy" applies when the status applies to both/all of the creature's eyes/legs. If a creature has more than two eyes/legs, the penalties for a single maim or break apply until all eyes/legs are maimed or broken.
To remove a maim or break status, the character will have to have it fixed through the use of Medic or Mechanics (if the character is living or robot, respectively).
When a character hits zero hit points, the character dies. Many games have a "Death's Door" buffer prior to death. Fallout uses a fatigue scale to provide an occasional buffer to death's cold embrace. Armor can help convert damage into fatigue. When this happens, the character's fatigue, which starts at zero, goes up. Every round, on the character's turn, his or her fatigue goes down by his or her healing rate. If a character's fatigue is equal to or higher than his or her current hit points, the character is winded and suffers a 4 penalty to all skill checks and has half AP, rounded down. Once the character's fatigue falls below their current hit points, the character is no longer winded. If a character's fatigue ever passes their maximum hit points, the character passes out and falls to the ground. Once the character's fatigue falls below their maximum hit points, they regain consciousness. |
Equipment
Survival gear
Survival gear is general equipment that doesn't fall under any of the other listed categories. It includes containers, non-chem-ish food, mechanical and electronic devices, and miscellaneous debris.
| Survival gear |
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The Pip Boy 2000 is a very special piece of pre-war equipment that was used primarily by travelers. The Pip Boy holds a surprisingly large amount of information and can transfer data to and from holodiscs and from data tubes. It displays information in bright green on its black 5" x 3" screen. It can record sound and video footage for later playback. It uses a simple but elegant form of sonar and satellite tracking (where available, which is far from everywhere in the post-apocalyptic world) to map out areas where its user travels. Though input is slow, a user can also hand-enter and edit text messages on their Pip Boy 2000s. The original Pip Boy 2000 was a hand-held device, though some very cumbersome models were made to be worn on the arm. These models were unofficially called Pip Boy 2000 Plus.
Much less cumbersome than the Pip Boy 2000 Plus, the Lil' Pip 3000 offers all the functionality of its smaller brother, and features two colors in addition to bright green for standard display: bright blue and bright red. It features a flip-up split-screen monitor and can be comfortably worn on the arm. Despite its many advantages, the Lil' Pip 3000 was not a sales success. The device was more fragile than the 2000 models and it used integrated circuits instead of vacuum tubes to achieve its small size.
All Pip Boy models can download and transfer data from holodiscs. All models can also accept expansion hardware. Expansion hardware comes in the form of data tubes, which are highly advanced, jam-packed vacuum tubes. Data tubes cannot be written to with Pip Boys, but their data can be accessed while they are connected. Pip Boy 2000 models can take six tubes, 2000 Plus models can take four, and Lil' Pip 3000s can take six.
Battle Buddy increases the Melee and Unarmed skill totals of the wearer by 1 while it is worn.
Diplomat Buddy increases the Investigate and Persuade skill totals of the wearer by 1 while it is worn.
When the Motion Sensor module is installed, all objects on the map that are currently moving will show
When the Rad Counter is installed, the PC's pip boy will start to crackle as he or she approaches a radioactive area. The intensity and volume of the crackle will increase as the intensity of the radiation increases.
Reloader Buddy increases the Firearms and Science skill totals of the wearer by 1 while it is worn.
Spy Buddy increases the Sneak and Deception skill totals of the wearer by 1 while it is worn.
Survival Buddy increases the Medic and Outdoorsman skill totals of the wearer by 1 while it is worn.
Thief Buddy increases the Security and Steal skill totals of the wearer by 1 while it is worn.
The Toxin Counter operates similarly to the Rad Counter, but for poisonous spills and creatures like radscorpions, thorn slingers, and giant two-headed snakes. Instead of crackling, the Toxin Counter beeps. The closer the toxin, the more frequent the beeps.
Workshop Buddy increases the Mechanics skill totals of the wearer by 2 while it is worn.
Effects: +5-20 hit points (+2 per 10 points of user's Medic)
Effects: +50-75 hit points (+2 per 10 points of user's Medic) |
Weapons
What would a Fallout game be without weapons? Well, it would still be a role-playing game, but sometimes the role you want to play is the guy who shoots people in the face. Players and Overseers should be able to find just about everything they need to lay waste to the myriad hostile creatures of the wasteland. Weapons are divided up into seven categories: unarmed augmentation (increases punch damage), small melee, large melee, thrown, small firearm, large firearm, and traps. However, despite these distinctions, weapons sometimes can be used in multiple ways. For example, a combat shotgun can be used as a firearm (shooting) or a melee weapon (butt smash).
| Making Weapons |
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To make weapons, characters need access to a Mechanics Shop, one of the workshops. They also need to have a working knowledge of Mechanics and Firearms. To make a workable Firearm, a character needs a skill total equal to or great than 20 x the Tech Level of the item. E.g.: Bob wants to make a .22 Rifle. The .22 Rifle has a TL of 5, so he would need a skill total of 100 to make it. For Tech ingredients, use the following list:
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| Special Weapons |
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An item takes a number of hours to make equal to Tech Level x number of techs used. E.g.: A 9mm Autoloader (TL 6, Mechanics) requires: 2 Metal Tech, 2 Spring Tech + 1 Plastic Tech or 1 Wood Tech (grip). The character must have a Mechanics skill of 120, access to a Mechanics Shop, and must work on it for 30 hours (6 TL x 5 Tech count). |
| Large Firearm |
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Large firearms typically include weapons like rifles, shotguns, machineguns, and rocket launchers. A large firearm fired one-handed suffers a -10 penalty to hit. They can be used as large improvised melee weapons at normal penalties to hit (used two-handed). |
| Large Melee |
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Ammo Capacity Range Modes Damage |
| Small Firearms |
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Small firearms are small enough to be fired with one hand. They can be used as improvised melee weapons for a Smash at normal penalties (not used two-handed). |
| Small Melee |
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Ammo Capacity Range Modes Damage |
| Traps |
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Door Bomb |
| Weapon Mods |
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Weapon mods are pieces of equipment that can be effectively "socketed" onto a weapon to modify the weapon's properties. Unlike weapon attributes (below), weapon mods are physical pieces of equipment that can be removed and used as stand-alone items. Most weapon mods have a caliber associated with them upon creation or discovery. Such mods can only be used on equipment of a like caliber. E.g.: A 9mm extended magazine could be used on a 9mm autoloader or a 9mm submachinegun, but not on a .45 autoloader. Every weapon mod occupies a slot on the weapon. Only one item can occupy a slot at any given time. |
Ammunition and fuel
Ammunition is used in a variety of firearms, melee weapons, and even a few unarmed weapons (like the Power Fist). They run the gamut from the humble rivet to the mighty Micro-Fusion Cell (MFC).
| Ammunition and fuel |
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Some types of ammunition can support variants. Variants modify the base properties of the ammo. Ammo variants often cost more money than standard ammo. Characters with a high Mechanics skill can also manufacture ammo variants.
12 ga.
Characters in Fallout can't fire bullets forever. When they run out, it's time to reload. The cost for reloading varies by the type of the reloading being done. Clearing means to release/remove the item. The magazines/shells/etc. drop to the ground after being cleared unless the character wants to catch it in his or her other hand (assuming it is not holding something else) as a free action. Loading means that the character places an item full of ammo into the receiver. This is not done with individual rounds, which are packed. Packing means that the character is placing a single round into the item, one at a time.
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Armor
| Armor |
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ATHENA Project (Body/Head) |
Chems
| Chems |
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Afterburner Gum |
Implants
Medical implants can be installed by NPCs or slapped into teammates by a trained party member doctor or a programmed auto-doc at a medical ward. A character can have as many implants as they have points of EN. However, such awesome power does not come without price. Most implants either lower the host's Electricity and EMP DTs or permanently add weight to their encumbrance.
| Implants |
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Auto-Psycho |
Books
Properly speaking, books are used to raise skills. Normal books will increase a character's skill from 1 point if their skill is between 0 and 10. "Volume 2" books increase their skill between 1 point if their skill is between 11 and 20. Characters with skills outside of those ranges cannot use the books. Remember: points must be used to buy ranks. Tag! skills will receive double the benefit. A book may be used a total of 10 times before it falls apart. A character may only use a book of any given type once; he or she may not benefit from reading the same book over and over again. Characters with IN scores below 4 cannot benefit from books. It takes a number of eight-hour days equal to 11- IN to read a book and benefit from it.
| Books | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Level 0-10 book | Level 11-20 book |
| Athletics | How to Be a World-Class Triathlete | How to Be a World-Class Triathlete, Vol. 2 |
| Academics | Fun Facts | Fun Facts, Vol. 2 |
| Deception | Big Fat Liars | Big Fat Liars, Vol. 2 |
| Firearms | Guns and Bullets | Guns and Bullets, Vol. 2 |
| Investigation | Mystery! | Mystery!, Vol. 2 |
| Mechanics | Dean's Mechanics | Dean's Mechanics, Vol. 2 |
| Medic | First Aid Book | First Aid Book, Vol. 2 |
| Melee | Medieval Weaponry Today | Medieval Weaponry Today, Vol. 2 |
| Outdoorsman | Scout Handbook | Scout Handbook, Vol. 2 |
| Persuasion | Making Friends | Making Friends, Vol. 2 |
| Pilot | Hot Pursuit! | Hot Pursuit!, Vol. 2 |
| Security | Home Security | Home Security, Vol. 2 |
| Science | Big Boy of Science | Big Boy of Science, Vol. 2 |
| Sneak | Infiltration Techniques | Infiltration Techniques, Vol. 2 |
| Steal | Don't Steal This Book! | Don't Steal This Book!, Vol. 2 |
| Unarmed | Pugilist Quarterly | Pugilist Quarterly, Vol. 2 |
Tools
Tools are a necessary evil for most of the science skills. Without the proper tools, most of the science skills can only be used for knowledge purposes. However, the advanced versions of the tools have the added bonus of increasing the user's skill total for applied tasks. A "fresh" tool starts with 10 charges. Performing different tasks with tools will cost different amounts of charges. When a tool runs out of charges, it is exhausted and can no longer be used.
| Tools |
|---|
|
Doctor's Bag |
Workshops
After the bombs, the greatest killer of the human race was ignorance. All of humanity's shared technological reliance on each other broke down. Even years after the vaults have opened, those who are wise in the ways of repairing and building machines are respected, if not worshiped. Characters who excel in the "science" skills (Mechanics, Medic, Outdoorsman, and Science) have the ability to repair and create equipment. However, they are not magicians. They need both materials and a workshop to get the job done. Building items involves four components: a workshop, ingredients, item tech level, and time.
There are four types of workshops in Fallout: Mechanics Shops, Medic Stations, Outdoorsman Camps, and Science Labs.
| Workshops |
|---|
|
Mechanics Shops |
Ingredients
All items in the Fallout work can be broken down into more-or-less basic components. Instead of requiring players to track dozens of minute and specific ingredients, item recipes are made up of abstracted ingredient types. These items can be found as treasure in the wasteland or stripped out of other objects. Clever scavengers will know a potential source of ingredients on sight and will break it down as quickly as possible.
| Ingredients |
|---|
All items have a tech level, which defines how complex the item is and, generally speaking, gives a rough estimate of where it fell in the timeline of Earth's history.
To make weapons, characters need access to a Mechanics Shop, one of the workshops. They also need to have a working knowledge of Mechanics and Firearms. To make a workable Firearm, a character needs a skill total equal to or great than 20 x the Tech Level of the item. E.g.: Bob wants to make a .22 Rifle. The .22 Rifle has a TL of 5, so he would need a skill total of 100 to make it. For Tech ingredients, use the following list:
An item takes a number of hours to make equal to Tech Level x number of techs used. E.g.: A 9mm Autoloader (TL 6, Mechanics) requires: 2 Metal Tech, 2 Spring Tech + 1 Plastic Tech or 1 Wood Tech (grip). The character must have a Mechanics skill of 120, access to a Mechanics Shop, and must work on it for 30 hours (6 TL x 5 Tech count).
In addition to salvaging Tech from creatures and ruins, characters may also breakdown items for Tech. Breaking down items takes half the time it requires to build it, requires half the skill, and yields half the tech (all rounded down). E.g.: Breaking down the afore-mentioned 9mm Autoloader would require a 6 Mechanics, access to a Mechanics Shop (or a Lil' Shop, since the requirement is under 15), take 15 hours, and give back 1 Metal Tech, 1 Spring Tech, and 0 Plastic/Wood Tech. |
The Fallout world
- North America
- South America
- Europe
- Asia
- Africa
- Australia
- Antarctica
- The Core Region
- Geography
- Sites
Organizations
| Organizations |
|---|
|
Brotherhood of Steel Commonwealths
Daughters of Hecate  In 2253, the Wright family is the survivor of a bloody turf war that shook the city of New Reno at the time of the Chosen One. After wiping out both the Bishop family and the Mordinos, the Wrights took control of the Mordino drug operation and prostitution all over the town. Though they controlled weapon trade in northern New California for a few years, they were violently knocked out of that trade by a series of brutal attacks from the Van Graff family. Neither the Van Graffs nor the Wrights are willing to fight each other now, as they know that the NCR would almost assuredly try to finish off the victor. The symbol of the Wright family is a bold W in a half-circle sun (as though rising over the horizon). |
Critters
| Critters |
|---|
|
Agricola robots |
Copyright
Copyright and Trademark Information
Fallout is Copyright 1997 Interplay Entertainment Corp. Fallout is a registered trademark of Interplay Entertainment Corp. All Rights Reserved.
Fallout reference material is used here without the express permission of Interplay Entertainment Corp. No challenge to Interplay's copyright and trademark are intended. These pages are for private, non-profit use and are not intended to be developed into any form of electronic entertainment. This material may be reproduced and distributed as long as it is for non-profit purposes and does not violate and clearly indicates the copyright and trademark ownership of Interplay Entertainment Corp.
External links
References
- ↑ The Enclave flag is essentially the US flag with an E in the middle instead of the big star, correct?
Joshua Sawyer: The symbol is the circle of stars with the E at the center, but I don't know if I ever saw a full Enclave flag in F3. It's similar to the "Betsy Ross" flag. My design for the Fallout tabletop game used a simple E. Bethesda's version stylized the middle tine on the E by breaking it into several thin horizontal lines.
Joshua Sawyer November 12 and 15, 2012 answers
