SPECIAL

SPECIAL are your set of seven numbers that determine your characters natural
abilities. Each skill is governed by one or more SPECIAL stats. The DM may
ask for a skill check to be made with a different governing stat in certain
circumstances.

Your SPECIAL stats generally range between 0 and 10. Each number is
associated with a modifier for dice rolls. It starts are -5 at 0, and goes up
to +5 at 10. For example, if you have 10 perception, you add +5 to rolls
based on perception.

SPECIAL Modifier Table

SPECIAL stat SPECIAL Modifier

10 +5

9 +4

8 +3

7 +2

6 +1

5 +0

4 -1

3 -2

2 -3

1 -4

0 -5

● Strength
○ Determines your ability to lift things, break open doors, swing a
weapon (including your fist), and even things like flexing your
muscles to show off.
○ Your carry weight is based on strength. Exceeding it makes you
encumbered which causes exhaustion explained in detail in the
 Mechanics document. Carry weight = Size * 15 + Strength * 20,
where size is on a scale from 1 to 6, for tiny to gargantuan.
● Perception
○ The ability to see, hear, taste and notice unusual things. A high
Perception is important for a sharpshooter.
○ Often used when your rely on your raw senses to notice something
○ Also used for noticing sneaking creatures
● Endurance
○ Determines your overall heartiness and resistances to things like
poison and radiation
○ You add your Endurance modifier to your HP dice roll each level.
The size of your HP dice roll is determined by your race.
○ Endurance also affects some resistances such as to radiation.
● Charisma
○ The ability to talk your way in, or out, of things as well as
people's first impression of you
● Intelligence
○ Knowledge, wisdom and the ability to think quickly. A high
Intelligence is important for any character.
○ More intelligent characters get a bonus to experience
(Intelligence Modifier * 3%, includes negatives)
○ Your number of proficiencies (skills or tools) is related to your
race, background, and intelligence. You choose a proficiency for
every 2 intelligence you have above 0.
● Agility
○ Represents your coordination, nimbleness, and speed of movements
● Luck
○ The higher, the better.
○ The DM will sometimes have you make a luck check when they feel
that luck is the most important factor. This is up to the DMs
discretion but will often apply to things like gambling, finding
loot, and encounters.
○ Your luck modifier is added to the your role on the crit table
which can be found in the Mechanics document

Skills
Almost any interaction with the world and people around you will require a
skill check. You tell the DM what you want to do, and the DM will tell you
which kind of skill check to make. For the most part combat skills are used
to make attacks and contribute to your chance to land the attack. General
skills are used more widely, both in and out of combat. If no skill fits, use
the most appropriate SPECIAL.
Skill proficiency allows you to add your proficiency score (based on your
level) to any dice roll involving that skill.

● Combat Skills
○ Big Guns
■ Large weapons including miniguns, rocket launchers, fixed
machine guns and others
■ Governed by Endurance
○ Small Guns
■ Traditional hand held weapons from pistols to assault
rifles, excluding energy weapons
■ Governed by Agility
○ Energy Weapons
■ This covers weapons that use lasers or plasma to damage
their targets they tend to be rarer than small guns
■ Governed by Perception
○ Primitive Weapons
■ Bows, crossbows, spears, slings, atlatls, and other similar
weapons
■ Governed by Agility
○ Explosives
■ Mines, bombs, grenades, as well as crafting and disarming
traps based on them
■ Governed by Perception
○ Melee Weapons
■ Anything from hammers to halberds
■ Governed by Strength
○ Unarmed
■ Obviously this covers your hands, but also attacks with
“fist weapons” such as brass knuckles, claws, or power
fists
■ Governed by Endurance
● General Skills
○ Medicine
■ This skill covers a wide range of activities from
diagnosing illnesses and setting bones to crafting salves
and performing brain surgery.
■ Governed by Intelligence
○ Lockpick
■ For picking mechanical locks. While a relatively narrow
skill, it is likely to be useful on a nearly daily basis
■ Governed by Perception
○ Repair
■ Another wide ranging skill that helps you keep your
equipment in working order as well as found technology and
removing traps not based on explosives
■ Governed by Intelligence
○ Science
■ Knowledge and understanding of the world including physics,
computer science, biology and other subjects. Generally
used for hacking terminals but also for understanding the
world around you.
■ Governed by Intelligence
○ Sneak
■ Your ability to remain undetected by others. This is useful
for surprise attacks, avoiding conflict, or just slipping
out without the bartender noticing
■ Governed by Agility
○ Investigation
■ This skill defines your ability to search an area for clues
or tracks. It also governs your ability to notice people
who are sneaking, however, it only applies when you are
actively looking for them. It also applies to any time you
actively try to discern the truth in someone's face.
■ Governed by Perception
○ Survival
■ In the wasteland, nothing will kill you faster than
ignorance. Survival is about the general aptitude and know
how to survive in the wastes. How to build shelters. How to
make fires. Knowing when fires will attract. deathclaws
and similar things. It can also be used for harvesting
materials from (formerly) living creatures like leather or
venom.
■ Governed by Endurance
○ Barter
■ This skill affects your trades with others in the world.
Usually used to haggle over prices it may also be used to
start businesses and see private inventories
■ Governed by Charisma
○ Speech
■ Interactions with the people of the wasteland don't always
have to be violent. Using speech you can try to persuade
people, gain allies, lie your way out of a fight, or
whatever else with the power of the word. However, keep in
mind this isn't mind control; you can't get someone to do
 something fundamentally against their beliefs, or convince
them of obviously false lies.
■ Governed by Charisma
○ Intimidation
■ When words won't cut it, sometimes a mean stare, or a
flexing of your rippling muscles will be enough to scare
off raiders. But don't count on it working on anything with
no regard for its own life.
■ Governed by Endurance