Follow the steps below to create your character:

1. Choose your Origin from the Origin Table
   1. Optionally select up to 2 Traits from the Traits Table
2. Increase your SPECIAL Attributes
3. Allocate Skill Points and Tag Skills
   1. Unlock Skill Milestones
4. Select your Starting Perk from the Perks Table
5. Calculate Derived Stats
6. Collect Your Gear
7. Done!

Character Sheet Template

It is highly recommended that you make use of the Character Sheet Template. This template will keep track of the many stats in this game and automatically calculate Derived Stats for you.

Step 1: Choose Origin and Create Backstory

First, create your characters backstory.

Bringing the Party Together

There is one detail that is “set in stone” for all characters. At the beginning of the campaign, all party members will be recruited to a special, newly created squad of the Brotherhood of Steel Great Lakes Chapter.

Work with the DM to figure out how your characters backstory blends into this situation. Keep in mind that your character can still harbor some suspicion or resentment for the Brotherhood of Steel; this chapter is still very young and the internal politics are nuanced.

Your Origin is part of your backstory. It will affect what Traits and Perks are available to you later in the game, and it will also affect your starting equipment.

You must pick an Origin from the Origin Table on Google Sheets. Let the GM know if you want to tweak any of the finer details or propose a custom Origin.

Step 1.2: Select Traits

In addition to your Origin Trait, every character may select or create up to 2 additional Traits. Traits are optional modifiers to your character that have both positive and negative effects. These can be used to give your character more flavor.

Trait Creation

If you want to create your own Traits for your character, make sure it has a positive and negative effect. Check with the GM for approval.

Step 2: Increase 🎂 SPECIAL Attributes

For most characters at Level 1, all 🎂 SPECIAL attributes start at 5. You have 5 points which can be spent to increase these attributes. You may decrease an attribute to gain 1 point each time. Each increase costs 1 point. SPECIAL attributes have a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 10.

Your Origin Trait may alter the rules above.

See 🎂 SPECIAL for more information on what each SPECIAL attribute does.

Step 3: ⭐ Skills

By default, all ⭐ Skills have a minimum of -10 and a maximum (Skill Cap) of +10. Skills start at 0 by default.

Increase your ⭐ Skills. Your 🎓 Starting Skill Points is equal to:

• 5 + (🧠 INT mod / 2, rounded down)

Link to original

Now, select 3 ⭐ Skills to be your Tagged Skills. Tagged Skills represent ⭐ Skills that are the most important for your character, and shows that they have some special expertise or knowledge for that ⭐ Skill.

Increase your Tagged Skills by +2. The Skill Cap for these skills also increases by +2.

See ⭐ Skills for an overview of what each Skill does.

Step 3.1: Milestones

For every ⭐ Skill you have that is +3 or more, you will unlock free Milestone Perks. Add these Milestone Perks to your Perks. Check the respective ⭐ Skill page for milestones.

Step 4: Choose a Perk!

In addition, every character gets to choose 1 Perk for free at the beginning of the game.

You may browse the Perk Table or come up with your own Perk with the GMs approval.

Step 5: Calculate Derived Stats

Many of your characters stats are Derived Stats which are calculated using your 🎂 SPECIAL attributes. If you are using the Character Sheet Template, many of these will be calculated automatically. If you are not using the template, you will have to manually keep track of them.

Step 6: Collect Your Gear

Now, we will add some items to your inventory.

Equipment from ⭐ Skills

Every character (except for Robots) will receive items based on their Tagged ⭐ Skills:

• 🏋️ Athletics → 🎽 Athletic Clothing
• 💰 Barter → 2d20 💸 Bottlecaps
• 🔥 Big Guns → Pipe Launcher
• ⚡ Energy Weapons → Wattz 1000 Laser Pistol, 30 🔋 Small Energy Cells
• 💣 Explosives → 2 🍾 Molotov Cocktails
• 🔏 Lockpick → 6 Bobby Pins
• ⚕ Medicine → First Aid Kit
• 🗡 Melee → Combat Knife
• 🚗 Pilot → 5 ⚪ Common Scrap
• 🔧 Repair → Repair Kit
• 🔬 Science → 🥼 Lab Coat
• 🔫 Small Guns → Choose between:
  • Pipe Pistol and 18 9mm,
  • Pipe Rifle and 18 9mm,
  • Pipe SMG and 24 9mm,
  • Pipe Shotgun and 10 12ga
• 👤 Sneak → 2 ☁ Smoke Grenades
• 💬 Speech → 🕴 Formal Clothing
• 🏕 Survival → 3 🎆 Signal Flare, 2 Purified Water, 10m 🧶 Rope
• 🤾 Throwing → 5 Throwing Knives
• 👊 Unarmed → Knuckles

Minimum Equipment

Every non-Robot character is guaranteed at a minimum:

• One melee weapon if they don’t have one
  • Get a Switchblade
• One ranged weapon if they don’t have one
  • Get a Pipe Pistol
  • 18 9mm bullets
• Clothing if they don’t have any
  • 🥋 Brotherhood Uniform
• A 🎖 Brotherhood Holobadge
• One 💉 Stimpak

Inventory Management

Work with the GM to finalize your starting Inventory based on your Origin and Backstory

Done!

You may be wondering why the equipment you received was so shitty.

Well, you are about to find out.