Fallout D6: Attributes and Skills

 

For this fan project, I will be using the D6 System rulebook as core, available here. I may refer to other Open D6 rules to fill any blanks as needed. I will also be refering to Nukapedia, the Fallout fan Wiki for game particulars and lore.

Attributes

The first thing one has to do when customizing the D6 System is to choose a number of base attributes, their names, and the individual skills under them. For Fallout D6, this a relatively easy matter, as we’ll want to use the S.P.E.C.I.A.L attribute system from the video games: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck.

All of these fit neatly into the D6 framework as base abilities to place skills under. The odd man out, however, is Luck. With the exception of perhaps a Gambling skill (from the original Fallout game) there’s just not enough to justify a Luck attribute. Besides, extraordinary good (or bad) luck is already represented in the D6 system by a few things:

• The Wild Die, which determines critical successes and failures in both skill and attribute rolls. I will keep this in mind when I get to character perks that affect criticals.
• Fate Points, which can be spent at crucial moments to double a character’s dice on skill or attribute rolls.
• Character Points, which in addition to functioning as experience, can be spent to gain an additional die to roll.

I considered making Luck an attribute and have the value become the additional dice a character gets when they spend Fate Points, but I have a feeling that doing this would just nerf them, so I made the somewhat unsatisfying decision of making the “L” in “SPECIAL” where “Luck points” go, which is what I’m renaming Fate Points to. 

I will consider how Luck-based perks can affect things like Luck/Fate points and the Wild Die later.  I also want Luck points to have the additional feature of helping players discover special encounters or loot like in the video games.

So as it stands, here are the attributes for Fallout D6:

Strength: The character’s physical power and muscular vigor. Strength determines how much a character can carry, their ability to fight with their bare fists or hand-held weapons and how much damage they cause.

Perception: A measure of a character’s general awareness and sharpness of their senses. Perception also governs tasks that that require attention to detail such as rendering first aid to the wounded, disarming a dangerous, pre-war explosive, or counting cards at a gambling establishment.

Endurance: The character’s overall health, fitness and ability to withstand the many dangers of the Wasteland including physical injury, disease, radiation, and toxins. Endurance also determines a character’s Body Points.

Charisma: The ability to understand and influence others can be vital to survival in the Wasteland. Charisma represents a character’s personal magnetism, attractiveness, leadership quality, or emotional intelligence, which enables them to make friends, deceive enemies, or strike lucrative deals for pre-war loot.

Intelligence: The character’s academic knowledge, deductive reasoning, and memorization abilities. High intelligence is necessary when dealing with intricate, pre-war devices, or complex subjects such as medicine.

Agility: A character’s reflexes, manual dexterity, and hand-eye coordination. Agility determines a character s ability to move quickly and with grace, manipulate delicate devices such as locks, shoot firearms, or throw objects accurately.  

Luck (points): A character’s special connection with destiny, fate, or simple serendipity. Luck points may be spent to improve skill and attribute rolls dramatically, or even increase their chance of discovering rare locations, situations, and treasures in the Wasteland.

Since Luck (points) are not an attribute per se, players will have a total of 18 dice to distribute among the six main attributes (three for each) as is standard for the D6 System. Characters begin with one Luck point, but special perks may affect this starting number.

Skills

Like attributes, the skills in Fallout D6 are pretty easy to determine. Just about all of the skills from the various games can be used, with the addition of a few others for tasks that characters might do which aren’t necessary in the video game environment, such as athletic feats, or piloting vehicles. Characters will have the standard 7D to distribute among these.

 

Attribute and Skill Breakdown

Strength: melee weapons, unarmed

Perception: explosives, first aid, gambling, pilot

Endurance: athlete, outdoorsman

Charisma: barter, speech

Intelligence: doctor, repair, science

Agility: acrobat, big guns, energy weapons, lockpick, small guns, sneak, throwing

 Luck: n/a

 

Skill Descriptions 

Strength Skills 

 

Melee Weapons

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round)

This is the skill for fighting and defending with hand-to-hand weapons of any type, from a board with nails on it to a graceful, Chinese officer’s sword. This also includes mechanized melee weapons such as rippers or super sledges.

Specializations: by weapon type

Unarmed

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round)

This skill encompasses the sweet sciences of brutal fisticuffs, pugilism, wrestling, and the mysterious arts of the Orient. This skill also covers weapons that enhance fighting with one’s bare hands, such as brass knuckles and power fists.

Specializations: specific maneuver type such as punching, kicking, parrying, wrestling holds, or throws, or by weapon type.

Perception Skills

 

Explosives

Time Required: Varies

Characters with this skill can handle, arm, and disarm explosive devices. In addition, they can recognize and construct simple traps using explosive devices.

Specializations: by device or trap type

First Aid

Time Required: Varies

This skill involves providing immediate, medical assistance to the injured or sick. If used on a character after combat or injury, they can recover 1-25% of Body Points suffered, depending on the severity of their injuries. First Aid can also be used slow the onset of poisons or mitigate (but not cure) the effects of radiation poisoning or disease. A character can use this skill  a number of times per day equal to the number before the “D” in their skill.

Specializations: type of injury or condition such as gunshots, lacerations, radiation poisoning, or disease.

Severity of Injury or Malady	Difficulty
75-100% of body points remaining/minor poison or radiation level	Very Easy
50-74% of body points remaining/advanced poison or radiation level	Easy
25-50% of body points remaining/critical poison or radiation level	Moderate
1-25% of body points remaining/deadly poison or radiation level	Difficult
0 body points/fatal poison or radiation level	Very Difficult

 

Gambling

Time Required: Length of a game 

This skill bestows an understanding of various card games or games of chance that are typically played for money. Specifically, characters with this skill can attempt to subtly shift the odds of a game in their favor or cheat outright. 

If a character attempts to cheat, others involved in the game can make Perception rolls to detect the attempt. Anyone who rolls higher than the character’s gambling total notices the characters efforts to alter the game's outcome (with potentially deadly consequences.)

Specializations: by specific game

 

Pilot

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round)

This skill covers the operation of various types of pre-war land, aerial, or water-going vehicles, from the latest Corvega model (circa 2077) to a state-of-the-art vertibird.

Specializations: by vehicle type.

Endurance Skills

 

Athlete

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round) or more

This skill covers actions that require physical fitness such as running, jumping, swimming, and climbing. The athlete skill may also be used to avoid incoming gunfire or missile weapons in combat.

Specialization: by specific action type

Outdoorsman

Time Required: Varies

This skill encompasses several aspects of and survival in the Wasteland – finding sources of food and water, tracking game, land navigation, avoiding natural dangers and recognizing beneficial (or harmful) plants, as well as concocting folk remedies with these.

Specializations: by action type

Charisma Skills

 

Barter

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round) or more

Even in the ravaged, post-war Wasteland, the American spirit of free-market Capitalism has endured. This skill allows a character to negotiate lower prices for goods or services, whether it is in caps, gold, or salvaged goods.

Specialization: by type of good or service such as weapons, armor, chems, pre-war junk, or business contracts.

Alter Price By	Difficulty
10%	Very Easy
20%	Easy
30%	Moderate
40%	Difficult
50%	Very Difficult
60%	Heroic

 

Speech

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round) or more

Not everyone survives the Wasteland by their wits or skill at arms alone. Some gifted individuals can talk their way past dangers, or convince people to act in their best interests; be they angry locals, raiders, or witless mutants. This skill also covers inspiring and commanding troops and followers.

Specializations: by specific approach such as intimidation, diplomacy, leadership, or the great, political tradition of lying.

Character’s Demeanor or Relationship	Difficulty
Trusted	Very Easy
Friendly	Easy
Neutral/stranger	Moderate
Suspicious	Difficult
Hostile	Very Difficult

Intelligence Skills

 

Doctor (A)

Time Required: One day or more

This is an advanced skill. Characters require a minimum 5D in First Aid before they can allot dice or character points to his skill.

The Doctor skill includes advanced, medical knowledge, such bone-setting, surgery, amputation, diagnosis and treatment of diseases and radiation poisoning, and properly administering medicine.  Characters that successfully use this skill increase the amount of Body Points an injured character can recover per day while under their care equal to the number before the “D” in the physician’s doctor skill. Restoring radiation damage requires one dose of RadAway, with no risk of addiction to the patient.  Damage to crippled limbs is also restored along with negating any harmful effects from the injury.

The doctor skill can also be used to break a character’s addiction to chems.  The difficulty is equal to the individual drug's addiction rating.  The detox period lasts 2D days.

Specializations: by type of condition or injury

Character’s Condition	Difficulty
75-100% of body points remaining/minor radiation level	Very Easy
50-74% of body points remaining/advanced radiation level	Easy
25-50% of body points remaining/critical radiation level	Moderate
1-25% of body points remaining/deadly radiation level	Difficult
0 body points/fatal radiation level	Very Difficult

 

Repair

Time Required: Varies

This skill covers taking apart, determining the function of, or fixing mechanical and technological devices.  It also includes making special modifications or inventing new devices.

Specializations: by specific type of item such as guns, energy weapons, armor, vehicles, or pre-war device.

 

Science

Time Required: Varies 

This skill represents a general understanding along with some practical knowledge of scientific subjects such as chemistry, biology, or physics. This skill also includes knowledge of pre-war, computerized devices and robots.

Specializations: by subject or computer task such as programming or hacking.

Terminal Type	Difficulty
Home system	Very Easy
Simple encryption	Easy
Business-level encryption	Moderate
Military-grade encryption	Very Difficult

Agility Skills

 

Acrobat

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round) or more

This skill represents training in gymnastic feats such as balancing, leaping, rolling to avoid fall damage, navigating obstacles, and performing impressive tricks. This skill can also be used in to dodge incoming gunfire and missile weapons in combat.
Specialization: by action type. 

Big Guns

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round)

Training in the use of infantry-scale artillery weapons such as miniguns, missile launchers, and flamers. 

Specializations: by weapon type. 

Energy Weapons

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round)

Knowledge and training with high-tech, pre-war weapons that can fire bolts of energy such as laser pistols and plasma rifles.

Specializations: by weapon type. 

Lockpick

Time Required: Varies

This skill represents hands-on knowledge of different types of key-based or combination locks and enclosures such as safes, as well as how to open them with specialized or improvised tools.

Specializations: by lock or enclosure type.

Lock Type	Difficulty
Simple key lock	Easy
Complex key lock	Moderate
Combination lock	Difficult
Electronic lock	Very Difficult

 

Small Guns

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round)

Characters with this skill are trained in the operation and care of all types of firearms such as pistols, rifles, and shotguns.

Specializations: by weapon type. 

Sneak

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round) or more

This skill encompasses knowledge of how to move stealthily, conceal oneself or objects, and filch goods from pockets or market stalls (at the risk of Wasteland justice.)

Specializations: by action type such as silent movement or pickpocketing. 

Throwing

Time Required: 5 seconds (1 round)

This skill represents the ability to accurately hurl weapons such as knives, spears, grenades, or rocks (if one is desperate enough.)

Specializations: by weapon type.