Hello everyone, long time lurker here who finally decided to join the message boards. I was thinking of making a character (RP) type and wondered if anyone here would help me with some suggestions on perks,stats, items, etc.

Backstory:

My player will be a "Spook" type, he will work for an organization named Clearwell outside the control of any factions within New Vegas. The Clearwell organization based in Utah, is made up of members from Vault X; a secret vault commissioned by the U.S. government still in existence and thriving since the Great War. Although originally intended as a backup plan for the U.S. government anticipating the Great War, they had regrettably underestimated the damage caused and failed to properly plan for the subsequent downfall of the country as they knew it. Vault X, failing its mission to protect and bring peace back to the former U.S. after the bombs, shifted its stance from a government into a corporation. After a unanimous board of directors vote, the Vault decided to remain hidden and devised a plan to become the largest and most powerful post-Great War corporation ever established. After many years, and painstaking statistical anolysis of the situation at hand, Clearwell has decided the best approach is the annihilation and re-population of the country. Upon accomplishing this task, Clearwell will set out on building the largest industrial complex ever conceived, even by pre-war standards. Housing 25,000 personnel it maintains military discipline, and training, while holding on to corporation core values.

Mission:
Spies have been sent out in every direction and have already returned with news of feuding factions in Nevada.

*A briefing starts within the command center of Vault X*

Your mission agents, is to survey the entire land mass, locate and mark resources, obtain information on any faction you encounter, and as covertly as possible disrupt and sabotage these factions to the best of your ability. Once these tasks have been accomplished, return with the information you have gathered. Our forces are preparing for the invasion as we speak, do not let them down. Remember agents, You're not the hurricane, only the wind that blows before.

*Dismissed*

Start:

I am going to start my "spook" as if he has been watching the town of Goodsprings and is well aware of the Couriers entrance into the town. Upon the Courier waking up he decides to take a walk around the watering hole for some fresh air. Unbeknownst to the Courier, the "spook" has been stalking him. A quick attack is all it took to assume the identity of the Courier. The only other loose end, the doctor who patched him up, never seen the attack coming as he lay in his bed. The town of Goodsprings had no idea what had taken place. I will then proceed to fulfill my mission requirements, as "spook", at any cost.



How does this sound for a play through? I find it pretty interesting. Does anyone have any suggestions on what perks, skills, traits, and specials I should take for this character? I'm thinking he should be educated, stealthy, and have high survivability due to his Vault training, what do you guys/gals think? I'm open and would appreciate any suggestions for this character. Thanks for all the help!

This is a pretty cool story and well thought out.

Obvious skills would be Speech, Sneak and Science, and also Lockpick, to allow you to be a smooth operator, able to obtain guarded secrets.

For a weapon you could go with energy, given your background, but to keep a lower profile guns would let you fit in more. Also, melee or unarmed works too if it's a matter of mainly using it for self defence if you get caught while spying.

I'd say Speech would be your most valuable skill because it enables a lot of lying to NPC's plus outright convincing them to do what you want them to. Sneak would definitely be very high priority not only for sneaking but especially pickpocketing keys and such, and Science and Lockpick would be important for directly accessing a lot of information, containers and locations.

For traits and perks I think you'd want to be skilled and versatile. I'd consider traits and perks such as the following:

Traits: Skilled, Good Natured
Perks: Educated, Comprehension, Retention, Tag, Lady Killer/Confirmed Bachelor/et.al., Silent Running, Light Step, etc.

But I wouldn't take a perk like Terrifying Presence even though it's speech related, since your goal is to operate under the radar as much as possible.

In short, anything to make you the type of character who is very versatile and adaptable in terms of infiltration skills. But don't neglect at least one good weapon skill, you'd want something to fall back on as a last resort.

EDIT: For SPECIAL, it seems to me Intelligence, Agility, Charisma, Perception and Luck are all important, though I'd say Intelligence and Agility would be the two most important. Quick thinker and quick on your feet.

Let us know what you go with.

This is indeed a very cool idea. This is why this game is so good; it allows you to come up with ideas like this and actually execute them in game.

Ok, as Drake says, I think Speech, Science/Lockpick and Sneak is a good combination. But I guess the question is - are you going to focus on combat in any area? Or just use combat as a last resort in case you get found out? I think the latter is much more interesting - try to make it as non-combat focused as possible, relying on Speech, to avoid fighting, and Sneak, to avoid detection.

But of course you will need some kind of combat skill for dealing with wasteland critters. But for mission based quests I'd say, Melee/Unarmed sounds like a perfect fit (preferably Unarmed), since its a silent means of eliminating enemies. Combine it with Sneak, and you can stealthily make your way through most enemy encampments without detection.

Light armour may work best, especially combined with Tunnel Runner and Travel Light perks. Keeping stealthy, agile, and on the move, nothing too bulky and heavy. Staying in civilian clothes will help you work under the radar initially (ie no heavy combat armour). Later on, carrying a set of each faction armour to infiltrate enemy camps when your reputation with them gets low.

As for SPECIAL, I'd go for something with high Perception, Agility and Intelligence.

Definitely let us know what you decide.