Alright, book of Eli build. I just finished a run through with my Malcolm Reynolds build from Firefly (Cowboy, Guns, Unarmed awesome guy) and now it's time to base a toon off of good'ole Denzel! So, Trait wise, everything around him dies but he is a good Christian (at least for the nuclear apocalypse) and is quite forgiving so I would say:

Destroyer of Worlds
Good Natured (I take this alot in my builds, my Malcolm rolled this and Kamikaze)

Stats would suggest a tough SOB of average strength and intelligence (he is well educated but I would not call him a genius). He is quick but not charismatic (only makes one friend in Mila Kunis...thanks Jackie, go find Kelso), and he is a lucky as well:

I have 1 point left to move around so thats up in the air as well

STR 5 (maybe 6 or...)
PER 4 (maybe 5 or...)
END 7 (maybe 8)
CHA 3
INT 5
AGL 7
LCK 8

Tag skills would probably be Melee, Guns, and Survival with a later focus on Explosives (he builds an IED in that book), Repair (jury rig ftw), Medicine, Barter (not speech for RP reasons), and probably lockpick too (to get more phat lootz, no RP reasons here). I would think he doesn't sneak around much as that is a cowards way of doing things.

Perks for the Future in particular order:
Slayer
Gifted (maybe END or STR)
Educated
Bloody Mess
Shotgun Surgeon
Gunslinger
Commando (maybe)
Travel Light
Hand Loader
Jury Rig
Toughness
Living Anatomy (he knows how to chop a limb off and how that affects the human condition)
Finese
Lifegiver (hes Eli dammit, a beacon of hope)
Unstoppable Force

Maybe Splash Damage and Demolitions Expert

He would carry weapon and armor wise a roving traders hat, authority glasses, light armors only, and would weild Gladius machete thing (liberator as an inbetween), 9mm>10mm>Maria>12.7mm and a shotgun (lever action or double barrely) and explosives of course.

Anyways, just ideas i'm tossing around. Any thoughts or feelings?

I really like what you have here. I would also suggest being very anti-legion and anti-establishment (i.e Mr. House) because he seems like the antagonist in the movie. He should also be very pro-followers and maybe the Kings. IDK where to place the NCR because in HH Joshua Graham says that . These are just my suggestions but I hope you like them.

How is Eli the antagonist?

he isn't. Carnegie is the antagonist and Eli is the protagonist

Add the Desert Ranger Combat armor and scripture, and youv got a match.

Only problem I am hitting is acutally making my toon look like Denzel...fairly hard in New Vegas. Well either way I am amped up to try out this build. I was a fan of my Malcolm Reynolds build who was pro NCR (Brown Coats...with the Veteran Ranger armor and all) so I think you are right, I will go for independant New Vegas for the ending in this one. I will only help those who are actually there to help others so the Kings, the Clinics, the Caravans (trade is important for survival), Jacobstown (its a bastion for the lost...and crazy mutated freaks of nature).

As for followers, I am gonna be flying solo...it will be Eli pre Solara. I'll help Boone and others but I will not keep them around, as they have their own journies to make.

Karma wise I will probably remain nuetral as possible.

Oh yeah I have to have a pre war book I carry around everywhere. That is a must...even into Zion National park if I get the DLC...

If you buy the new DLC I would recommend completing it asap because you receive . As for the character development I started with an African American, found a face I liked gave him a buzz cut hairstyle and a goatee. I started with brown hair and changed the colors to give it a touch of grey. I also made his age almost to the max but not quite there yet. I would like to thank you for the initial character set up. What perk did you take on your first level up?

In Honest Hearts you're given a misc items called "Scripture", I guess that could be the "book".
So erm... Go get it!

That's pretty cool. I try to do the same with my characters in games. Pick a concept or model them after a fictional person. Mal sounded interesting.

As for Eli, I saw the movie (which I liked), but didn't read the book, so my suggestions are based on that.

Anyway, I definitely wouldn't get commando. Sure he was (miraculously) a pretty good shot, but his real strength was in Melee with that badass machete. Overall, I would steer towards a crit build, combat wise. I can see why you would avoid stealth, but he did escape Carnegie's place and was pretty oriented towards keeping a low profile. It might be something to think about.

Also, I would use that extra SPECIAL point (and maybe another) to crank luck up to 10 (or do 9 with the implant). Seriously, was anyone more blessed than him?

But, yeah, it all looks pretty good.

I took Rapid Reload at level 2...however I have it saved at an earlier point, and I'm tempted to take Hunter for the RP aspect (Eli could survive, and hunting animals is part of that, such as in the beginning of the film). Rapid reload really works well though with the lever action shotty...or any shotty in general.

I would say grab hunter for RP reasons and for the anti animal reasons. If not that then maybe intense training for another point in either STR or END or Rapid Reload.

My Mal build was fun. He tagged Guns, Speech, and Unarmed was Good Natured and with Kamikaze (Mal loved to pick fights!) and joined with NCR (Brown Coats).
Took perk wise:
Cowboy
The Professional
Handloader
jury rig
gunslinger
Fast Reload
Bloody Mess
Penetrating strike or whatever its called

Always did work for money and speeched my way to more money, but in the end help NCR. Wore Veteran Ranger armor, no head gear, Lever action shotty, trail carbine (for the scope), and used the Ranger Sequoia. Unarmed I used dogtags sometimes or power fist other times. Liked things closer to bare hands then powerfist for the RP aspect of it.

My Eli though I will stick with my theme a little more then Mel. He'll be a Solo act most the time (will still do the follower quests) and will do things altrustically for little or no pay, will not be manipulated by the powers that be (House, NCR, or Legion), but will help the weak and the needy. I will not use revolvers but will stick with semi-auto pistols only...I really like the looks of the .45 auto (1911 FTW!). Will still have shotgun either lever action or double barrel, and will have liberator until I snag the Gladius.

Mal would have sided with Yes-man, since he resented the establishment. The NCR is definitely the Alliance of Fallout.

My Mal sided with the Brown Coat NCR. Bam.

So you tired to stay neutral with your character. But on the hole would you be good to most people. Cuz I find it hard for Eli not to help some people he passes in his journey

Yup, Eli is not going to side with the major establishments but will help those who help others or are truely good (Kings, Followers, individual towns). But for fun I probably will still do some missions for NCR or other groups (except legion, they are down right bad) for the sake of getting exp and phat lootz. So all-in-all the ending will be independant New Vegas.

I'm torn mapping out my perks though. I don't have the DLC yet so I can only hit level 30 which means only 15 perks. Here's what I'm thinking:

Hunter
Educated
Travel Light
Bloody Mess
Gunslinger
Shotgun Surgeon
Toughness
Living Anatomy
Center of Mass
Super Slam
Finesse
Better Criticals
Action Boy
Jury Rig
Slayer or Penetrating strike one...or something melee

The big focus for my Eli is Survival/Guns/Melee similiar to hte film. I tossed around with Explosive perks, but I would be too spread out to be any good with the rest of mah combat skills. Anyone have some perk builds that would work for both melee and Guns? Or a better Eli build for that matter? Feedback would be great!

Book of Eli RP?
Turn off the monitor.

Yes yes, he's blind. If you notice in the beginning of the film I honestly feel he has blindness BUT can see at the start. He takes his glasses off at points and looks around and makes eye contact with others. This is the sight that is gifted back to him by God. In the fire fight at the Cannibal old peoples house, if you recall, he get's shot in the stomach and lightning and thunder hit at the same time. If you look closely his eyes gloss over as if blind (of course) again. Just my opinion on the matter. It's a just a little detail I noticed.

Now, no I will not be playing with the monitor off.

Opinions on Perks are what I need now. Any other ideas for good perk setups for Eli?

perception 4/5 ?
Eli is blind! he relies entirely on sound so he should be around 2 perception and put the spare 2 points on intelligence and strengh

I'm happy with my stat picks, though I should have upped the Intelligence. My few toons had 6 to 7 int and I love having more of the skill points. But I have to say, playing my Eli toon with 5 intel and lower perception is pretty fun. It is way harder, and I can definitely feel that this run through is more like a post-nuke survival game with how slow I am building up my skills now. Eventually Eli will be Godly (bu dum dum bam!) but it will be a slower push to that point. I will most certainly grab the implants for Intelligence and Perception since I need 6 percep for better criticals and I like extra skill points.

Once again though any other thoughts for perks?

Love your RP dude. I watched that movie and loved it when i was watching though of fallout.

He was blind so put that perception down. Also he his very skilled on his own so survival should be up there around 80 if not higher.

If i can make a JFK RP with his face you should be able to make a denzel Washington face easy.

Have his intelligence about average,Endurance average or a little higher, Luck im unsure, strength average or 1 point higher, agility defiantly 7.

Other than that have fun with it.

This excites me! For added fun unplug the image. PLAY IT BLIND!!!!!! OHHHHH SNAP!

lol, Fallout will never need to make a movie, the Book of Eli was it!

I didn't say it earlier, but this would be a high crit build.

Built to destroy +3%

Finese +5%

Luck of 8 +8%

Total=16%

Get Light Touch from dead money (another +5% while wearing light armor)=21%

Due impart to slayer and peircing strike relying on Unarmed as a prereq makes it difficult to go Guns and Melee (unarmed is fun, and Eli can handle himself fisticuffs...but lets face it, he ROCKED that machete!). That being said it may be more advantageous to EITHER go high crit (which already does ignore DT) OR to get comprehension and get more skill points out of books to enhance skills...which for RP purposes is odd since Eli can't read. I read the books anyways for the skills despite the RP because lets face it, I like free skill points.

Equipment: Roving Trader Outfit
Weapons: 9mm pistol. Combat Knife
Tagged skills:Guns, Melee, Survival

He would HAVE to wear the Regulator Duster and sunglasses, that's pretty much his exact outfit, definitely closest thing to it in game. I'd say 9mm Pistol/Maria maybe weathered 10mm pistol, liberator or gladius machete, and lever action shotgun.

Well, since my Eli wont be dying in the end, he will naturally upgrade his gear.

I will continue to use semi auto pistols so in the end I'll be maxed to the 12.7mm.

Shotgun, may use hunting unless I get cowboy in which that case i'll use the lever action since I will have shotgun surgeon.

Gladius will stay gladius.

I may even use the AM for funsies. We will see.

Armor? Maxed I will use the veteran ranger stuff, unless I get Travel light, in which case ill stick with either reinforced leather or duster/roving trader gear.

Use the hunting shotgun.