Perk Ideas for Fallout: New Vegas


Perk Name: Psychic Paper – Lvl. 6, Req. CH 5

Prompt: You look like you own the desert which makes hostile sentient beings with a Charisma rating three points or more below your own not attack on sight. Killing an effected enemy while detected breaks this illusion on hostiles in the immediate area.

Details: The three points below can be altered and so can the Lvl requirement. CH requirement could be increased and would give players more of a reason to invest in CH. This perk would also be very helpful to passive players, and players who want to set up a good start before starting a brawl. When the effect is broken, it can be regained by leaving the hostile zone for a large period of time, lets say a week. This one is up there with some of the harder on this list to code (though I guess you could simply use the SetEnemy command to make all hostiles nuetral, but this wouldn't check for Charisma).


Perk Name: Pocket Dimension – Lvl 20, Req. IN 8

Prompt: You have made some adjustments to how you carry around items, so you can now carry an extra 10 pounds of weight per point of Intelligence.

Or

Perk Name: Pocket Dimension – Lvl. 2, Req. IN 7

Prompt: Being as smart as you are, you have been able to fix your baggage problems to become a thing of the past. Your Intelligence now determines your maximum carrying weight instead of your Strength.

Details: Either of these would be extremely useful to someone who doesn’t want to use points on ST to be able to carry more things. The name might need to be changed, but I think this concept of making another effect something usually exclusive to one stat is a neat idea. Other names I can think of are Bottomless Pockets, Matter Converter, Black Hole Baggage, Bag of Not-Quite-Infinite Holding, and Intelligent Design. Also IN requirement can be adjusted in either, and weight per IN point in the first one depending on the desired effect.


Perk Name: Effection – Lvl. 26

Prompt: Any body armor weighing under twenty pounds now grants +5 to each effect, +4 to damage resistance and no longer possess any negative effects when worn.

Detail: There is a lot that could be done with this and it could even be modified to include heavier armors, but giving them less of a bonus than light armors. Requirements and naming can always be tweaked. After looking through the GECK, I have realised that this wouldn't be as hard to do as I thought.


Perk Name: Master Crafter – Lvl. 16, Req. Survival 75

Prompt: You now can craft anywhere and everywhere with the new handy dandy Portable Crafting Set now available in your inventory.

Details: This perk is fairly straightforward. It gives you an ‘item’ in your aid menu that when used opens up the crafting list or however it is done this time. Adjustments can be made to Lvl. and Survival requirements.


Perk Name: Mix Master – Lvl. 16, Req. Survival 75

Prompt: You like making potions, powders, poisons and tonics. And now with a new Mixing Kit you can concoct concoctions anytime you want.

Details: Same as the previous perk, but for poisons and powders.


Perk Name: Seasoned Drinker – Lvl. 10

Prompt: You now get twice the benefits and none of the usual negative effects when you drink alcohol, but you are now permanently addicted to it.

Details: A fun perk for those who like to drink in the Fallout world, but don’t like the negative effect on IN. This could also be edited into a starting Trait.


Perk Name: The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything – Lvl. 30

Prompt: After a 7.5 million year wait, you finally have The Answer. You are instantly granted forty-two more skill points to spend.

Detail: Would bring you back to the skill screen and you can split them however you want. I know this would defeat the purpose of making skill points harder to earn, but it is a level 30 perk for a reason.


Perk Name: Jump Man – Lvl. 22, Req. AG 7

Prompt: You can now jump much higher and farther to access places you couldn’t before. Also adds +1 AG and an extra 10 Action Points.

Detail: Not sure how useful this would be, but I know that in Fallout 3 there was some areas that were just out of reach. The biggest problem with this perk would be that new content would almost need to be added that can only be reach with this perk so it is kind of a waste. Still as with the next one just thought it was an interesting idea.


Perk Name: Plastic Surgery – Lvl. 10, Req. Science 75

Prompt: You change your appearance in an attempt to hide who you are. This will reset all faction reputations to their defaults and will alleviate all grudges against you. If you can somehow properly identify yourself to a faction, your standing with them will be reset back to what it was before this perk. Also people might feel the need to reintroduce themselves.

Details: I’m not sure how useful this would be, unless you accidentally got everyone angry with you when trying to play a passive game, but felt like including because it was something interesting I thought up. Also science requirement might not be necessary or could be lower. This one is also might be the hardest to code and doesn't seem to offer near enough benefits to be worth while.


Perk Name: Cowboy/Cowgirl – Lvl. 4, Req. Firearms 40

Prompt: You are naturally adept at wielding revolvers and deal +2 damage with them at a 15% lower AP cost with each rank of this perk.

Detail: Since most early revolvers are notoriously lacking in damage I think this would help even the playing field a little as well as provide extra damage later in the game on the .44 magnum.


Perk Name: True Sniper – Lvl. 22, Req. PE 7, ST 6, AG 6

Prompt: You have better sight than most and better scopes too. Your zoom is doubled, your hands are steadier and you can enter V.A.T.S. from twice the usual distance with a minimum accuracy of 30% when using scoped weapons.

Detail: I’ve always been bother at how the scope likes to wonder around while you are trying to snipe a target half a mile away when using a scope, but doesn’t when you are using something like a hunting rifle which is why I made this perk.


Perk Name: Better than Before – Lvl. 18

Prompt: Each of your SPECIAL stats is increased by 1.

Detail: A small early boost that should help those out who liked Almost Perfect since I doubt that will be a returning perk.


Perk Name: Free Spirit – Lvl. 2

Prompt: Being a nature person, you like to wear nothing, but your undergarments. When almost nvde you have 15 DR, +2 AG, +15 Action Points and since you have no pockets -20 carrying weight.

Detail: Hats and helmets count as clothing but guns don’t. I made this a level 2 perk because it comes with as many good points as bad. The best thing about this perk is you no longer have to constantly repair your armor since you aren’t wearing any.


Perk Name: Avid Reader – Lvl. 14, IN 6

Prompt: You like to read much more than most people and keep all skill magazines to closely examine them one more time. You also have a 25% chance to keep books for a second read.

Detail: Again has potential to break the whole “less available skill points” theme of New Vegas, but hey it is only a 25% chance.


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Updates:

- 5 new perks added
- poll updated and now allows multiple selections
- some older perks have been balanced
- some older perks details have been editted

these are actually some really good ideas not sure if any could get into the game but still really good ideas

good luck in college

Loved the old Hitchikers nod there, that one never gets old.

Thanks, but yeah I know there is almost a zero percent chance any of these will make it in though there is always hope.

Also "Unpaid Consultant on Fallout: New Vegas" wouldn't be a bad thing to have on a portfolio.


Edit: I just realized I spelled programmable wrong...

A little update bump that includes:

- 5 new perks
- an updated poll that now allows multiple selections
- some balancing of older perks
- and some edits to perk details

That's just what happens with any scope on a far out target. There's a small amount of drift on any shot, the further out you go with a scope the more the slightest tremor will throw your shot off. To make any shot beyond 700 yards, snipers have to go in a two-man team, scout the shot, assemble the rifle and make all adjustments, and then leave it there until they have to come back to make the shot. Even assembling a rifle like you see in movies (the sniper will invariably pull a gun out of a case and start snapping it together), will change the way the gun fires and at that range make you miss the shot. You can have a gun custom made for that, expect to pay 15k plus and wait several months for the weapon though, as it's called "snap to zero", and you still need to at least have the scope assembled on top, trying to screw that in before a shot will ruin it at any good range.

http://02bfe1c.netsolhost.com/main.htm

^ That's for an uncustom rifle that can do that with no extras. 3 month wait and 6k per pop. The windrunner is 9.25k and it's a six month wait.

Anyway, point being that a high-powered rifle scope shot will drift around quite a bit and it takes a lot of control to make a good shot from a kneeling position. That's why you need a mount for most sniper rifles to make a good shot, you'll just have too much drift on it. For iron sights, you drift around a bit as you breath in and out, but most people miss shots because they don't understand what a proper sight should look like or usually because they close their eyes and jerk the trigger every shot.

Hello Zhayde, I'm also a game designer in training (working on a bach in math and comp sci) and I do like some of the ideas you have in there.
I find constructive criticism to be beneficial and wouldn't mind a little discussion on some of these. I'm gonna take some time and dissect my feelings and interpretations on some of these.

Perk Name: Psychic Paper

Impressions: The name seems to be a little confusing given its ability. I’d call it something along the lines of “Tough Guy Eyes”. The level should be increased as you don’t want to kill all unintended combat for a low level characters. Ever played WoW’s tutorial missions where the enemies don’t attack until you do? It is a little dull and easy pickings for experience. Getting the enemy to back down and avoid you should be a mixture of attitude, reputation and just how tuff you look. A higher level fixes the look, charisma handles attitude and I’d say having a huge body count settles things up.

Adjustment: Tough Guy Eyes – Req: Lvl. 24, CH 6, 250 Human Kills
Prompt: Raiders think they’ve seen combat until they look into your eyes. The cold stare they find sends chills down their spine like all the people you’ve killed are at their back warning them. The strong show caution, the weak tremble. Either way, they’re too afraid to tempt fate against you unless they must.
Effect: Raiders freeze for 3 seconds when they see you. If they are half your level or lower, they tremble for another 5 seconds unable to act even if you attack. Higher levels than that don’t tremble. After that they slowly back away from you unless you attack.



Perk Name: Pocket Dimension

Impression: I always felt I lacked weight carrying ability in FO3. I wouldn’t go as far as creating a dimensional whole to slightly increase weight carrying capacity but I would like to see something along the lines of Intelligent Packing. The idea that you use your intellect to augment the carry weight of items by the way you carry stuff.

Adjustment: Intelligent Packing – Req: Lvl 10, IN 6
Prompt: Rather than stacking item on top of item, you take the time to organize your pack so that the weight is evenly distributed and adjust straps to better to utilize your strength. You’ll be carrying more before you know it.
Effect: +20 max carry weight, -1 weight to each item weighing more than 5, -5 weight to each item weighing more than 20.



Perk Name: Effection – Lvl. 26

Prompt: Any body armor weighing under twenty pounds now grants +5 to each effect, +4 to damage resistance and no longer possess any negative effects when worn.

Impression: I like it. I would lower the level and change the name to something like Effectionate Light Armor.


Perk Name: Master Crafter – Lvl. 16, Req. Survival 75

Prompt: You now can craft anywhere and everywhere with the new handy dandy Portable Crafting Set now available in your inventory.

Impression: This seems more like a special mission perk than a level perk. Become the student of a renowned inventor and gain his most handy invention.


Perk Name: Mix Master – Lvl. 16, Req. Survival 75

Prompt: You like making potions, powders, poisons and tonics. And now with a new Mixing Kit you can concoct concoctions anytime you want.

Impression: Same as last.


Perk Name: Seasoned Drinker – Lvl. 10

Prompt: You now get twice the benefits and none of the usual negative effects when you drink alcohol, but you are now permanently addicted to it.

Impression: Sounds more like an alcoholic than a seasoned drinker. I do however enjoy the concept that comes with it. If adding this in some modifications should be made to the means at which it functions. Levels of drunk if you would. Sober being bad for you and the others adding bonuses as you get more wasted. Impaired vision is sure to follow but you’re as tough as nails in a fist fight. Would really help in a casino where your weapons are gone but you’ve still got 2 bottles of tequila.


Perk Name: The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything – Lvl. 30

Prompt: After a 7.5 million year wait, you finally have The Answer. You are instantly granted forty-two more skill points to spend.

Impression: Hilarious. XD. Truly a perfect idea. Hope there is no copy write infringement.


Perk Name: Jump Man – Lvl. 22, Req. AG 7

Prompt: You can now jump much higher and farther to access places you couldn’t before. Also adds +1 AG and an extra 10 Action Points.

Impression: Don’t see a need for the action point increase but I see larger issues in accidental hole finding with boundaries. I once tried to climb the side of the mountain where the tree fold lived and ended up in a dead void inside of a rock. No way out. the greater the range of movement for characters the higher the possibility of these issues; However, I do still love the idea of a bigger jump. I still remember the super jump scroll in Morrowind fondly. I saved and died and reloaded so many times. Makes me want to play the game again. There is just something about jumping around that makes me smile XD.


Perk Name: Plastic Surgery – Lvl. 10, Req. Science 75

Prompt: You change your appearance in an attempt to hide who you are. This will reset all faction reputations to their defaults and will alleviate all grudges against you. If you can somehow properly identify yourself to a faction, your standing with them will be reset back to what it was before this perk. Also people might feel the need to reintroduce themselves.

Impression: Don’t really care for the concept. Resetting faction trust seems weird half way through the game.


Perk Name: Cowboy/Cowgirl – Lvl. 4, Req. Firearms 40

Prompt: You are naturally adept at wielding revolvers and deal +2 damage with them at a 15% lower AP cost with each rank of this perk.

Impression: I’d much rather see an overall pistol perk that is more about quick firing than more damaging. The fastest gun usually wins, not the strongest gun.

Adjustment: Fast Gun – Lvl 8, Firearms 40
Prompt: You’re lightning quick with at drawing, firing, and reloading any handgun. Heaven help anyone within distance for a lightning fast pistol whipping.
Effect: Drawing gun animation time * .5, Time between firing * .5, Reload time * .5 for all handguns.


Perk Name: True Sniper – Lvl. 22, Req. PE 7, ST 6, AG 6

Prompt: You have better sight than most and better scopes too. Your zoom is doubled, your hands are steadier and you can enter V.A.T.S. from twice the usual distance with a minimum accuracy of 30% when using scoped weapons.

Impression: Remove the doubled zoom and alter it to about a 1.5X zoom. Some weapons zoom in a little too much at that setting. Doubling the distance for vats is a little odd given that vats can already lock on as far as you can see. I would say increased accuracy at a distance is a good idea and include something along the lines of steadier hands. A lower level would also be much more appetizing since it is limited to scoped weapons anyway.


Perk Name: Better than Before – Lvl. 18

Prompt: Each of your SPECIAL stats is increased by 1.

Impression: Nice concept. Really helps to build a sturdy character.


Perk Name: Free Spirit – Lvl. 2

Prompt: Being a nature person, you like to wear nothing, but your undergarments. When almost nvde you have 15 DR, +2 AG, +15 Action Points and since you have no pockets -20 carrying weight.

Impression: This just feels wrong XD lol. I like it but feel it should be more of a starting perk choice that limits your armor type usage. Lose the carry weight loss and alter to be something more along the lines of can’t stand feeling weighted down causing negative effects for having too much weight on yourself at any time. Also feel it should increase running speed.


Perk Name: Avid Reader – Lvl. 14, IN 6

Prompt: You like to read much more than most people and keep all skill magazines to closely examine them one more time. You also have a 25% chance to keep books for a second read.

Impression: I like the concept though I would want it to be more along the lines of a careful reader. You read the book or magazine without destroying it but it cannot be read again. Thus allowing you to sell the book afterwards.

Took a little while and I think my gf may be a little upset that I've been on my computer this long when she wants to watch more eps of Farscape (I just introduced her to the series and she is hooked XD).

This. I think some of these could be converted into Traits but overall I'd say these are pretty well thought out and generally good ideas! :tops:

they are faily good ideas but there is a topic somewhere specifically for this.


and the science lvl needs to be lower... i cant imagine a lvl 10 having 75 science. maybe thats just me

NoMan2: Yeah, I know that because of our natural body movements a scope tends to sway. Perhaps I'm just to used having a steady scope in CS:S or being able to steady my aim in almost any other FPS and maybe that is what I should make the perk do.

odjntrade: Wow, just wow! I wasn't expecting a full critic, I mean I wanted one but I deffinately wasn't expecting one. I'll try to quickly address a few of the points you made:

Psychic Paper - The name of this perk is actually a Dr. Who reference, but I can see the confusion if someone didn't know that. Also the perk wouldn't alleviate all combat, only sentient beings (mostly humans and intelligent ghouls and mutants with the occassional robot), but looking back this perk is a little low leveled and overpowered. I do like the stun idea but it would require a special script to get it to work properly as I don't think ifseen is a condition that is checkable in the current version of the Geck. Another more minor change to the original could also be removing the need to be [Detected] to negate the effect on those nearby, but this would be hell for a sneak based character.

Pocket Dimension - I was looking for a way to better word the name of this perk and Intelligent Packing is perfect. In fact I like all the changes you have made to this perk!

Effection - This perk was one I was perticularly proud of but after having gone through many different ideas for this perk (some way stronger than how it turned out), I forgot to check if the level requirement fit the perk's benefits which was a little slip on my park. Also I really wanted to name this perk Effection Light, but that would have implied a heavier version was available and just decided to keep it simple.

Master Crafter & Mix Master - Making these quest rewards would actually make more sense now that you mention it.

Seasoned Drinker - On this perk (or even trait), I wanted to keep the concept simple and possible to code even in the current version of the Geck. However, if it was possible to make this an abilty that could scale in usefulness with alcohol consumtion and be worse when sober afterwards depending on how much you drank that would rock.

The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything - Thanks XP

Jump Man - I agree that the AG and Action Points bonuses are kind of 'meh' and originally I didn't have them there, but since the perk seemed so situational I decided to add them to give the perk use. Not the best way I doing it, not even a decent way of doing it honestly but I would love having some additional exploration
and/or out of reach items specifically for this perk to make it more useful.

Plastic Surgery - This perk was more of an idea I had for something else rather than Fallout but thought it would translate fairly well. However when writing it I realized this wasn't the case but decided since I had it written to include it anyway on the off chance someone really liked it.

Cowboy/Cowgirl - The decrease in AP was an attempt at faster speed since modifying animation values in the Geck is nearly impossilbe without making a whole new model and replacing all the currently existing weapons of those types. On the note of pistols in general, I honestly never ever used the .32 Pistol in Fallout 3 becuse it had a smaller clip size and did far less damage than the 10mm and that is what I was thinking about when making this perk. However seeing as I have no idea how much damage weapons in New Vegas do my claim of beginning revolers being underpowered is incorrect due to lack of information. Although a perk that allows for faster drawing and reloading sounds like a great idea if doable.

True Sniper - Or perhaps a two level scope, being able to use the regular scope then being able to zoom in by another 1.5x. A valid point about Vats, but I was thinking beyond your sight range though this would be difficult since some actors don't spawn until you would be able to see them. The accuracy increase could be coupled with a tigher spread (or no spread) when out of Vats also perhaps changing the steady hands to instead having the ability to steady your aim. Also though a lower level requirement might be a good idea keep in mind that New Vegas has weapon mods so I forsee an increase in the number of weapons that can have scopes.

Better than Before - Thanks, but I almost think a higher level requirement would be better.

Free Spirit - Or perhaps lower the loss of carry weight and add a bonus to run speed? Say -15 carry weight and +10% running speed? Also I think I mentioned that this could also be a trait rather than a perk, it almost seems like it would work better as a trait.

Avid Reader - I like the idea of being able to sell them and not being able to use them again but perhaps you should be able to use magzines again just not books. Or perhaps keep the 25% chance to be able read the book again but always give the player back the book even if it can only be sold. Also although I don't think a name change is in order Careful Reader would work just as well for the name of this perk.

Also would you mind me including some of your changes in the original post? I would give you credit of course.

martini: I was aware of the topic, but at the time I posted these originally the topic was off to a bumpy start and wasn't very structured so I made my own post. I'm in agreement on your comment about the science level however, perhaps 60 or even 50 would be a better value.

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Wow, that was quite the post...

Nice perk creations. My favorite is the pocket dimension 1 and 2, though that would delete the need to return to your home base, and you'd have so much stuff that just getting through your pip boy list might get overwhelming. Still, I love collecting valuable stuff that can be traded in, like gear, weapons, sugar bombs, scrap metal, quantum nuka cola, Teddy Bears, etc. And Garden Gnomes.

Clever ideas. I definitely would like the Jump man perk, but also a climbing perk added.

Feel free. I don't mind. I do agree with the idea of having free spirit as a starting trait. It seems more like a player oriented choice that should take effect from the start.

I do like the idea of drunk levels and effects based on time drunk and how severely drunk you were. I know it is possible based off of the vampire mod made for Oblivion and the radiation meter in FO3. The core capability for controlling these items is present. Just need to program in the pieces.

For avid reader and the ability to reread being based off of a percent chance. I don't care for that concept much based off the fact that people will want to gain stats and will very likely reload their game so that 25% turns into 100% with some patience. For a perk I prefer absolutes and since there is already a perk for altering the points that you gain from books and magazines then I don't see a need for a second.

For the sniper perk I commonly alter bullet spread, zoom magnification, reload time, firing time, bullet damage, etc. It really isn't difficult. Only problem is that you have to alter them reload, weapon drawing and firing animations at all once. There is a percent multiplier for all 3. It is the only way I can alter all 3 without remaking a weapon all together. I find it works very well. Wouldn't be too difficult to make a mod to alter all of these at once with a solid multiplier.

Free Spirit is a great idea, but it is one that might work better as a trait, like odjntrade was saying. It would be odd if after an hour or two of running around Goodsprings your character just decides to go streaking. My only criticism is that the bonuses seem overpowered. 15 DR seems a little excessive. Maybe 5 or so to bring your DR up to par with light armor. Also, adding 2 points to an attribute is unprecedented in any other bonus within the game. An alternative could be +1 to Agility or +5 to certain skills (Survival, Sneak) and -1 to Charisma or -5 to skills that rely on interaction with the civilized world. This perk would make for some interesting character concepts, and it could create interesting dialog options, as well.

My second favorite would be the Psychic Paper perk. It doesn't seem likely to be included in the game, however, because it would create an entirely new gameplay mechanic. Instead of adding a new feature, it could also work by enhancing your ability to disguise as a faction member. Since you look like you belong, no one will get suspicious unless they see you commit a crime or attack another member.