Just finished Skyrim, and started to apply my knowledge of that game toward Fallout 3 - now, they seem more similar than not when it comes to leveling up, with one excepton: S P E C I A L numbers - I chose 6 intelligence, for example, and assumed that each time I leveled up, I could increase those, but thats not an option

So, are those kinda the base? I am stuck with what I choose.....?

Thanks

If you choose the extreme conditioning perk you can raise one SPECIAL skill by a point.
But yes, SPECIAL numbers under normal conditions never change.