Katman's Fallout 2 FAQ, version 6.5
Written by
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(Boy, that ASCII sucks huh?)
If you want to talk to the one and only Katman about anything but the Sega
Dreamcast, drop him a line at cgalli@itotal.net
Make sure it contains no Dreamcast refrences, as he becomes bitter and
resentful at the mention of that awful machine. (It's because he envies people
that have them) Thank you. Oh yeah, and he doesn't want to buy anything, or
visit anyone's website that doesn't involve video games or parodies of such.
But he's happy to talk. Really. No kidding. He REALLY hates the Dreamcast... He
likes the Playstation and N64 though, so feel free to talk about that. But he
doesn't like the Dreamcast. He likes the Saturn though, but he doesn't like
Sports games, so don't mention those... He should type up something about what
not to talk to him about... Oh yeah, and no sex sites or porn, his folks'll get
mad... He needs a secretary... He also likes to talk about Brave Fencer
Musashi! Definately! But if you don't like that don't bother! If you've never
PLAYED it , that's fine... Oh yeah, he likes Pokémon! He REALLY likes the NUON,
even though it's REALLY old. And Blink 182! But not Duran Duran... He changed
his mind about Pokemon recently, BTW. He used to not like it.
OK, it's time for the "Don't put this thing on your site without asking
threat!" My new obsession is The Sims, so if you do put my FAQ on your site
without asking, I'll make a Sim out of you, then fence it in outside till it
dies! Or make it swim in the pool till it dies! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! My
copy of the Sims is HERE, too, so I can actually do this, BTW! Whoo hoo!
Oh yeah, this FAQ is dedicated to the Bomfunk MCs, which you've probably never
heard of since they're from Finland.
Version List
1.0 The first version
1.4 Added to the walkthrough, added this version list. Also worked and filled
out some of the other sections, take a look again.
1.8 Added even more stuff. This is getting really fleshed out!
2.0 I'm getting lots of e-mail! This must be really popular. Added something
from some guy/chick named Tone on Navarro. My Wordpad is beginning to annoy me,
since whenever I try to cut/paste something it starts double-spacing all my
lines...
2.5 More walkthrough stuff. Almost done...
3.0 Actually, the guy Tone's name in version 2.0 is actually Ari. My bad. More
walkthrough stuff, actually the walkthrough is complete! Yay! Of course, I
still haven't covered EVERYTHING yet. Added a section on my next projects. Oh
yeah, and I removed the glossary cuz it was a bad idea to begin with. Oh, and a
Links section, and a Things I Need From You (Not That You Perv!) section. This
is the biggest update to date (Hey, I made a funny...) And an About Katman
section. I need those KBs bad...
3.4 Minor additons, nothing suprising. Got rid of the stupid Ryan Hathaway
line, no one knows who he is anyway. The walktrhough is now COMPLETELY
COMPLETE!
3.8 Added a section on Wasteland, the little-known DOS game that started it
all.
4.0 I didn't send 3.8 out, so if you have it, you made it up yourself. This is
the "Hurry up EBWorld, bring my copy of The Sims!" update, meaning I'm doing it
because I have absolutely nothing else to do because it's only been four days
since I ordered The Sims, apart from work on Tale of the Sword and play Donkey
Kong 64. And since I'm a little sick of hunting golden bananas (KONG! KONG!
DONKEY KONG! YEAH!), and since the darn game's still too F***ing easy (can we
say, ONE HIT KO'S ON EVERY SINGLE DARN THING!!!!! ? I know we could! You can
kill the Katman-programmed bosses in one hit, you can kill the main character
Xane in one hit, you can even kill the secret boss, Epsilon in one hit with the
Star Wave spell!), and I still don't have an artist or musician, I'm working on
this right now. Removed the About Katman section, since no one cares who I am
anyway, and removed the listing about removing the Glossary, becasue it was
redundant.
X.XX Well people, I guess it's time to say goodbye to this FAQ. I think it's
finished. You may keep sending things in, and I will update it if people do.
However, I don't think I personally will add anything more. I have other FAQs
to work on, and my game, "Tale of the Sword" as well. Send in those e-mails,
folks! I'll still post them!
5.0 Or maybe it's not finished. READ THE STUFF AT THE TOP! IT'S IMPORTANT!
6.0 Wow! A whole number in one swell foop! That's because I haven't added
anything in a long, long, long time, and everyone is getting uppity with me.
New in this version is a section chronicaling (Is that spellled right?) the
many jokes, none of which is made by me, but by a pal of mine (Well, a net pal,
you know what I mean. Never actually met 'im :-) named Patrick, or Pat,
depending whether or not you're an authority figure or parent, in his words
:-).
6.3 More funny stuff added. Yes, laugh, laugh out loud, you'll lose weight :-)
(No, it's not an insult, you just don't watch The Simpsons enough, Tommy :-)
6.4 Removed the dumb Mail from the Readers section.
6.5 Minor changes, nothing big. Go read one of my other FAQs.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Intro to the FAQ
1.2 Intro to the Series
1.2a Intro to Wasteland
1.2b Intro to Fallout
1.2c Intro to Fallout 2
1.2d Summary
2. Character Generation
3. Fallout 2 Walkthrough
3.1 Arroyo and the Temple of Trials
3.2 The Den
3.3 Klamath and the Toxic Caves
3.4 Modoc and the Ghost Farm
3.5 Redding
3.6 Vault City, Vault 8, and Gecko
3.7 The Raiders' Camp
3.8 Broken Hills
3.9 New Reno, Golgotha, and the Stables
3.10 The Sierra Army Depot
3.11 Vault 15 and the New California Republic
3.12 Vault 13
3.13 The Military Base
3.14 San Francisco
3.15 Navarro
3.16 San Fran revisited
3.17 The United States of America (Oil Rig)
4. Hints and Tips
4.1 Fallout 2
5. Conclusion
6. Useless Items List
7. Credits/People I Don't Like (PIDL, Prounounced PIDDLE)
8. Katman's Next/Other Projects (NEW!)
9. Links
10. Things I Need From You
11. !NEW! Reader-Submitted Section: The Many Jokes of Fallout 2 :-)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Intro to the FAQ
The Fallout series is simply excellent. The games have a "feel" of thier own,
and with the innovative battle system and interface, are complicated enough for
RPG fanatics like myself, and  it can be replayed over and over again. Any RPG
fanatic should go to www.ebworld.com and do the old credit card thing and buy
it.
1.2 Intro to the Series
The Fallout series currently consists of two games, dubbed Fallout and Fallout
2. Made by Black Isle, a subdivision of Interplay, they are "back to the
basics" Role Playing Games (RPGs). They are set in a post-apocalyptic setting,
after a devastating nuclear war, in Southern California. They center on
exploration and diplomacy more than combat, but in both games you're gonna have
to bust some heads and bust some caps to win.  is sorta like that too, except
you're in Allucaneet Kingdom instead of California.
They rely on the "General Universal Role Playing System" or "GURPS" system.
This has been used in other games as well, like Planescape:Torment. The games
have a graphic engine consisting of well-animated sprites against rendered
backgrounds. They are not 3D, but are very deep and engrossing so it hardly
matters. By far, the Fallout series is one of the best of all time.
1.1a Intro to Wasteland
Wasteland, a prequel to Fallout 1, sets you as a team of Desert Rangers in the
California desert after a nuclear apocolypse. This game IS indeed a part of the
Fallout series (the inner flap of the Fallout 1 package asks "Remember
Wasteland?", but is so different from the other games that it's a game of its
own. Nothing really recognizable from the other two games is here, and to tell
you the truth this is more like a post-nuclear PHANTASY STAR (Sega Master
System) than anything else. This is a Fallout Series FAQ, so thanks to the
miracle of emulation I'll be getting a copy of Wasteland soon enough. Expect a
walkthrough and hints/tips then.
1.2b Intro to Fallout
Fallout 1 sets you as a young man (or woman) who lives in a vault, one of many
scattered around the wasteland. These Vaults were built before the war for
people to live in. After the war, the vaults opened, and the inhabitants
usually emerged to explore and begin a new life.
However, Vault 13 never opened, as the inhabitants were content. Unfortunately,
the chip that controls the machine to purify water for the Vault breaks down,
leaving the poor souls there with only 150 days worth of water. You are chosen
to head out into the wastes to retrieve a new chip, or at least some more
water. In the process, you'll battle mutated rats, scorpions, and people, and
defeat an evil mutant army that's planning to rule the world. If you want one,
go to www.ebworld.com and get it for 13 bucks! I'm not kidding, I got mine
there! :-) :-) :-)
1.2c Intro to Fallout 2
Fallout 2 sets you once again as a young woman (or man). However this time
you're from a tribe begun by the former hero of Fallout 1, the Vault Dweller.
Your tribe is dying, and they need the holy Garden of Eden Creation Kit to
survive. You are sent to find one.
Fallout 2 has you once again battling rats, scorpions, people, and plants, and
also introduces the evil Enclave, an orginization planning to kill everyone but
themselves!
Changes from Fallout 1
*Interface bar is a different color
*Many new character models and monsters
*New textures
*Many new weapons
*Can avoid random encounters
*Can get hitched :-)
*Many new chances to score...
*NPCs are much more customizable
*There's a chance for an expansion pack...
*You can't type in stuff to ask people anymore...
*No real time limit
*Much, much harder, the skill checks can be impossible (The first game was
pitifuly easy...)
1.2d Summary
And this isn't to say neither game had problems. There are graphical glitches,
and they seem too gory for thier own good sometimes (you can punch someone and
blow half their chest off! Ouch!) The series, Wasteland in particular (This is
the darkest of the GURPS games. One scene involves your characters into
shooting a traumatized boy's rabid dog (you have to fight it!)), is very dark
and cold. It's definately not for anyone under 13, and those above that (even
20-30 year olds :-) should have parentaly permission. I say this, even though
I'm not a believer in the school of thought that says children are so
incredibly stupid as to have thier actions influenced by video games. Some
people may find the combat system and general FEEL of the game just too
complicated. However, it's the general ambiance of the series that makes it so
fun. It's impossible to describe. From the 60's style artifacts (I'm not
kidding here!), to the constantly smiling PIPBoy in the Fallout games that
shows up everywhere doing everything from blast aliens to counterfeit money to
even knock up some PIPGirls (lucky stiff...), to the rusty appearance of the
interface, these games have it all. Go ahead and buy them. Now.
1.3 Intro Song
Fallout 2: A Kiss to Build a Dream On
(The intro begins with a trumpet solo. We see the outside of a room, and hear
this part of a song)
Oh, give me
A kiss to build a dream on
And my imagination
will feed my hungry heart
Give me
one thing before we part
a kiss to build a dream on...
(The view moves inside of a room, and we see a projector and screen. The
projector comes on, while the song is still playing...)
Yeah, give me
A kiss to build a dream on
And my imagination
will make that moment live
Give me
what you alone can give
a kiss to build a dream on
(The projector is showing a movie called LEAVING THE VAULT. It shows cartoony
characters preparing to leave a bomb shelter. There are 2 rules, it says.)
Rule 1: Wear protective eye wear (Years of living in the Vault can make one's
eyes sensitive to sunlight. Failure to do this can result in ETREME eye
damage!)
Rule 2: Line up in an orderly fashion
(Meanwhile, the song is in a trumpet solo, so we can concentrate on the movie.
It is showing how you can build a new life)
Once you leave the Vault, prepare to build a new life using the GARDEN OF EDEN
CREATION KIT!
G.E.C.K
With the GECK, you can create the new world you've been waiting for!
(The picture changes to a photo of a suburban street, circa 1950. The words
"RESULTS NOT GARUNTEED" are in the top corner.)
Oh give me
A kiss to build a dream on
and my imagination
will build upon that kiss
Oh, baby, all I ask is this
A kiss to build a dream on!
(The projector flashes off, and we see a metal door with red lights above it.
The door flies open, and we enter. We see a heavy Vault door. The controls
activate, and the door opens, reavealing a silhoueted family. The camera pans
over to a man wearing insectoid armor. He raises a gun. We see the family one
last time before he begins to fire.)
Fallout 1: Maybe
After "Fallout" appears on a black screen, a picture flashes up of a cartoony
guy standing near a plant. The scene switches to the guy behind a Vault door.
It closes as he waves at us.
A song is playing:
Maayyyyyyybbbeeeeeee
You'll think of me
When you are all alone
The screen then changes to "GALAXY NEWS NETWORK". "Our boys keep the peace in
newly annexed Canada!" It shows a man tied up, with two men in futuristic armor
behind him. One pulls out a gun and shoots the struggling man twice in the back
of the head.
Maybe the one who
is waiting for you
will prove untrue
then what will you do?
We then see a commercial for a robot: MR. HANDY! He's sooo HANDY! It shows Mr.
Handy walking the dog :-)
Maybe you'll sit and sigh
wishing that I were near...
Thennnn
Maybe-maybe-mabye
(The TV breaks, and we see that it was sitting in a deserted wasteland, in the
ruins of a house.)
2. Character Generation
The Fallout series boasts a very detailed character system, consisting of
distribution of points to skills and attributes. At the beginning of each game,
you need to create a character to represent you in the game (Like the Avatar in
the Ultima series). Creating an effective character is what this chapter will
go into.
First you need to name your character. For males, Katman is an EXCELLENT name,
as is Joe, Bob, Dan, Don, Fred, George, and Juan. For females, Joan, Jane,
Joanna, Anna, Ana, Anais, anything ending with an A or an I will work fine.
To begin with, your character has 7 basic statistics. They are:
Strength - Strength determines your pure physical strength. It determines how
much damage you do with your fists or a close-range (hand-to-hand) weapon. It
also determines your Hit Points and how much you can carry. Strength is put
into play in many parts of the game, giving it Importance Rank 4. Low strength
can be counteracted by Advanced Power Armour (adds 4 to ST!) and a module chip
for Strength (Adds another 1!) so 4 or 5 natural Strength is best later in the
game.
Perception - Perception is not just what you can see, it's also what you can
smell, touch, taste, and hear. Perception is used to determine how good you are
at stealing, lockpicking, and using traps, and also how good you are with guns
and throwing weapons. High perception is useful if you plan to snipe folks.
This is used in some quests, giving it Importance Rank 3.
Endurance - Endurance is how long you can sustain something, whether it be
poison, radiation, carrying stuff, or damage. Endurance determines how many Hit
Points you get each level, and also your natural resistance to Poison and
Radiation. It also helps determine your carrying weight. It is not used in any
quest, giving it importance rank 5.
Intelligence - Intelligence is your IQ, brains, smarts, that sort of thing. The
sort of thing you lose by watching too much TV, you know? This determines how
many skill points you get to add to your skills each level. It determines what
you can say to people, how good you are with computers, stuff like that. It is
by far the most important statistic, and you should try to get a nine in it or
better at the start. It's Importance Rank is 1, the highest.
Charisma - Charisma is a combination of how you look and how you act around
people. Your "People Skills" so to speak. Charisma determines how people react
to you, and how many party members you can carry. If you want to pimp your
spouse, like it says on the box, or sell them into slavery, you need a Charisma
of at least 7. However, you really don't want to get married anyway, and a low
Charisma can be easily bypassed by drugs (or, in the case of party size,
Perks), so it is the least important stat. It's Importance Rank is 7, the
lowest.
Agility - Agility is how fast you are. Agility is used to tell if you can avoid
traps, how many Action Points you are given each turn, whether you can dodge
attacks or not, and a few skills. Try to get an 8 in this, since having a full
10 APs is very important for combat. It's Importance Rank is 2.
Luck - Luck is, well, the effect fate has on you. Good Luck is good, bad Luck
is bad. It's used to determine if you can gamble well, and also whether you can
find rare random encounters. It is used to determine if you cause a good hit
during combat. It's Importance Rank is 6.
You have five points (Character Points) to put into any of those, and you start
with 5 in each. You can rearrange points as you which, as long as you don't go
over 10 or under 1. Once you're done distributing points around the statistics,
go down to the optional traits box at the bottom.
You can pick two traits, but as the name says, they're optional and you don't
have to (I've heard of cases where you're forced to pick a trait, but I
wouldn't know since I always pick two). All the traits have a good part and a
bad. If you want the good, you have to take the bad. Your choices are:
Fast Metabolism: You have a 0% resistance to Radiation and Poison, but you gain
2 to your natural healing rate. I kinda like this one, because when your HPs
start soaring toward the 100s, it takes a LONG time to heal on the PipBoy,
espescially if you have a healing rate of 1. Also, it's not like poison and
rads are that bad, anyway, and with the proper stock of items you won't take
any damage from them to begin with.
Bruiser: You get +2 to Strength, but you lose 3 Action Points. Not a good thing
IMO, since APs are possibly the most important thing during combat. Without at
least 9 APs, you will be screwed throughout the first parts of the game, trust
me, and won't live long enough to show off any other traits. You can take the 2
points from Strength and give them to other stats.
Small Frame: This takes away about 50 lbs. from your Carry Weight, but gives
you a few APs. Might be useful to counteract Bruiser, which will give you back
the 50 lbs. and add to your melee damage. However, you'll be missing out on the
opportunity for Gifted. Carry Weight becomes less important about midway
through the game, when you have plenty of party members (not to mention the
Car!) to use as packhorses.
One Hander: You're better with one-handed weapons, like pistols and knives, but
you suck with two-handed weapons, like rifles and sledgehammers. This is
counterproductive near the end of the game, when you'll select your ultimate
weapon, either the Super Sledge, Gauss Rifle, or Turbo Plasma Rifle (All
two-handed weapons!). Leave it alone.
Finesse: You'll do less damage in general, but to make up for it you'll do 10%
more criticals, and they'll also do more damage. Yummylicious (which, is in
fact NOT a word), though the lessened damage can be rather painful on a
beginning player. When you get Sniper or Slayer, this becomes moot, so only
advanced players who don't plan on taking Sniper or Slayer (I.E. no-one, since
NO advanced players would pass those up!) should take this.
Kamikaze: You have NO natural Armor Class (Which is a modifier to determine if
you are hit in battle or not), but your Sequence is higher. Sequence determines
when you get to go in a combat turn. I like AC more than Sequence, and everyone
goes before you at the end anyway, and during a turn you'll get to go anyway,
so forget this Trait. It's not worth the time you take clicking it.
Heavy Handed: You gain +2 to your Melee Damage derived stat, but your critical
hits aren't as good. This doesn't mean you do fewer criticals, it just means
your hits aren't as good. The opposite of Finesse, they completely counteract
each other. I picked it the first time through, and the bad part didn't seem
too bad, so I usually pick it. Technically, it gives you a -5% on the critical
table. Give it a try, but this will greatly drag you down until you get Sniper
or Slayer.
Fast Shot: Whenever you use an Energy, Small Gun, Big Gun, or Thrown weapon, it
costs one less AP. However, it has a massive downside: You can no longer make
targeted attacks. You'll never even see the targeted shot icon. Ugh... Some
people like it, but I prefer to shoot at people's eyes. Also, it's bugged, as
this even counts for hand-to-hand and unarmed attacks. What a crappy trait,
leave it alone unless you're going to specialize in Big Guns (which can't make
targeted attacks anyway), Burst-fire only machine guns (likewise), or the Laser
Carbine (not woth the price of admission).
Bloody Mess: Speaking of a mess, this Trait forces the most violent deaths.
With a simple punch, a part of the enemy's gut will go flying. With the Gauss
Rifle, the head pops off. With a Miningun or a Vindicator, the enemy's torso
gets shredded. With the Turbo Plasma Rifle, the enemy melts. It's either all a
good thing or all a bad thing... I reccomend you don't take it, however, as
some of the messier deaths include the enemy's stuff getting dropped in a big
pile, that you have to go through one by one, which sucks.
With lowered violence, if you pick this you've just wasted a trait slot. Pick
this if you don't want anything else.
Jinxed: Everyone in the game makes lots of critical failures. This includes
you, but it's more them than you. All a good thing or all a bad thing, though
it is rather humorous. Later in the game, no-one critically fails anyway,
except you when you have this trait. Also, note that this is the only trait you
can use to get three traits (In a certain random ecounter, the Pariah Dog will
give it to you)
Good Natured: Your combat skills are lower, but your First Aid, Doctor, Speech,
and Barter skills are higher. The gain makes up for the loss. In Fallout 1,
this was replaced by Night Person, in which you lost 1 Perception and
Intelligence during the day, but gained 1 in the night. This is crap, as was
Night Person (The gain from Night Person did NOT come even close to making up
for the loss!)
Chem Reliant/Chem Resistant: With Reliant, you'll get addicted to chems more
often, but you recover faster from them. That's all a bad thing. With
Resistant, they only affect you half as long, and you'll only get addicted half
as much. Don't take Chem Reliant, since it works, well, backwards. If you don't
get addicted to a chem, well, you want it to last AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!
Skilled: You get 5 more skill points per experience level, but you get a perk
only every four levels. Depends on what you like more, since you would only get
perks every three levels other wise. This was a lot nicer in Fallout 1, since
it would add 10% to every base skill. As it is, leave it alone, since Perks are
really important and it's not worth missing out on them. Since the EXP. cap is
at level 30, with Skilled, you get 7 Perks total (1 at levels 4,8,12,16,20,24,
and 28), however, with Gifted you get 10 (1 at levels 3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,
and 30) Perks total, and those 3 Perks you lose could have been something cool,
like Sniper or Slayer!
Gifted: You gain +1 to EVERY SINGLE primary statistic, but unfortunately you
get 5 less skill points per level and -10% to EVERY SINGLE base Skill. This is
a really good thing for a really bad thing. I take it every time, though,
because you can redistribute the points, and most GOOD players do as well.
Now, after you select your traits, you need to select 3 Tagged Skills. These
skills gain 20% when you tag them, and gain 2% for every 1 skill point you
spend on them. The skills are:
Small Guns: This is used for pistols, rifles, shotguns, and the Gauss Rifle and
Pistol. This is the most useful skill, and I always tag it. The Gauss Rifle is
one of the game's ultimate weapons, but ammo for it is rare and expensive. The
downside of Small Guns is that the ammo usually goes "Splat" against anyone
wearing armor, which doesn't do much. The Gauss Rifle pierces armor like a nail
gun through butter, though, and AP Ammo can help with other weapons. This score
is often very average, around 50%, during creation and the start of the game.
It can be improved by using Guns Monthly magazines as well as Skill Points, but
the magazines lose effect after a (very short) while.
The 'iffy' (A weapon that could fit into one or more skill types) weapon here
is the Bozar, a Burst-fire only gatling gun. It's crap against armour,
however...
Big Guns: Miniguns, Rocket Launchers, and Flamers use this skill. It's not
needed for the skill to be high, because these weapons have incredibly high
accuracy, since all you're doing is spraying bullets everywhere. With a pitiful
30%, I mutilated a whole herd of Mad Brahmin with a good ol' Vindicator
Minigun! Big, strong characters would do good by this, as the ammo and weapons
weigh quite a lot. The problem is you often end up hitting anyone in the way of
your shot too, so be careful in a crowded firefight. Another downside is that
these weapons are very heavy. Yet another problem is that these weapons gobble
up ammo, and reqire reloading after every three shots usually. Everyone starts
with an OK score, except for puny weaklings, who can't handle a Big Gun anyway.
Energy Weapons: Ray guns, beam weapons, that sort of high-tech thing. This is
used for Pulse Pistols, YK32B Rifles, and the Turbo Plasma Rifle, among others.
These weapons do lots of damage, but are a little dampened against the Enclave.
I use the Gauss Rifle there, as the ammo is plentiful. The ammo for Energy
Weapons is also used as fuel for the Car, which makes you run out of ammo often
unless you hoard it or don't use the car. Some of these weapons are heavy, as
well. Also, if you're not careful, the weapon can explode and damage/kill you,
though this only happens with a low score in the skill. This is real Star Trek
stuff, so everyone begins with a pretty pitiful score. The only iffy weapon
here is the Laser Carbine, a minigun-like beam cannon that only fires in Burst
mode. Though it's quite similar to a chaingun, it's an Energy Weapon. It's
pitiful against armoured enemies, and ALL the enemies will be armoured by the
time you get one, so don't bother with it. The Solar Scorcher (an energy rifle
that uses solar power) goes here too.
Unarmed: Karate, Jujitsu, and other stuff. It's not very impressive by any
means, unless you took Bloody Mess. It won't even do a lot of damage. Some
weapons use this skill, like Brass Knuckles, Spiked Knuckles, Power Fist, and
Mega Power Fist. Actually, those four are all of them. Unarmed forces you to
get in close, which leaves you open to attack, espescially from anyone wielding
a Minigun or such weapon. Everyone naturally starts with a good score in this,
since it's not that hard to figure out how to walk up and punch someone :-)
Melee Weapons: The use of spears, knives, and swords. Lots of different weapons
roll against this skill, like the Spear, Knife, Vibroblade, Wakazichi Blade,
and many, many others. It's essential to living through the Temple of Trials.
It has the same downsides as Unarmed, however. Once again, everyone starts with
a pretty good score in this.
Throwing: The use of grenades and throwing knives. Explosives in this game are
really weak, so I usually forget about this skill. You can also throw Rocks,
but they do a mere 1-3 damage. Ugh. Also weapons for throwing are usually
expensive (except for Rocks), and you run out of "ammo" often. You usually
miss, too, without a ridiculously high score.
Sneak: The ability to sneak around and avoid being seen or heard. This is very
useful for thiefly characters near the beginning, since chances are they won't
want to battle the numerous enemies. Sneak is also very important for a
particular Perk, Silent Death. Sneak doesn't really have a downside, except
that you can't run while you're doing it without a certain Perk. It really
doesn't matter whether you run or not, anyway.
Steal: Err, well, stealing things... That's basically it, stealing things. This
also goes for planting things. This is by far one of the most useful skills,
and it's easy to succeed at even with low skill. Of course, stealing from the
back helps, and don't expect to be able to steal big things, like rocket
launchers and miniguns, unless you have high skill. You can get busted for
stealing minor things as well. Note that you can steal and plant from your
party members as much as you want. Always save before stealing, so that if you
get busted stealing, you can just reload your saved game.
Lockpick: The ability to pick locks, both primitive and electronic. This is
useful as well, though lockpicks are rare. Don't attempt this without high
skill, as you could jam the lock, and have to wander the desert for a month or
two before it'll open again. That's the main downside, and Lockpicks are rare,
as I said. This is increased by using a Lockpick or Electronic Lockpick to pick
the lock.
Traps: Laying explosives and other traps, and disarming traps. Explosives in
this game are weak, like I said, so this skill has only one use: HUMOR! If you
take a bomb, set it for thirty seconds, then reverse-Steal it onto someone,
then run away, prepare to roll on the floor laughing... Disarming traps can be
helpful, but the traps in this game aren't very deadly.
First Aid: Healing minor wounds. This can only be used 5 or 6 times a day,
before you get too tired to use it anymore. I THINK it might have a non-active
use, in telling how much Stimpaks heal. The only downside is that it has a
limit of four or five times a day. This is improved using a First Aid Book as
well as Skill Points, however the books lose effect eventually.
Doctor: Healing more major wounds. One of two ways you can heal crippled limbs,
the other is to visit a professional doctor. If you have Doctor 90% or above,
you can get combat implants. It has a limit of three to four times a day, but
it's still kinda useful.
Science: The practical use of knowledge and science. It helps with computers
and many other things. This is very useful in getting one of the NPCs, Skynet.
However, Skynet needs the inactive use. If you get Myron, he'll take care of
all the active uses for you. This is improved using a Big Book of Science as
well as Skill Points, however as usual the books eventually lose effect. It has
no downside.
Repair: The physical use of the Science skill. The two skills usually work
together, and you will often have to use Science before you repair something,
to determine what is wrong. It's entirely active use, and Vic will usually
handle it for you, once you get him. This is increased if you use a Tool Kit or
Super Tool Kit on something, however if you critically fail (screw up big time,
so to speak), they can break. Also using Dean's Electronics books improve this,
but they also lose effect.
Barter: The ability to convince others that your goods are worth a lot. In
Fallout 1, you could easily cheat the merchants, and sell them back the stuff
they sold you for more of a price. In Fallout 2, with 300% Barter skill, and
with 500 Karma, and being Idolized in the town where I was, the stuff I sold
was half price to the stuff they sold. Just leave it where it is.
Speech: Convincing others, and lying to them. This has no active use, but very
often you'll use it during a conversation. It's used very often, and in Fallout
1 you could kill the last boss with it! This is quite possibly the most useful
non-combat skill, invest a lot into it.
After you pick your Tag Skills, select your gender. Females have it a WHOLE lot
easier, as they can, errr, seduce men into giving them what they want... There
is no active difference though, apart from the graphics, obviously. Females CAN
get more money, by "seducing" men by doing, well, ya know!
Finally, pick your age, from 16 to 35. I like being 18 to 20, myself, but I
don't really tell any difference. 16 is OK, 35 is just fine, heck,  24 is great
too. I can't imagine a 35-year old woman in power armor lugging around a plasma
gun, nor can I imagine a 35-year old man slitting the throat of a bandit with a
vibroblade, so I stay away from old age. There HAS to be some sort of effect on
actual gameplay, I just haven't found it yet...
Click the save button, save your design in case you die before you even save
the game (it'll happen!), and then click start!
3. The Walkthrough
(Note: I assume you understand the basic workings of the game, like combat,
movement, and item use...)
3.1 Arroyo and the Temple of Trials
You start the game in front of the Temple of Trials, which you need to cross
through to earn your Vault Suit and PipBoy and prove yourself to your tribe.
Walk on in. Note that you CAN fight the guy defending your way out, but then
the entire village will hate you, and you'll end up fighting them all. You may
be able to kill one or two of them, but you can't slay the whole village.
The first critter you meet is an ant. Go ahead an kill it if you want, and
thieves can sneak around them. Continue to the North, battling or avoiding the
enemies, and go to the left at the juncture. Go up to the door and lockpick it.
Don't worry, you'll always make this roll.
Now through the door you'll start seeing Raised Plates. These plates will shoot
a Sharpened Pole at you if you step on them and don't make a saving roll.
Thieves can use the Traps skill on them to disarm them and gain 25 XP; or you
could just avoid them. If you want to avoid them, stay against either wall, and
they won't touch you. You could also take the hits for free Poles, if you use
Throwing Weapons. Be warned it's hard to regain HP at the moment!
Head to the left after you get through this hall, and battle off the 3 ants
(there's no way around it!). Go to the left again, until you reach a big
ceramic pot. Dig through the pot and get a bomb, then go up to the door, SAVE
THE GAME, set the bomb for 10 seconds, go into attack mode, and go through two
pretend turns. Shadow Boxing is fun! :-)
The bomb will blow up, making a door. Go through and go left at the next
junction, then north from there. Through the door is a firey pit and a guy. The
guy wants to fight you to prove your worthiness. Talk to the guy if you like.
People with a tagged Speech skill can talk him out of fighting you, thieves can
steal the key from him, and bruisers can fight him off. He'll leave your stuff
in the chest back in the hall, if you fight. Also, the more diplomatic way you
get past him, the more XP you get for it. Talking to him gets 800 XP, stealing
the key gets 600 XP, and kicking him around gets 400 XP. I reccomend stealing
it, that's what I always do. You always seem to make the roll, but save
beforehand, just in case. Oh yeah, don't forget your stuff!
Now, after the movie, you get the Vault Suit and your PipBoy. You're in front
of the village elder, or as I call her, Hillary Clinton :-) (OK, that joke's
kinda old, but they DO look alike! Give old Hilly some gray hair, I mean more
than she already has, and more wrinkles, and poof!) She doesn't seem to HAVE a
real name, so it's Hillary for her!
She'll explain to you about your quest: Find the Holy Garden of Eden Creation
Kit! She'll also give you 150 bucks (That's NOT a lot of money...) and a water
flask, telling you to find the person it belongs to, Vic the trader. She'll
also tell you the location of another town, Klamath, which is to the East.
There's also a Knife in the chest behind her.
Now head North, until you get to another tent. There is a guy there, named
Hakunin. He wants you to weed his garden for him. However, the weeds in his
garden fight back...
To the north is Hakunin's garden. The two big plants in there are Spore Plants,
and they shoot Plant Spikes at you. However, they're not very accuracte, and
usually end up shooting each other :-), so you should be able to easily slay
them (aiming for the head helps). With that you'll get 480 XP, and chances are
your first level. Also, characters that use the Throwing skill can throw the
Plant Spikes as a weapon, though I don't see why you'd want to. You use them
about as effectively as the plants do!
Head back to Hakunin's tent, and he'll give you some healing powder. This
restores some HP, but it takes away 1 Perception for about an hour. It dosen't
matter right now, but when you get a gun you should start using Stimpaks
instead. Hakunin will also offer to make more powder for you when you find some
Broc Flower and Xander Root.
To the west of the hut is your cousin Nagor. He wants you to find his dog for
him. Go to the west-northwest, and into the green Exit Grid. Now you're in the
hunting grounds, and there are Geckos around. You can fight the geckos, but I
just avoided them. They're a little too hard for your character right now, and
you can't skin 'em yet. The dog is to the northwest, in the area surrounded by
rocks and goo. The goo, do note, will sap a couple HP when you step on it.
Take the dog back to Nagor, for 200 or so XP. Head back to the hunting grounds
and fight off the Geckos if you wish, but what you're looking for is conic
grasses, which are Xander Roots, and orange flowers, which are Broc Flowers.
Get as many as you can, then take them back to Hakunin, which will make healing
powder out of them for you. There's also some Xander Root in a tent south of
Hakunin's tent.
Near that same tent, there's your other cousin, Feargus. (Named after the
Director, Feargus Urqhart. He shows up a few more times too...) He wants you to
fix the well, so do just that with your Repair skill. Even further south is
your aunt Morlis. She has some flint on her that you should steal. If you fail
the roll, she won't get mad. To the north of her is a stone head and a guy, get
him to teach you some Unarmed skill, which gives you 5 points toward it. To the
east of him is a guy in a tent who has a spear. He will teach you some Melee
Weapons skill for a 5-point boost toward it.
Now head to the south and go through the green exit grid. The only thing of
importance here is the guy standing in front of the bridge. If you have OK
perception, like 6 or so, then you'll notice that he'll have sharpened his
spear. Tell him this, and in exchange for the flint he'll sharpen your Spear.
It's better than a Sledgehammer now!
Here's what one guy, KHalfbakd420@hotmail.com had to say about Navarro.
"did you know that if you fight everything in the temple (in the beginning),
like scorpions and ants, that you get your first level directly out of the
temple, and scorpion tails which are worth $10 a piece...
And you can steal a $100 from your aunt's tent
just thought i'd tell you, because it isn't in your walkthrough, however this
is a very good walkthrough"
Ya see, this is the kind of letter we NEED, here at Katman's FAQ Crank-out
Place! And not to be modest or anything, so it IS a good walkthrough! I agree
entirely! :-) Thanx. Haven't tested it yet, personally, because it's kinda
dangerous to do so.
Now leave the area through the red exit grid.
Stuff you should have by now:
*Semi-good Unarmed or Melee Weapons skill
*Sharpened Spear
*A few bags of Healing Powder
*Some money
*Vic's Water Flask
*Some XP
*A copy of Odium, available at EBWorld.com
*A copy of Squaresoft's Brave Fencer Musashi, available at EBWorld.com for a
good price
3.2 Klamath and the Toxic Caves
Head East on the world map
Things you might encounter here:
When you get to Klamath, click the green triangle to enter. If you arrived
during the night, rest until morning. Straight in front of you is Aldo, the
Greeter. You can give him 5 bucks if you like, and it'll improve your Karma and
reputation in Klamath. High Karma is important, because if you're evil Bounty
Hunters will attack you. They wear Power Armor, so stay away from evil things.
North of this is the trader's shack. You can buy things if you'd like, and meet
your first party member, Sulik. Sell some stuff to get another $150, or steal
it, and buy off Sulik. He's a good member, and uses Melee Weapons. Chances are
he's a lot stronger than you, but you don't directly control him, so it evens
out. Instead, he fights on his own, according to preset options before combat.
Also here is Whiskey Bob. He wants you to head down to the Trapping Grounds and
add more wood to his still, so his brew won't go bad. Go down south, through
the exit grid, and you'll be in the Trapping Grounds. Head further south,
fighting or avoiding the Geckoes around, until you get to a shack. Inside is a
still and some wood. Use the wood on the still for 100 or so XP, then head back
to Bob for $50 and some Karma points.
Talk to Maida while at the trader's shack. She'll send you on a quest to find
her friend Smiley, who disappeared in the Toxic Caves while hunting geckoes
(Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but that's the basic gist of
it). Don't go to the Caves quite yet, we're not done here.
North of the shack is the Bath House. You can pay a few bucks to screw someone
here (Even if you're female :-), and after enough screws you'll get the Gigolo
Karmic Title or the Sexpert title. I never noticed either of these doing
anything, so don't waste your cash. Well, then again it IS kinda funny, and
it's YOUR cash... This is one of the few things you can't also do in ...
To the east of the Bath House is the local bar, the Golden Gecko. You can buy
some "Gecko piss" here (It's beer...), and get some for everyone. This will
improve your rep in Klamath. There is a guy here named John Sullivan who will
teach you some Unarmed and Melee Weapons skill. All you have to do is let him
string you along with his "Sweet Science" line, and then ask if he's been
pulling your leg when you get the chance. This is rather useful, and it's free!
You also get a free beer for it, what a bargain. Beer is not very useful
actually, all it does is lower your Perception for a short time. However,
you'll need it later, so hang on to it.
Northeast of the Bath House is Vic's shop. Vic's that guy you're hunting for at
the moment, so go there and get the Pipe Rifle (A crappy weapon), and Vic's
Radio, which you'll need later. There's also some bullets for the Rifle there.
Loot the place and move on.
Northwest of the Bath House is the Duntons' place. They sell Beef Jerky there,
which you feed animals with. Get a piece, but don't touch the bookshelf or
they'll attack you (Don't bother killing them, just reload the game. There's
nothing on the bookshelf.) Go find the dog wandering around, and talk to him.
You'll give him some Jerky, and he'll give you a key. Hang on to it.
The northwest exit leads to a canyon, where there's a robot. It'll attack you,
but all you have to do is hit it once, then run away. It has hardly any APs, so
it'll stop before it can hit you. Hit it again and repeat. If you have the
newest patch installed (Get one at www.interplay.com), one of the bodies will
have a yellow keycard on him. Get it and leave.
The southwest exit leads to Trapper Town. The only important thing here is the
answer to a quest: Why have rats been plaguing Klamath? Why, because of a giant
mutated lab rat! How obvious can you get? :-) Anyway, go through the maze-like
building to the north and unlock the door with the key you got (Or talk the guy
into opening it, or lockpick it. Pick one.) Go through it and through more
mazelike buildings until you get to a manhole. Go ahead on in.
There's a lot of rats underground, but they only have 3 HP apeice. Blast or
smash them with your favorite implement of destruction, then go on until you
find another manhole. Go down it.
Kill the rats, and you'll finally meet the Rat King. He'll use scraching
attacks, but he doesn't do too much damage, though you may have to heal.  When
he dies, head north from the central chamber until you get to a door. Lockpick
it/blow it up, and climb the ladder. Go over to the car and check it to get the
a car part that minimizes the amount of fuel you use. If you don't have the
newest patch, it also functions as the Fuel Cell Injector that you need for the
car, so you don't need that part.
Return to Trapper Town from the caves. Take a look around the town and find
some rubber boots. Hang on to them for now.
It's time to move on, so leave Klamath.
Head up north to the Toxic Caves. This is a relatively simple maze, however the
goo on the floor will chop off 1 or 2 HP every time you step on a goo-filled
hex. Also, walking on goo without rubber boots will make you grow a sixth toe!
(You can get this removed in Vault City) With the pair you have, you should be
able to get to Smiley and out with time to spare.
Go through the first chamber and climb down the ladder. Battle off or sneak
behind the Geckoes here, and go south, then northeast, then northwest at the
end of the corridor. Go into the metal-floored area, open the door, and voila!
There's Smiley. Talk to him and he'll join you (Actually, he just runs behind
you.) Leave the caves through the same way. At the beginning of the caves, you
can cross the big pit of goo to the south after you drop off Smiley. There's a
new pair of rubber boots, a stimpak, and other things.
Go back to Klamth for a sec to visit Smiley in the trader's hut. He'll teach
you how to skin Geckoes, as well as give you 3% Outdoorsman skill every time
you talk to him. This is an easy way to get to 300%, the highest value, for
free! You can't get deals like that in , that's for sure!
Leave Klamath, and journey to the Den.
Stuff you should have by now:
*Leather Armor
*The location of the Den (One square east, four squares south of Klamath)
*Healing Powder and/or Stimpaks
*A semi-good non-combat skill
*Pipe Rifle
*Vic's Radio
*Sulik
*300% Outdoorsman skill (See above)
*Gecko Skinning and another perk (You pick!)
* for an Emulator or the Sony Playstation. PLAY IT NOW!
3.3 The Den
When you've dealt with all the random encounters, you'll finally be at the Den!
This is a seedy place, and the first thing you'll notice is the signpost. Read
it, then head east to Becky's. Notice the kids standing near the doors? They
steal stuff if you don't run, so set the preferences to "Always run". Now go
inside and talk to Becky.
Becky wants you to go to find a guy named Frank and get her money back. Frank
is south of Becky's, in another building. Go there, running past the little
thieves near the door, and talk to the guy in yellow. He's Frank, and he has
the money, but wants you to spot him half of it, and then 2/3rds of it.
Everyone I've met says to give him the dough, but I never did. Go ahead and do
whatever you want, then take it back to Becky for some XP, Cash, and Karma. In
, the cash is measured in Drans, BTW.
Becky then wants you to find her book "The Lavendar Flower". Go to the East
Side through the green Exit Grid, and go southeast. There's a guy wearing blue
that will tell you he threw the book off somewhere. It's random where it is, so
look around. It's usually hard to find. Take it back to Becky for the usual
XPCK reward.
West of Becky's is Tubby's. Tubby will sell you stuff, but doesn't have any
quests for you. South of Tubby's is Lara's place. Lara wants you to find out
what Tyler is storing in a church on the East Side. Go there, and to the south,
to find the church. Tell Tyler Metzger sent you, and he'll let you in. Click on
a box to solve it, then head back to Lara for XPCK.
Lara then wants you to ask Metzger if she can fight Tyler. Go to the Slaver's
Guild on the East Side, which is the easternmost building to the north, and
chat with the guards. They'll let you in to talk to him, and then all you have
to do is ask. Go back to Lara for a SUPER BLASTER! No, not really, just XPCK.
Lara now wants you to find a weakness in Tyler's gang. Go back to the church
and talk to Tyler. Tyler will tell you he's having a party that night, all you
have to do is be friendly. Go back to Lara.
HOWEVER, Lara won't give you your XPCK until you help her open up a Stone Cold
can of whupass on Tyler, so tell her you will. That night...
Your party and Lara's gang are one team. Tyler's gang is the other team. Your
job is to kill all of Tyler's gang, while keeping yourself, Lara, and all your
NPCs alive. On your first turn, throw a flare at the guards to make light.
Otherwise, do the usual thing you do during fights. It's completely possible to