Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel Walkthrough

Fallout Tactics
Unofficial Supplemental Guide and FAQ
Edited by Kasey Chang (ksc1@aol.com)
released March 16, 2002
0    Introduction
0.1   A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
This is a SUPPLMENTAL FAQ, NOT a manual or even a full FAQ. You
won't learn how to play the game with this document.
If you want the full walkthru, the random encounter guide, the
equipment guide, or full character creation guide, you should
look on Gamefaqs.com for the other excellent guides by Sarin,
Guiler, and others.
This USG only covers the PC version since that's the only version
that exists (at this time).
Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and
XCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among others.
0.2   TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION
This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2002,
all rights reserved excepted as noted above in the disclaimer
section.
This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the
following conditions:
1) This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of
this document: "Fallout Tactics Unofficial Supplemental Guide and
FAQ" is copyrighted (c) 2002 by Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights
reserved except as noted in the disclaimer."
2) This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner
without prior permission of the author with the following
exception: if you wish to convert this document to a different
file format or archive format, with no change to the content,
then no permission is needed.
2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners, no
HTML borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get you more
banner hits, and esp. no adding your site name to the site list.
3) No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged
for its distribution.  (Free is preferred) Sale of this
information is expressly prohibited. If you see any one selling
this guide, drop me a line.
4) If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source,
else it is plagiarism.
5) The author hereby grants all games-related web sites the right
to archive and link to this document to share among the game
fandom, provided that all above restrictions are followed.
Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory contract.
If you meet them, then you are entitled to the rights I give you
in 5), i.e. archive and display this document on your website. If
you don't follow them, you did not meet the statutory contract
conditions, you have no right to display this document. If you
still do so, then you are infringing upon my copyright. This
section was added for any websites who don't seem to understand
this.
For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation.  However, I do ask for a VOLUNTARY contribution of
one (1) US Dollar if you live in the United States, and if you
believe this guide helped your game. If you choose to do so,
please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of stamp to "Kuo-
Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San Francisco,
CA 94118 USA".
If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I
collect stamps too.
0.3    DISTRIBUTION
This USG should be available at Gamefaqs
(http://www.gamefaqs.com) and other major PC game websites (such
as gamesdomain.com, gamespot.com, gamecenter.com, etc.). I
personally only release it to Gamefaqs.com so if you find it
anywhere else, they got it from gamefaqs.com.
To webmasters who wish to archive this FAQ on their website,
please read the terms of distribution in section 0.2. It is quite
clear. In case you can't understand it, it says "no
modifications". This means you may NOT modify any bits of it!
Read that carefully. It says exactly what it says.
0.4    OTHER NOTES
There is no warranty for this document. After all, it depends
on YOU the player.  All I can do is offer some advice.
PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark... If
you find a question about this game that is not covered in the
USG, e-mail it to me at ksc1@aol.com.  I'll try to answer it and
include it in the next update.
If you want to read some background information on how Fallout
Tactics came about, visit Gamasutra.com. The developers,
MicroForte, have an article on what went right and what went
wrong during the development.
0.5   THE AUTHOR
I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the
ones I find don't cover what I want to see.  Lots of people like
what I did, so I kept doing it.
Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for
XCOM, XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander 3, Wing Commander 4, Spycraft,
688(I) Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3 Expansion Pack, Need for
Speed: Porsche Unleashed, Mechwarrior 4 and MW4: Black Knight,
DS9: The Fallen, Rally Masters, and more.
If you need to write me, send e-mail to ksc1@aol.com. (Any spam
will be reported to respective authorities).
0.6   DISCLAIMER/ COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Fallout, Fallout Tactics, and related names are properties of
Interplay and 14 Degrees East.
14 Degrees East is the "strategy" branch of Interplay. (Black
Isle is the "adventure" branch of Interplay, responsible for the
Fallout RPG series.)
Fallout Tactics was developed by MicroForte. This USG is not
endorsed or authorized by MicroForte, 14 Degrees East, or
Interplay.
While this FAQ may overlap slightly with other FOT FAQs, notably
Sarin's Character Creation FAQ and Guiler's FOT FAQ, I did my
best to REMOVE any sections that appear to be nearly identical.
The character creation section was inspired by Sarin's FAQ, but
the approach is my own. .
0.7   REVISION HISTORY
16-MAR-2002         Initial release
0.8   THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Can you send me Fallout Tactics (or portions thereof)?
A: No. It's 3 CDs!
Q: Can you send me the manual (or portions thereof)?
A: No. It's just a list of the perks and traits any way and basic
game mechanics.
Q: Can you tell me how to play the game?
A: Read the manual.
Q: What's the latest version of FOT?
A: As of release of this edition, it is V1.27. See Interplay's
website.
Q: Can I create my own FOT missions? Campaigns?
A: Yes. You need V1.27 patch, which includes FOT edit tools.
Q: Why is your FAQ shorter than other similar FAQs?
A: This is a SUPPLEMENTAL FAQ. It's NOT a full FAQ.
Q: Why don't you cover the encounters, random or otherwise? How
about perks? Equipment?
A: There already are excellent guides for those topics on
Gamefaqs.com.
1    Game Information
1.1   IN THE BEGINNING.
FOT is essentially a mixture between Starfleet Command's campaign
engine and the tactical combat engine of Fallout/Fallout 2. As
SFC was a tactical starship combat game, and Fallout series were
RPGs, the game is an interesting mixture indeed.
The background is simple: it's post-nuclear war. In the wastes
(short for wasteland), various wild animals have been transformed
into hideous giant creatures. Even humans were affected. Many
have been mutated into essentially new races.
As a new Brotherhood of Steel initiate, you will undertake
missions as you venture out into the wastelands, to bring hope to
the wasteland... with cold steel and hot bullets if necessary.
You create a single character with the appropriate traits and
attributes. You select up to 5 other members (the availability
depends on your rank) from the recruit pool to join you on
missions in the post-nuclear wasteland.
You will be issued some simple equipment at the beginning. You
will discover more and better equipment as you go into the wastes
and encounter more enemies. Bring back all surplus and barter
with the quartermaster (or any other merchants nearby) for better
equipment. You may even discover vehicles that will provide more
armor, speed, and carrying capacity.
Once you're done, exit the base, and you're on the world map.
Move around if you want to, or just head for the next mission by
clicking on the mission name. On the way, you may run into some
"encounters".
The campaign engine basically gives out three types of
encounters: random encounters (you just happen to run into
someone while wandering the map), special encounters (something
special happens, some are good, some are bad), and plot/mission
encounters (the missions assigned by the Brotherhood that you
must complete).
Once the encounter is triggered, you are dropped into an
isometric battlefield that's almost just like Fallout series, but
also reminiscent of XCOM series. You then shoot it out with
whatever opponents on the map, and if you survive, accomplish the
objectives, then you can head toward the extraction zone and exit
the encounter, where you start on the "world map" again.
1.2   SIMILAR GAMES
Fallout Tactics probably most resembles XCOM: Apocalypse, with
optional "real-time" or "turn-based" play modes available, and
the world/tactical separate perspectives. However, there is no
combat in the FOT on the world map.
Fallout Tactics is semi-related to Jagged Alliance and Jagged
Alliance 2.
2     Character Creation
2.1   CHARACTER CREATION FAQ
Q: Where's a good list of perks, traits, and such?
A: Try your manual. :-)  Also try Guiler's FOT FAQ or Sarin's
FOT Character FAQ on gamefaqs.com
Q: What are the best traits or perks to get?
A: Depends on which role you want. Perhaps you should read the
whole section first. Don't forget to read the other two FAQs
listed above as well.
Q: What does rank have to do with my character?
A: Your rank affects what recruits you can get. You get access to
recruits with rank equal to yourself and below. If you are rank
of knight, you get recruits of rank of knight or below.
Therefore, the higher your rank the better recruit you can hire.
If you have better than normal charisma (or have "brown noser"
perk), you can hire recruits that are BETTER than you! [This also
means that using "brown noser" perk on any one other than
yourself would be a waste.]
Q: How does charisma affect my character?
A: Charisma affects a LOT of things, from your rate of promotion
to barter to a ton of other stuff. For your own character, you
should keep CH around 5 (average). Your own rank affects what
recruits you get. Unless you NEVER plan to change your recruits
(i.e. you're taking your ORIGINAL team all the way to the final
mission), you SHOULD keep CH at 5.  Also see the question above
about how rank affects your character.
Q: Should I take "gifted" trait or not?
A: It's a toss-up. The -5 skill point per level penalty is a
definite minus (you end up with like 12 pts per level at start).
You start out quite good, but you gain skills slower. On the
other hand, having extra 7 pts in your character stats does make
adjusting things quite a bit easier, and you can allocate more
pts into IN to make up some of the loss. Having gifted makes it
easier to specialize in certain perks, which may offset the loss
of skill points. Basically, you are trading skill pts for certain
special perks. If you want the special perks like Sniper or
Slayor, you need Gifted. Otherwise, probably not.
Q: Should I take "skilled" trait or not?
A: In a typical game, you'll reach level 24. You get 8 perks with
perk rate of 3. With perk rate of 4 (skilled) you get 6 perks.
You're trading perks for more skill points, essentially.
Q: Should I take "fast shot" trait or not?
A: Depends on the role. If you don't need aimed shots (i.e. not
sniper), then by all means do take fast shot. Combine that with
"bonus rate of fire" perk and you'll get a LOT of bursts, and
that will be devastating in close range or with good burst
weapons or heavy weapons (or even grenades).
Q: What perks should I take early?
A: Swift learner, definitely. You need more skill pts later and
it's worth using a few perks for it, when you don't have access
to the special perks for your role. Calculate your perk rate,
then look at what perks are you going for. Then use the rest on
"Educated" early on.
Q: What role should I set my main character to?
A: Probably small guns / energy weapons guy. See that section.
Q: What is the science skill used for?
A: Not that much. You can use it to take out some power nodes, to
read some terminals, etc. at the very end. Just take
"comprehension" perk, and read the various "Big Book of Science"
that you come across, and you'll get science in the 100%+ range
by the game's end. You don't need to assign any skill points to
it.
Q: What's this "divine favor" perk I keep hearing about?
A: See the manual. However, it supposedly ALSO adds 1 to your
best stat (even BEYOND your racial max), and decreases your perk
rate to 2 (i.e. one perk every 2 levels). If you do go for it
(you need LK of 8) your max perks then will be 4 before this one
(3, 6, 9 12). You use the 5th perk (at 15) to get this, then 4
more perks (17, 19, 21, 23), for a total of nine perks total. As
you get 8 perks at a perk rate of 3, this isn't an improvement.
2.2   INTRODUCTION TO FOT CHARACTERS
Character creation is an important part of Fallout series, and
FOT is no exception, even if the emphasis was placed on combat.
Your characters and squad will gain experience, and careful
allocation of the gains you get per level is very important.
You should refer to Sarin's excellent FOT Character Creation FAQ
if you have further questions. You can find his guide on
Gamefaqs.com. Here's what Sarin said about Character creation:
"Since you're playing a squad-based tactics game, you need to
develop specialist characters instead of generalists. You can
have a maximum of six characters in your squad. Let one character
focus on one skill while the others focus on other skills." --
Sarin, from Sarin's FOT Character Creation guide.
Also keep in mind taht you do NOT need to keep the ENTIRE SQUAD
for the entire game. If you find better candidates, fire the ones
you do not need and hire better recruits. As your enemies change,
so will your squad.
The approach I go for below is go for specific roles, THEN decide
what perks are good for the role, then I figure out the specific
requirements for the role. My method is primarily aimed at player
character (i.e. humans), but the same analysis can be applied to
the recruits to determine if they can be "groomed" to your
liking. On the other hand, someone has already done the analysis
for you in Guiler's FOT FAQ. So go read it.
The roles you need are essentially the following (you can take
multiple roles, like sniper/grenadier, thief/medic, etc.)
*  Sniper -- specialize in long-range takedowns, extremely high
(~150 or higher) small guns, and the good perks like better
criticals, more criticals, etc. Firing rate is not that
important. "Finesse" trait may help.
*  CQS -- high small arms, fast firing rate, specialize in
short-range fights, with automatic weapons on burst, magnum
pistols and/or .45 caliber weapons, and shotgun. However, CQB is
useless in late game unless you have a lot of EMP shotgun shells.
AP ammo just don't do THAT much damage on robots.
*  Energy weapons specialist -- by the end of the game you'll
be using primarily energy weapons. You should start learning them
early on, or at least use the TAG! perk about midway to get at
least 100+ on energy weapons. Hire people who are good at this
later in the game would help a lot also.
*  Melee / HTH -- with or without weapon, enhance with ripper,
power fist, etc. Those with high strength are best. However,
Melee/HTH doesn't do that much damage to robots unless you cause
serious criticals.
*  Grenadier -- high throwing skills, toss stuff at the enemy,
excellent to take out enemies hiding behind cover or even around
some corners. Also can use throwing weapons like throwing stars
or throwing knives, but those don't do much damage.
*  Heavy weapons -- big guns skill, use heavy machine gun,
rocket launcher, etc. Important in mid/late game, as you need
this skill to use the Browning M2 50 cal. machine gun and the
rocket launcher, and later, the most devastating weapon: the
gauss gatling.
*  Medic -- patch people up, high first aid and/or doctor
skills. Get both up to 200% if you can. Make sure to bring
doctor's bags (at least 2) and 3-6 First Aid kits (or similar).
You may want to have another guy who's up on the first-aid skill
(80-100%) as a backup medic in case your primary medic "bought
the farm".
*  Driver -- drive any vehicles around (piloting skill).
Piloting is not that essential, as piloting over 30% is enough to
move the Humvee or any vehicle around. There are also some books
that can boost the knowledge significantly.
*  Thief -- high stealing skills, you need it to "borrow" items
from others that you can't buy. It can also be used in reverse...
like putting things (like explosives) elsewhere. On the other
hand, you don't REALLY need it, as you CAN do without it (though
it may make some things more difficult).
*    Lockpick -- high lockpick skills, you need it to open doors
or safes without the key. Help him/her with lockpicks, advanced
lockpicks, or electronic lockpicks. Buy two of each lockpick
device as they become available. Put one in each hand and you'll
get double the benefits. Most special doors in the various
encounters have a key nearby on certain characters, so designate
the lockpick person to hold all the keys as well.
*    Barterer -- high barter skill makes the purchase prices
cheaper and selling prices higher. Let one guy (or gal) do the
talking. Give him all the items to trade in. Just make sure to
put him/her next to the trading person before you start
transferring items.
*    Trapper -- lay traps, or disarm traps. Trap skill is not
that critical, as high perception can help you AVOID mines most
of the time. On the other hand, some chests and doors are
trapped, and you need good trap skill to disarm those.
*    Mechanic -- repair things using "repair" skill. Enhance with
toolkits and super toolkits. Vehicles need a lot of repairs, so
you may need one. On the other hand, if you can make it back to
base, you can borrow a recruit to do your repairs.
*    Gambler -- bet with people... instead of trading. Beware
that not all people gamble.
*    Scout -- mainly for the world map. Need Outdoorsman skills.
Outdoorsman at 100% or higher means you can AVOID random
encounters if you wish to. That can be quite useful if you're
short on ammo and such, or you need the right TYPE of encounters
(like you're looking for pulse grenades by killing Reavers and so
on). Give this role to the guy with the best LUCK would help too.
*    Mule / Jack-of-all-trades -- none of the above, your typical
grunt (but why?)
I'm going to discuss each role in turn, listing the stat
requirements (not the level, which you can't control), then
summarize for the requirements for creation. I put the
requirements WITHOUT the "gifted" trait. If you choose to take
the "gifted" trait, then you would make creating the character
much easier early on.
2.3   PARTY COMPOSITION
Please note that this is the way I play the game... I prefer
weapons, not melee/HTH combat. I'm sure some can be very
effective in that, but I prefer to keep the enemies as far away
as possible.
For a list of possible recruits and how they can be developed,
please see Guiler's FOT FAQ.
You should decide from the start who are you going to develop and
keep, and who you will just hire until you find someone better.
At the beginning, you have minimal skills. You need to use a lot
of ammo to put down an enemy. Hand-to-hand and melee combat are
useful then. You don't see any mines or traps early on, and a
scout can sense any that you run into. You don't have any
vehicles so you don't need driver or mechanic either. You don't
have access to heavy weapons yet. So you just need 1-2 snipers, 2-
3 CQS, rest melee. You will also need a good medic. Any other
roles you need like barterer/gambler, grenadier, lockpick/thief
can be spread out among your squad. On the other hand, early on
you don't get grenades either.
Start training a driver early on to at least 30% skill as you
need one to get your first Humvee.
By mid-game (when you encounter Deathclaws and Supermutants), the
pistols and melee weapons become useless (not enough damage). You
need to engage the enemies from as far away as possible. You'll
need 1-2 snipers, 2 CQS, 1-2 heavy weapons, and 1 medic. You also
acquire vehicles so you'll need a driver. You may not need a
mechanic yet as you can "borrow" recruits to repair the vehicles
for you at the bunkers.
By late-game (when you encounter robots and reavers), you need to
switch to heavy weapons  and energy weapons. Hire dual-role
specialists like Alice and Max (both are good in energy AND big
guns), though small gun / big gun specialists like Box and
Clarise are also useful if you give them rocket launchers and
gauss guns. Sniper will use gauss rifles. Melee doesn't do enough
damage unless you're VERY good at causing criticals.  By now, you
will need a mechanic, though repair skill of 85% is quite
sufficient, as you can pump that to over 100 with a super toolkit
and a regular toolkit.
My "final mission" party is composed of:
*    Caseman (me), who's a sniper / energy specialist. He's armed
with laser rifle (and later, pulse rifle) with a gauss rifle for
sniping. Before that he's mainly armed with sniper rifle and the
FN FAL. Caseman also is the mechanic AND driver AND science guy
(like me, he's multi-talented)
*    Stitch, the medic, is with the team from the very beginning.
He has the Pancor with the remaining EMP shells and a gauss
rifle as backup. Before then he's armed with CAWS and a sniper
rifle.  Stitch turned out to be a VERY good doctor/medic and a
very good sniper. Stitch, being "good-natured", also gets the
role of barterer.
*    Alice and Max, the brother and sister team, are both big gun
/ energy weapon specialists. I gave them both a 50 cal and
whatever energy weapon I can find (plasma rifle, laser gatling,
whatever). They also carry the best grenades. When I found more
laser gatlings, they each got one.
*    Box, the heavy weapons expert, is hired to handle the gauss
gatling and carry additional rockets. She has the gauss gatling
and rocket launcher with quite a few reloads.
*    Clarisse joined for the final two missions. Clarisse can
handle energy weapons and big guns. She gets some grenades,
rocket launcher, and a pulse rifle (she happens to have the best
energy weapon skills in the team).
Sometimes, the party size will have to be adjusted to the vehicle
size. When you obtain a tank, you should consider restricting
your party to only 5 members, as only 5 fit in the tank. On the
other hand, you CAN coordinate two separate parties. So maybe you
should leave two outside as scouts and 4 inside the tank as fire
support.
2.4   SNIPER
Sniper is important throughout the game. The sniper rifle has one
of the longest range in the game, at 50. You can also aim for
specific parts of the body, like head, eyes, etc. to blind or
concuss. Later in the game you get gauss rifles.
Keep in mind that the average perk rate is 3, so by the end of
the game (your character at about level 24) you get around 8
perks.
Taking "small frame" trait can give you more AP, but less carry
weight. If you are going to dedicate a character to sniping, then
carry weight doesn't matter that much as you wouldn't consume a
lot of ammo. 100-200 rounds are plenty for one engagement if you
only shoot 2 rounds per turn and you're probably salvage more in
the fight. Power armor later can help you carry more.
Sniper should NOT take "fast shot" trait, as it prevents you from
making aimed shots. You may get more shots off, but you're going
for quality, not quantity here.  You need about 10 AP, enough to
get off 2 shots on average AND reload, or 2 aimed shots.
The best perks for sniper would be
*    Action Boy (AG 5), one extra AP (probably not needed if you
have "small frame" trait)
*    Better Criticals (PE 6, AG 4, LK 6), more damage with
critical hits
*    Bonus Ranged Damage (AG 6, LK 6), extra damage
*    Bonus Rate of Fire (PE 6, IN 6, AG 7), cost less AP to shoot
*    More Criticals (LK 6), more chance of critical hits
*    Sharpshooter (PE 7, IN 6), more likely to hit at range
*    Sniper (SG 80%, PE 8, AG 8), all critical hits (note: may
not work properly)
Some of these perks can be taken multiple times, like "Action
Boy" and "More Criticals".
I've read in several FAQs that the "Sniper" perk as listed above
is broken. So if you don't want to go for it, I understand
completely.
The requirements without "Sniper" perk then would be
*    ST 5
*    PE 7
*    EN don't care
*    CH don't care
*    IN 6
*    AG 7
*    LK 6
You need strength 5 because all the good sniper weapons are MIN
STR 5, including sniper rifle.  As you have 35 pts to start, that
would mean
*    ST 5
*    PE 7
*    EN 2
*    CH 2
*    IN 6
*    AG 7
*    LK 6
If you DO choose the "gifted" trait, then pump up your EN and CH
back up to reasonable levels (like 4 or 5) and still get AG 8 and
PE 8 to get the sniper perk. If you don't want the sniper perk,
then enhance your luck to 8 and go for "divine favor" perk, and
enhance your IN a bit to make up for the loss of skill pts per
level.
While "weapon handling" perk looks useful, it's not. It is a
level 12 perk, so you don't see that for half of the game. The
heaviest weapon in the "small guns" category has a MIN STR of 6
(the Thompson Gun and the Neostead/CAWS auto shotguns, but you
don't really need them). Most of the weapons are MIN STR 5. If
you pick STR of less than 5, hoping to make it up with "weapon
handling" later, you can't use any of the 2-handed weapons for
half the game, and how can you be a sniper without 2-handed
weapons?
To develop the sniper, tag small guns, sneak, and one auxiliary
skill (see anxiliary roles).
Give sniper the hunting rifle early on, followed by assault
weapons that can do single shot, and finally, sniper rifle. About
150-250 rounds should be sufficient. They can go burst mode in
close range. You may or may not want to give them an alternate
weapon.
Sniper's secondary weapon should be a shotgun. The pump shotgun
is preferred as "bonus rate of fire" would allow the sniper to
shoot more than twice. A heavy pistol like 44 magnum is a good
alternative, but its ammo is a bit harder to find.  Pump shotgun
is pretty good against robots in the late game with EMP shells.
If you don't have enough shotguns, an assault rifle like AK-47 is
a good alternative as it uses the same 7.62 bullets.
All in all, I'd recommend AGAINST your main character being a
sniper. You need ENERGY weapon skills by the endgame, and gauss
ammo is limited (until the final mission).
2.5   CLOSE-QUARTERS SPECIALIST
CQS is important to about mid-game, mainly for room clearing.
Primary weapon is a combat shotgun, and that virtually requires
MIN STR of 6, so you can wield the Neostead early on. This role,
on the other hand, is VERY similar to the sniper role. In fact,
there's only one difference: AG 6 instead of AG 7 (to get the
extra ST). The CQS loses "bonus rate of fire" due to that change,
but with an automatic shotgun that's not THAT big of a deal. The
loss can be offset by the "fast shot" trait. Aimed shot at point-
blank is pointless any way.
CQS becomes more difficult in late-game, as EMP shells are rare.
The best perks for CQS then would be:
*    Action Boy (AG 5), one extra AP
*    Better Criticals (PE 6, AG 4, LK 6), more damaging with
critical hits
*    Bonus Ranged Damage (AG 6, LK 6), extra damage
*    More Criticals (LK 6), more chance of critical hits
*    Sharpshooter (PE 7, IN 6), more likely to hit at range
You need strength 6 for the Neostead and the CAWS. As a bonus,
you can use any of the assault weapons and the sniper rifle/gauss
rifle for long-range threats. To summarized the requirements
*    ST 6
*    PE 7
*    EN don't care
*    CH don't care
*    IN 6
*    AG 6
*    LK 6
As you have 35 pts to start, that would mean
*    ST 6
*    PE 7
*    EN 2
*    CH 2
*    IN 6
*    AG 6
*    LK 6
This character could use the "gifted" trait to offset the low EN
and CH. Two possibilities:
Possibility 1) Add 3 to EN and CH each (both up to 5, average),
and add extra pt to AG to get back "bonus rate of fire" perk. You
become a relatively average character. This would make you
virtually IDENTICAL to the sniper character, except for your
"fast shot" trait. If you also pick the "bonus rate of fire" perk
later you can pump out INSANE amount of shots. :-)
Possibility 2) Add 2 to EN and CH each (both up to 4, fair), add
1 pt to AG to get back "bonus rate of fire" perk, and 2 to LK to
get "divine favor" perk, which can improve your perk rate and get
you other favors.
While "weapon handling" perk looks useful, it's not. It is a
level 12 perk, so you don't see that for half of the game. The
heaviest weapon in the "small guns" category has a MIN STR of 6
(the Thompson Gun and the Neostead/CAWS auto shotguns). Most of
the weapons are MIN STR 5. If you pick STR of less than 5, hoping
to make it up with "weapon handling" later, you are restricted to
pistols for half of the game.
To develop CQS, tag small guns, sneak, and one other skill (see
anxiliary roles).
Start with