The Vault - Background and Character Creation Info

"War.
War never changes.
The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth.
Spain built an empire from its lust for gold and territory.
Hitler shaped a battered Germany into an economic superpower.
But war never changes.
In the 21st century, war was still waged over the resources that could be acquired.
Only this time, the spoils of war were also its weapons.
Petroleum and uranium.
For these resources, China would invade Alaska, the US would annex Canada, and the European Commonwealth would dissolve into quarreling, bickering nation-states, bent on controlling the last remaining resources on Earth.
In 2077, the storm of world war had come again.
In two brief hours, most of the planet was reduced to cinders.
And from the ashes of nuclear devastation, a new civilization would struggle to arise.
A few were able to reach the relative safety of the large underground Vaults..."

"...Imprisoned safely behind the large Vault door, under a mountain of stone, a generation has lived without knowledge of the outside world.
Life in the Vault is about to change"

A modified version.

SPECIAL stands for

Strength
Perception
Endurance
Charisma
Intelligence
Agility
Luck

To begin, place these attributes in order of most important to your character, and least important.

When playing your character, you will be expected to constantly keep in mind their strong points and their weak points, this is merely a method to regulate characters that are too capable.

Your interpretation of the effects of these stats on your character are your own, and welcome. But once again, keep them in mind.

Small Guns - The use, care and general knowledge of small firearms. Pistols, SMG's and rifles.

Big Guns - The operation and maintenance of really big guns. Mini guns, rocket launchers, flame throwers and such.

Energy Weapons - The care and feeding of energy based weapons. How to arm and operate weapons that use laser or plasma tech.

Unarmed - A combination of martial arts, boxing and other hand to hand martial arts. Combat using your hands and feet. (Bad Idea)

Melee Weapons - Using non-ranged weapons in hand to hand or melee combat. Knives, sledge hammers, spears, clubs and so on.

Thrown Weapons - The skill of muscle-propelled ranged weapons. Throwing knives, spears and granades. Good combination when used with melee

First Aid - General healing skill. Used to heal small cuts, abrasions, and other minor ills.

Doctor - The healing of major wounds and crippled limbs. Without this skill, it will take a much longer period of time to restore crippled lims to use. Similar to First Aid but more effective. (In this game, it will translate to surgical knowledge.)

Sneak - Quiet movement and the ability to ramain unnoticed. If successful, you will be much harder to locate. You cannot run and sneak at the same time. Very useful when stealing or in combination with Unarmed or Melee.

Lockpick - The skill of opening locks without a proper key.

Steal - The ability to make the things of others your own. Can be used to steal from people or places. Why scavenge when you can steal?

Traps - The finding and removal of traps. Also the setting of explosives for demolition purposes. A handy skill to have in certain areas.

Science - Covers a variety of high technology skills, such as computers, biology, physics and geology. Must have for inteligent characters! Hacking computers can be a rewarding experience.

Repair - The practical application of the science skill. The fixing of broken eqiupment, machinery and electronics. This also covers the ability to disable some devices - you never know when it might come in handy.

Speech - The ability to communicate in a practical and efficient manner. The skill of convincing others that your position is correct. The ability to lie and not get caught. Very, very useful.

Barter - Trading and trade related tasks. The ability to get better prices for items you sell, and lower prices for items you buy. Makes that shiny new weapon easier to acquire.

Gambling - The knowledge and practical skills related to wagering. Having skill at cards, dice and other games of chance can net you a lot of cash.

Outdoorsman - Practical knowledge of the outdoors, and the ability to live off of the land. The knowledge of plants and animals. The ability to avoid people and things that mean you harm.

Fast Metabolism - Your metabolic rate is twice normal. That means that you are much less resistant to radiation and poison, but your body will heal faster.

Bruiser - A little slower but a little bigger. You may not hit as often but enemies will feel it when you do!

Small Frame - You are not quite as big as the other vault-dwellers, but that never slowed you down. You can't carry as much but you are more agile.

One Hander - One of your hands is very dominant. You excel with single handed weapons but two-handed weapons cause a problem.

Finesse - Your attacks show a lot of finesse. You don't do as much damage but you cause more critical hits.

Kamikaze - By not paying attention to any threats you can act a lot faster... (This makes you easier to hit too)

Heavy Handed - You swing harder, not better. Your attacks are very brutal but lack finesse. You rarely cause a good critical hit but you always do more melee damage.

Fast Shot - You don't have time to aim for a targeted attack, because you attack faster than normal people. (Essentially you're fast, but not as precise.)

Bloody Mess - By some strange twist of fate, people around you die violently. You always see the worst way a person can die. (Fun for roleplaying, I would imagine your character just knows where the sweet spots are)

Jinxed - The good thing is that everyone around you have more critical failures in combat. The bad thing is so do you. (Imagine you are plagued with terrible luck)

Good Natured - You studied less combative skills as you were growing up... First aid, Doctor, Speech and Barter are substantially improved... (Essentially, you suck in a fight, but you're pretty handy with the non-combat skills)

Chem Reliant - You are more easily addicted to drugs. Your chance to be addicted to a drug is twice normal, but you recover faster from their ill effects.

Chem Resistant - Drugs only affect you half as long as normal, but your chance to be addicted is also only 50% of normal

Sex Appeal - You've got the "right stuff". Members of the opposite sex are attracted to you, but those of the same sex tend to become quite jealous. (Remember, there are no sexual relations allowed in this forum. As such, if you choose this trait, you need to roleplay it in such a way as to be acceptable.)

Skilled - Extra Skill

Gifted - Extra Perk

Awareness - You have an intuitive sense of physical weaknesses and strengths in creatures and people.

Brawl - You are a little better at fighting hand to hand then the average joe. You tend to rough folks up mo'better.

Cautious Nature - You tend to know when danger is near, and approach accordingly.

Comprehension - You have a way with words, especially books. You tend to remember things you've read more easily.

Earlier Sequence - You tend to move faster than others. Jumping into the fray a second sooner.

Faster Healing - You recover from wounds remarkably fast.

Healer - You are quite adept at the use of First Aid.

Magnetic Personality - People seem to enjoy standing near you, hearing your voice, and generally following you around.

Night Vision - You can see much better at night than most. Must be all the carrots you eat.

Presence - People notice you almost instantly. You exude charisma. But are they delighted to see you? Or scared witless? (Karma related. I'll discuss karma later)

Quick Pockets - Well organized, it only takes you a split second to find and withdraw most items on your person.

Scout - Keen eyes and a nose for direction. You're a good guide, and a good spy.

Smooth Talker - You are good at getting others to open up. You're also good at shutting them down as well.

Stonewall - Good luck to those trying to knock you over, it's like you're rooted in concrete.

Strong Back - You can carry/lift a good 50lbs more than most folks your size.

Survivalist - Where the outdoorsman can make his way in the wilderness, you practically thrive outside. You can live a life of luxury outdoors with not but a knife and a bit of rope.

Swift Learner - You learn good.

Thief - You excel at not getting caught swiping things.

Toughness - You really know how to take a hit.

Name:
Race: (Human for now, some characters might face mutations, or later in the story new characters might join in as mutants)
Gender:
Faction: (N/A For starting characters, at least for now)
Stats:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Skills:
>Fantastic at:

>Good at:


>Can't do:



Traits:



Perks:

Description:
(Physical description here)

Race: Human
Gender: Male
Faction: N/A
Stats:
> Perception
> Strength
> Endurance
> Luck
> Intelligence
> Endurance
> Agility
> Charisma

Skills:
>Fantastic at:
Outdoorsman
>Good at:
Gambling
Small Guns
>Can't do:
Speech
Repair

Traits:
Finesse
Chem reliant
Kamikaze

Perks:
Night vision

Description:
Approaching 30, Achen enjoys spending time alone. When he is in a
crowd, he is usually quite noticable due to his height. His large brown eyes, and black hair are dominated by his facial acne. He has a reasonably muscular buit.
Despite the fact that he is usually very reserved, when required, he
can be very vocal. Achen tends to get addicted to anything he enjoys
rather quickly. Being born in the powerful Lorest family, he aspires to make it on his own, without the help of his parents, but their influence in The Vault did not get him far in achieving this dream. He hopes to find some independence in the new world. He has maintained a friendly relationship with most around him, but people tend to keep a distance from him due to his fathers influence.

Race: Human
Gender: Male
Faction: Speed City Merchants Guild.
Stats:
>Charisma
>Intelligence
>Perception
>Luck
>Agility
>Endurance
>Strength
Skills:
>Fantastic at:
Barter
>Good at:
Speech
Gambling
>Can't do:
Energy Weapons
Big Guns
Traits:
Good Natured
Sex Appeal
Perks:
Magnetic Personality
Scout
Description: Five foot nine, dark haired, dark eyed, and silver tounged. Rugged, attractive, and seemingly kind-earted despite being raised in the harshness of the wastes. Born in Speed City(which is really more of a town or village), taught to live by whatever means necessary, Midas felt that to be too much work, and broke the system. He now makes a handsome living selling anything he can get his hands on, gambling with the few travelers the settlement sees, and betting on Brahmin races. He's got a nack for turning conversations and deals around in his favor, and has a keen eye for trouble and opportunity.Only 24 now, he was 15 when he made his first sale, swindling an elderly man out of his last few caps on an overpriced box of ammunition.

Midas, not being the best fighter in the wastes, hires others to escort him when he goes on long trading caravans. Some folks want his fortune, and some folks just want him dead. He can't pass up a good opportunity to make a fortune. Even if it means making an enemy in the process.

Race: Human
Gender: Male
Faction: (N/A)
Stats:
>Strength
>Endurance
>Agility
>Luck
>Perception
>Charisma
>Intelligence
Skills:
>Fantastic at:
Unarmed
>Good at:
Big Guns
Melee
Thrown
>Can't do:
Sneak
Lockpick
Steal
Science
Traits:
Gifted
Heavy Handed
Perks:
Stonewall
Toughness
Brawl
Description:
A goliath of a man, Rocky Stone is a brutal, unpleasant, and luckily for the rest of the vault, dimwitted man. Nearing 30, he isn't incredibly tall despite, only reaching six feet tall, however his body is a living mountain, composed of muscle, there might even be some bones in there somewhere. He makes due with what he was given from birth, taking every opportunity to show off his strength in after hours Vault boxing tournaments and wrestling matches. He's a member of the cleanup crew in the vault, and is working towards a spot on the security force, though the relatively simple exam is even too much of an intellectual wraparound for him to manage.

"The Pugilist" isn't well liked among his fellow vault dwellers, despite his ruggedly handsome (albeit nearly comically over-muscled) appearance. Put simply, courtesy and kindness are beyond him. He is often toyed with by more mischevious and intelligent Vault dwellers, who convince him, by simple turn of phrase, to beat up their friends or enemies. Rocky is hardly intelligent or lucky enough to avoid getting himself in trouble, though more often than not doing so unintentionally, he is often given no more than a slap on the wrist, even the vault Overseer doesn't want to see the consequences of pissing off this behemoth of a man.

Sublety and the art of treating people or objects gently are completely beyond Rocky Stone. Five minutes in his presence are enough to determine every defining factor about his personality.

Race: Human
Gender: Female
Faction: (N/A)
Stats:
>Luck
>Agility
>Charisma
>Perception
>Endurance
>Intelligence
>Strength
Skills:
>Fantastic at:
Small Guns
>Good at:
First Aid
Sneak
>Can't do:
Doctor
Science
Repair
Traps
Traits:
Small Frame
Fast Metabolism
Jinxed
Perks:
Awareness
Description:
Tristan is 5'7
mousy brown hair, she isn't unique nor would she stand
out in a crowd which helps her in certain situations.
Clumsy but reliant, and has a naive view of the world
Was raised by multiple people and has odd mood swings.
Hard worker, but is scared easily. Tends to get in fights
with those bigger than her and doesn't know when to shut her
mouth. out spoken and confident.

Race: Human
Gender: Male
Faction: (N/A For starting characters, at least for now)
Stats:
>Intelligence
>Luck
>Charisma
>Perception
>Agility
>Endurance
>Strength
Skills:
>Fantastic at:
Small Guns
>Good at:
Speech
First Aid
Doctor
>Can't do:
Lockpick
Nightvision
Barter
Traps
Traits:
Finesse
Bloody Mess
Good Natured
Perks:
Presence
Description:Victor has a slightly Russian look about him, but he is very anti-communist. He stands at 5'11, and weighs in at 146 lbs, making him slightly bigger than average, but not truely big. While his frame might make him look intimidating, he's a softy at heart, and more likely to fix a bullet wound, then to make a new one. He looks mostly like a stereotypical young Russian- save for the fact that he's American born. His English is accented, but usually very clearly understandable.

"Drak" is a very keen, and quick guy, and while not necessarily THE smartest person 'on the block', he is very close. He learned medical skills at a young age, and became one of the top experts in the subject, in The Vault. While his practical experience in the subject is lacking, by books, he should be one of the foremost experts. "Drak" is by no means defenseless though, and while usually good natured, the same skills that make him so keen on medical situations, means he knows exactly where to aim, to make the enemy one big oozing bloody mess.