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How do you imagine your first character?

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 2:09 PM EDT

     Hey all

     One of the many qualities Bethesda has involves the freedom it gives to its players. Fallout 4, thankfully, will be no exception to that and may even exceed the liberty we had in previous games. Quoting Todd Howard:

     “….That's what we try to create, that sense of going anywhere and doing anything. GTA V does it so well. It puts you in its world and it makes you its director. It says yes to the player a lot, and that's what we try to do. It's just a phenomenal game.”

     That liberty, while providing the player with many opportunities in-game, is also the fuel to a lot of content and activity like this very community. Specifically, it fuels our imagination, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has already figured out how I want my first (and second, and third…) character to be like. So I’m curious…

                     What do you have in mind for your first Fallout 4 character?

      You can see the complete interview with Todd (the Howard one) here.

        =======================================================================================

     …Having trouble? A few questions to help you out:

    •              Will you play as one of the character presets?
    •              Will your first character be modeled after you?
    •              How will his/hers personality be like?
    •              What about the character’s alignment?
    •              Will you be naming him/her after your?
    •              Do you plan to settle down in your old place, a different location or live a wanderer’s life?
    •              Borommakot pointed out this helpful tool.
  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 2:26 PM EDT

     I’ll kick this off.

     Surprisingly, Fallout 4 is the first Bethesda game and the second game in general where I’ll have my first playthrough with the “official” character preset.  (The first was Mass Effect)

     The reason for that is simple: I’m just too damned hyped to waste any time when I finally get the game. But really, I liked the dude’s look and it fits, especially with the character’s voice. I’ll play him as a stereotypical family man and troubled veteran that gets thrown into a situation unlike anything he experienced. Such a cliché, right? And that’s why I think it’ll work so great with Fallout.

     My second character will be built around what I have discovered during my first playthrough, after I felt the game’s... "feel". Can't say that much about this one until the game releases.

     My third character will be… myself. I’ll try to recreate me, my personality and my personal takes in that one. I can’t wait to hear my very own robotic butler saying “Mr Peter!” or “Mr Pedro”. Imagine that.

    • 773 posts
    August 28, 2015 2:57 PM EDT

    Good thread!

    I tend to jump in with a fairly generic character with Bethesda games. I won't go with a preset, I'll probably make something that looks a bit like me - just for the fun of messing about with the Character Creator

    My general 'method' is to quickly make a character and jump into the game. My aim is to get to grips with the controls, the AI, the world. I'll most likely play this character through the first 2-3 levels, do a couple of quests and so on.

    Then that character will get dumped, and I'll make my first 'proper' character. With a bit more of an idea of the type of character that I'm wanting to play, I'll then spend ages agonising over the choice of SPECIALS and so on, because I'll be wanting to pump loads of hours into this first 'main' character.

    I've been having a ton of fun in Fallout 3 with a melee only character, so I might well start off with a melee dude in Fallout 4 as well, but I'll see how I feel at the time....

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 3:16 PM EDT

     That's a great way to get the hang of the game's mechanics. Not sure I'm able to do that; when I start a game such as Fallout/TES I tend to be against the idea of quitting that precious first experience.

     That's especially true if the game has such a complex and complete character creator, where I usually waste hours and hours trying to make something that I like just so when I finally finish, I find out that something's wrong, and start the whole process again. It'll launch in the middle of the week, I won't be able to afford that much time! 

    • 485 posts
    August 28, 2015 4:15 PM EDT
    I'm thinking loner, swordsman ( please let there be katanas), probably stealth focused, chaotic good character.
    • 641 posts
    August 28, 2015 5:35 PM EDT

    I am going to try my damndest to try and make my first character either Roland Deschain or Randall Flagg 

    • 367 posts
    August 28, 2015 5:38 PM EDT

     

    I've a different approach to my character for Fallout 4.

    I'll happily play as a character preset as long as certain criteria are met. I've nothing grand in mind with my character.

    She will be a slim female redhead. (Not the norm for me as I always play male Argonian werewolves). To keep the werewolf theme going though, she'll have an Alsatian as a companion.

    Personality, mistrustful as she is a unique situation of being alone. Her name at the moment will be Jane although that may change. She'll be a wanderer with her faithful dog as their home has been all but destroyed.

    The big difference for me would be that I'll be trying to play from the dogs perspective as they are the characters in my story. Union Of The Snakes. The story will run through my play through, however I have certain events in mind already.... First thing to do is to get the dog without affecting as much storyline as possible...

    The second thing is to get rid of the 'Moron'

    It's all about the dog...

    • 404 posts
    August 28, 2015 5:55 PM EDT

    I end up playing as some sort of soldier/ Merc.

    I was thinking on playing as a trained soldier turned Merc after the bombs fall.

    I will get me an assault rifle, sniper rifle, Shotgun, and a pistol. a combat knife might be my malee or if the Fire axe is around then that. I might get some sort of bat like object if the axe and knife aren't that good.

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:14 PM EDT

    I wonder how those melee weapons will work, if there's going to be a difference between One and Two handed weapons, or even if we'll be able to dual wield them.

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:18 PM EDT

     Great reply.  You can't go wrong with redheads.  

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:22 PM EDT

     From a quick google search, I think both these characters could work wonderfully in Fallout 4. Unfortunately I haven't read The Dark Tower series or a book in which Flagg appears, but I intend to rectify that eventually.

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:24 PM EDT

     An axe? Are we certain we're going to have those kinds of weapon in Fallout 4?

    • 404 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:26 PM EDT

    I would use one if they are in the game. the Fire Department might have some.

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:28 PM EDT

    They would certainly be a great addition, even more if they were in some kind of weapon category that you can only get by crafting.

    [EDIT] Fire department would also be a good source. Thinking about it, perhaps some weapons from the local museum?

    • 29 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:40 PM EDT
    My first Fallout3 character was a naive young girl, thrust into a world completely outside her experience. Her G.O.A.T set her up as a Chaplin, so she took that to the Wasteland But somewhere along the way she fell from grace and started relying on alcohol to keep her going.

    Might try that again and see where she takes me!
    • 773 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:40 PM EDT
    A reasonable supposition from http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fire_axe_(Fallout:_New_Vegas)
    • 700 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:42 PM EDT
    As I do with every new RPG, I will model my character after myself in appearance and personality, then play as if it were me. I don't have any plans beyond using shotgun. Using the hell out if it.
    • 29 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:44 PM EDT
    The Stand is one of King's BEST ever! It's a big one, but we'll worth the effort.
  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:49 PM EDT

     That would certainly work, especially considering how much emotional charge you'll have in the game by losing your family and being taken from normality into the complete unknown. It'll be easy to justify both sides of the coin in FO4, the good and the bad.

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 6:57 PM EDT

     Ah yes, nothing's better than shooting Ghouls in the head with a shotgun, and given the animation/engine improvements we'll be able to walk towards legless zombies and finish them up in style.

    • 700 posts
    August 28, 2015 7:01 PM EDT
    Assuming there's anything left! It's like Bloody Mess without the perk. Which makes me curious what that perk brings to the table, mechanically and concerning it's visual effects.
    • 404 posts
    August 28, 2015 7:06 PM EDT

    thanks Paul. if Tactics had the Handle, we might be able to use it.

    • 490 posts
    August 28, 2015 7:12 PM EDT
    I never use presets so I will be modeling my character after myself which is usually what I do for my main characters.

    Personality wise may not match what I am, but I normally go for Chaotic Good characters (sometimes more Chaotic Neutral) in any post apocalyptic game setting especially Fallout.

    Name? Usually I don't focus on this as much. However, given that 1000+ names will be recognized, I know my first name will be my real name: Matt.

    I will certainly play around with settlements a ton on extra fun characters but my main character will probably tend to wander and maybe only have 1 hidden/secret spot with a ton of traps and defenses to rest easy and for storage. If you also haven't guesses from my profile pic, shotgun. I try to keep my main character within a realistic weapon loadout. Shotgun, sidearm, and some explosives.
    • 1217 posts
    August 28, 2015 7:28 PM EDT

    I'm tentatively running my first character with this SPECIAL setup, going for a more or less average character. I'll try to model him (and the spouse) after me (and my wife), and play him more or less as myself. As an introvert, I can see a story involving the loss of your family being very impactful on such a character, burying notions of trust and security in the aftermath of the War. I'll definitely try to use my own name to see if it's in the spoken list.

    He'll be a wanderer. Ideally, I'll be able to established a few scatter safehouses for him around the gameworld, just for him (and probably the dog). He probably won't specialize much; like you, Edd, I'll want to use the first playthrough just for exploration and familiarizing with the game mechanics. To that end, I'm considering moving through the main story fairly quickly (depending on its length) with the hope of finishing and being able to start again with a solid enough feel for the new perks and mechanics to do a real character build for my second playthrough.

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    August 28, 2015 7:30 PM EDT

     It would be great if we could have an underground settlement, in a cave, the sewers or in a ruined building. Perhaps even our very own Vault? It would be perfect if you wanted to keep a low profile, plus there's a strong appeal to being able to have a place where you can be genuinely safe, and nothings works better in that regard than having your very own Batcave (Though from what it seems, creatures in FO4 have a tendency to burst from the ground).