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Character Build: Curie's Progeny (FNV)

Tags: #Character Build Gunslinger  #Fallout NV Build  #Character Build Grenadier 
  • Nao likes this
  • Member
    August 13, 2015

    The courier work was all well and good when the jobs through Hopeville were still coming in, to justifying the frequent stops there for research. When the work from Hopeville suddenly stopped, it got a whole lot more expensive to travel that way, especially on an independent scientist's budget. So she took one more courier job, one that promised to pay enough that she could settle down in Hopeville to do her research. But things didn't work out quite as planned...

    Build Theme

    The Build

    Curie's Progeny is an intrepid scientist, studying the effects of radiation and how it has fundamentally changed the world since the Great War. What she lacks in social skills she makes up for in scientific acumen and technological know how. Though she isn't trained in combat, she can hold her own with familiar laser and plasma weapons.

     

    The SPECIAL stats for this character are mostly self explanatory. Our points in Strength and Endurance are, in part, to counter the inevitable effects of radiation sickness, but also to help support a number of implants and grant access to Rad Child.

    Tag Skills: Energy Weapons, Science, and Survival

    Primary: Energy Weapons, Science, Medicine

    Secondary: Survival, Repair, Explosives

     

    Alternative Equipment: There is still a lethal limit to how much radiation this character can take; in high rad areas, a Radiation suit is advisable, and helps save on RadAway.

    Any of these rifles can be handily swapped for a recharger rifle (useful in the early game, and accessible in Novac), LAER, or holorifle. Picked up plasma and pulse grenades are also fitting. Avoid fully militarized weapons like the laser RCW, gatling lasers, plasma casters, etc.

    For realistic carryweight role play/hardcore mode, limit yourself to one rifle and one sidearm, with a reasonable number of mines and grenades. 

    A number of other perks dealing with science or technology are also appropriate; these are simply the essentials. Good choices might be Rad Absorption, Entomology and Robotics Expert. You may also want the Monocyte Breeder implant, but it's regeneration is laughable compared to Rad Child.

    Gameplay

    Progressing: This character is a specialist, and though she's not a real "main quest" type gal, she's possessed of that (no doubt scientific) curiosity that killed the cat. Collect the laser pistol in Doc Mitchell's house, along with the other useful loot scattered around Goodsprings (particularly any magazines that might be hiding in mailboxes). Talk to the Goodsprings citizens for leads on who took that innocent looking chip of yours.

    When you leave, stop briefly in Primm, first to follow up on that lead (rescuing Beagle), and also to repair a certain Duraframe Eyebot that may be helpful in your studies. You don't need to do anything else in Primm. You can go from there straight to Novac, where you'll accept "Come Fly With Me," where you'll be able to study ghouls, both feral and non-feral. Following that, you'll know to go to Vegas, where you can confront Benny and get your chip back.

    In the early game, you'll pour most of your skill points into Energy Weapons and Survival, using extra points to top of other skills for skill checks that you feel are important. For me, these were mostly speech checks. Don't hesitate to help them along with (non-recreational) chems or equipment. You want to get Rad Child as soon as it's available, and Meltdown quickly after that. 

    At this point, you're no longer going to be short on caps, or stranded in the Mojave, and can go where you like. There's a lot of research to be done!

     

    Combat: Don't look for fights, but when you find them, dissect every situation before engaging, and approach it as an experiment. Think "What will happen if I...?" Though you probably won't be very stealthy, you can still prepare your own battlefield if you're careful. Draw enemies into chokepoints or areas with obstacles that force them to maneuver, laying mines in their path. Ideally, you can engage them at mid to long range with crippling blows from grenades or the grenade rifle, switching to a mid-short range pistol or rifle as they close in.

    If the going gets tough, fall back, covering your retreat with mines or companions. That shouldn't be a significant problem, though; once you get up to Deadly levels of radiation (800+ rads) with the Rad Child perk you'll be regenerating a whopping 8 health points per second, enough to outstrip many enemies' damage out-put! Throw in Solar Powered, for a modest +1 health regen, and you'll be enjoying the near immortality of the ghouls! Between Atomic! and your VATS perks, you'll also be able to put out a lot of shots in VATS, making it very reliable in high intensity situations.

    While your Energy Weapon and Explosives perks (sadly) don't work together, their combined effects are still incredibly potent. Between Meltdown explosion and grenades or mines, many enemies will be hard pressed to get into combat range, especially if you break line of sight to draw them in.

    Roleplay

    Karma: Irrelevant to science.

    Taking on the name of one of the pioneers of radiocative discoery, Curie is meant to be an expert in radiation as well as advanced technology (less so mechanical technology). Though not military by any means, her tech allows her to defend herself well, and she has a knack for trap setting. She's likely to spend a lot of time wherever ghouls or residual radioactivity can be found. Her interest in any given situation rarely goes beyond scientific curiosity, and this motivates her exploration in the Mojave. As a result, her interest in the war would develop slowly, and mostly as it relates to science. She'd be asking "What is it about this chip that someone would kill for?" And then, "What exactly is stored on it?" and perhaps "What end to this conflict benefits my work?". Many of the choices in the game could be justified different ways. For example, I chose to distribute power evenly at Helios One, reasoning that this would facilitate study in more locations, but it could go other ways.

    Tips:

    • The first time encountering any "specimen," observe for a bit it before engaging.
    • After "incapacitating" specimens occasionally dissect one with a your laser pistol .
    • Consider keeping a pencil and clipboard in your inventory.
    • Keep ED-E around as a helpful assistant. Other appropriate followers are Arcade Gannon, Raul Tejada, and Lily.

    You should eventually take on each DLC except Honest Hearts, the order depending on what you value. Dead Money and Old World Blues offer tons of RP opportunities and appealing technology, particularly the glasses in OWB. Or you might want to do Lonesome Road first to get earlier access to ED-E's upgrades, and possibly to avoid incurring major infamy. I saved it for later, as I treated it as a key part of the character's backstory. The final decision in that quest line can be a tough one, so come prepared.


    Quests: "Come Fly With Me", "Can You Find it in Your Heart?", "Eye for an Eye", "We Will All Go Together", "Wheel of Fortune", "Crazy, Crazy, Crazy", "ED-E My Love", "High Times", "That Lucky Old Sun", "There Stands the Grass", "For Auld Lang Syne", "Old World Blues," "Lonesome Road", "No Gods, No Masters"

  • August 13, 2015

    I love this build, it's very well fleshed out

  • Member
    August 13, 2015

    Thanks, man!

  • August 13, 2015

    I'm gonna try it out when I finally get round to plating FNV

  • Member
    August 13, 2015
    I have a feeling this character would get along with the Think Tank
  • Member
    August 13, 2015
    Very probably :D She might have even sided with them if that ending hadn't been cut from the game.
  • August 13, 2015
    It's still possible to side with dr Möbius isn't it?
  • Member
    August 13, 2015
    Yes, he's the "opposition". There was Lao going to be an ending where you side with the Think Tank and help them escape Big MT, but it didn't make into the final game.
  • Member
    August 13, 2015
    Like being able to play after the main ending, grante,d it would be hard to program with all the scenarios that could happen. Also, this build,,and remembering them, made me start a play through of an upcoming Shi build
  • Member
    August 13, 2015

    I look forward to that !