Intro-

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening ladies and gents of the Vault. When I first went back to revise my Warlord build with the release of Nuka-World I came up with supplementary builds that complimented the Warlord’s playstyle. In my head I developed an entourage, bodyguard, elite strike force group that was represented by many of the followers the game offers. One of my favorite concepts was a chaotic, unstable, psychopathic little redhead that would be an enforcer of sorts for the Warlord. She would be brutal and unforgiving, the perfect assassin to eliminate threats to the Warlord’s Commonwealth empire. From this follower concept I began fleshing out an entire playthrough build around a character I came to affectionately call Red. Short for, the Red Butcher. This violent little psychopath is a unique and very fun build and should offer a fresh playthrough for anyone searching for a darker character concept. I invite you all to read through this build and if this is as far as you get thank you for the view and hope you enjoy, the Red Butcher!

 

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats-

 

 

Strength 1: While you will be using your trusty knife as your secondary weapon, you rely upon stealth for damage, not sheer strength benefits. That said, starting with just the base single point combined with the bobblehead you can eventually pick up when you visit Mass Fusion you will be able to get your stack of Big Leagues to buff your damage that way.

 

Perception 9: Your first of your three primary stats. Perception gives you your sniper skills with penetrator and concentrated fire. As always, getting the bobblehead for perception (luckily early on) gives you access to very high accuracy and vital perks.

Endurance 1: You are a stealth based character and if you are getting hit you are in trouble anyway so no points here either. Feel free to get the bobblehead though, doesn’t hurt to have that extra point for the stray bullet or two.

Charisma 1: You are a loner and don’t do well with others. As such you start with no points here either. However, you could use the SPECIAL book in Sanctuary to stick a point in here to open up Lone Wanderer when you get around to getting the charisma bobblehead. This is purely optional but a great supplement to the base level 50 build.

 

Intelligence 1: No points here, Idiot Savant in the luck tree will help you level very quickly. The bobblehead can help with getting medic as an optional perk if you feel you are taking too much damage, but more than that you could combine it with the SPECIAL book to get Gun Nut and be able to modify your own weaponry. Also purely optional.

 

Agility 8: Finally we get to our second primary skill. Agility gives you a ton of important perks and a big pool of AP to draw from in your VATS attacks. More important than VATS though is your sneak skills that will turn your sniper and knife attacks from powerful, to downright brutal. Getting your bobblehead gives you final access to Blitz, very important with staying alive in combat.

 

Luck 7: Last we have our third primary stat with luck. Luck is all about criticals for us and boy will you get a lot of them. Super high generation of criticals and the ability to store them makes you very deadly. Don’t forget your bobblehead!

 

Perks-

See the above picture for exact perk points for a level 50 build.

 

Combat Skills (Melee): Big Leagues, Sneak, Ninja, Blitz, Bloody Mess

Your backup weapon is your trusty dagger. With your stealth points combined with other buffs from Big Leagues and Bloody Mess you will absolutely destroy enemies from stealth and with high stealth skill you can sneak up on just about anything. Just be careful not to get caught! You can’t take much for hits. If you do get caught in combat remember your enormous pool of AP you can draw from in VATS. With Blitz and this pool you can stack a LOT of melee attacks that can chip away tons of damage, especially with a chem or two.

Combat Skills (Ranged): Rifleman, Sniper, Penetrator, Concentrated Fire, Sneak, Mister Sandman, Ninja, Bloody Mess

Your primary weapon is and always will be your sniper rifle. This is your life and death and with your set of skills you can one shot virtually anything in the Commonwealth. Super mutant behemoth? Dead. Deathclaw? Dead. Keep to the shadows and use your stealth and you will be an absolute monster with your silenced rifle. If you want a little extra protection, a silenced pistol can actually do quite a bit and if you decide to take the build beyond level 50 you can pick up Gunslinger for another mid to close range weapon variety with something like the Deliverer pistol.

 

Utility Skills: Action Girl, Critical Banker, Idiot Savant, Better Criticals, Grim Reaper’s Sprint

Most of your utility skills run off of your desire to build criticals. With the ability to build criticals ridiculously quickly together with the ability to store up to four of them you can virtually guarantee that you can use a critical at anytime you need it. Very useful too if you get stuck in a pinch and need a quick headshot or two at short range that you couldn’t really do with your long range scoped rifles. Action Girl gets your AP to refill very fast refueling your VATS keeping you trucking and giving you a lot of AP for sprinting in and out of combat for the mobility to stay alive. Lastly is Idiot Savant which might just be your most important perk. Always invest in each rank as soon as possible! This is what fuels your leveling and maxed out you will level faster than 10+ intelligence characters. 

 

Supplementary Skills:

One last comment on your perk investments is just a few suggestions for optional perks you could take along the way if you don’t like an aspect of the build I have laid out or want some ideas for moving beyond the level of of the build. Gun Nut or Armorer can allow you to modify your own items. Four Leaf Clover can get you more criticals if you so desire. As mentioned before, Lone Wanderer can be a wonderful option to get more utility if you don’t take any followers. Gunslinger as said can open up silenced pistols as a powerful option. And Locksmith could literally open up a lot of wealth and items you were not getting previously. Medic is one last perk that could help you out if you feel you are struggling to stay alive.

Gameplay & Roleplay-

The Red Butcher is a stealthy, deadly assassin who plays similar to your classic sniper archetypes in many ways. However, rather than going for the professional, calm, cool, collected contract killer most roleplays take, you are a psychotic monster. She is not called the Red Butcher for nothing. With this character you get to explore those deep, dark pockets of the human psyche and find your character’s inner psychopath.

Gameplay-

For gameplay you are going to want to maintain a run and gun style of combat. Sneak up on your target area, scan your enemies and find a good vantage point to take your opening shots. Target down the strongest enemies with your guaranteed stealth shots. If you are discovered or your position becomes compromised then slink back into the shadows and take up a new position. Never be afraid to abandon your attack and circle back for a new round once you are in the clear and healed up if necessary. While your rifle is your best friend, your blade is your lover. She is your sultry deadly companion whom you will get to know intimately. When things need to get up close and personal, where you are sneaking through interior spaces that lack the room to use your scoped rifles (although you could and should keep a secondary mid range semi-automatic silenced rifle on you) pull out your mistress and go to town. You can stack a lot of melee hits in VATS with your perks especially with Blitz. Your rifle can also stack a lot of close range VATS attacks as well; and with penetrator you can really do some last second damage before being swarmed (damn you mirelurks!).

 

Roleplay-

As I stated above, when playing the Red Butcher, embrace your inner dark side. Fallout 4 doesn’t allow a lot of “evil” moments, but your goal isn’t to go around burning down the world for no reason. Even psychotic serial killers have a method to their own madness. You don’t want to just stroll into Diamond City and start shooting up the place. However there are lots of side quests that you can do or not do to enhance your roleplay. I will detail a few below but first I will touch on the main quests of the game. As always, SPOILERS:

Main Quest:

Now this is normally the part where I impart my personal thoughts and feelings towards which of the four main factions you should finish the main quest with, but while you could argue one way or another, at the end of the day, I think the best darker option is none. That’s right. I suggest the Red Butcher, never completes the main quest. At this rate I imagine most players have finished the game with at least one if not all of the factions. So why do you need to complete the same thing you have already done before by locking down the Commonwealth for the Institute to use in their little experiments, or securing domination for the Brotherhood, etc.? Instead I suggest playing around with all the factions, doing some quests for caps and work and stopping after infiltrating the Institute. If you stick with the rails the game gives you with you seeking out your son why do you have to go further once you find him? Do some jobs for him if you want but really a world in which all the factions exist in perpetual cold war, the darker and more fun and violent it will be. Perfect for the Butcher to play around in!

DLCs:

In regard to the two main DLCs we have a more minor one and a very important one. As far as Far Harbor is concerned, do what you want. Choose none, don’t play it, backstab everyone and literally leave the island empty with everyone dead. This is a good place to embrace your character’s psychotic mentality. In that same vein, Nuka-World -is- your playground. Become the Overboss, wrangle control of the park for you and your gangs and then turn your sights on the juicy Commonwealth. One of the nice things about the raider settlement system is not needing high charisma to get the local leader perk. You can very easily set up a network of Raider outposts to enslave your Commonwealth vassals. This is your primary goal for your playthrough. Have fun in the Commonwealth leveling and playing around until you get the quest to start Nuka-World and then snag your train to your destiny. One last note for Nuka-World is which of the two raider gangs to favor. The perks for all three are actually quite good and useful for you, with the Pack’s likely the best overall for any player. However, I suggest the Disciples and Operators as they seem to fit the aesthetic and roleplay of the Butcher best in my opinion but feel free to choose otherwise.

 

Side quests/Tips:

Beyond the primary questlines and DLCs, there are actually a lot of side quests and miscellaneous activities you can engage in that flavor the Red Butcher’s murderous tendencies. First, while caps are a wonderful thing you are not driven by greed. Rather passion is what guides your actions and playing for emotional rather than materialistic reasons. For example, take a quest like the Kid in the Fridge. Here we have two options really, sell the kid to raider or bring him back to his family and defend/abandon them. The Red Butcher is far from giving and she is extremely selfish and not prone to risking her life for others. As such, sell the kid, or just leave the family to their fate. Their lives are not your concern. With the Cabot House questline you can side with the Cabots or Lorenzo who promises you immortality. Immortality you say? That sounds better than some caps (also the serum is great for melee). Covenant wants to kill people in their quest to kill synths? Great, have fun, doesn’t bother the Red Butcher. Whitechapel Charlie wants to hire you to kill some guys? Sounds fun! Pickman’s Gallery gives you access to one of your primary knives and lets you meet a kindred spirit in Pickman. Seems like a nice, talented guy, wonder if he is single? Or kill him, doesn’t matter, his knife is probably a better lover than him anyway. What is that Wolfgang? Trudy won’t give you the caps you are owed and you are willing to pay me to solve your situation? Stab. Easy. Done.

Beyond quests, choose actions that are self-serving and without an ounce of concern for the welfare of anyone but yourself. Within minutes of exiting Vault 111 you get the opportunity for several chances to embrace this mentality. Think of yourself as a scavenger. Without perks for building stuff you are completely reliant upon taking things from others, stripping them for parts, and cannibalizing anything and everything that is of use to you. Spend your caps without worry, money means nothing to you and comes and goes easily. To this end, set yourself up to survive. Those Abernathy’s seem to have some nice stuff. Just take what you want, if they object, kill them. Go to Concord, get the perception bobblehead, then walk away from Preston and company forever. Just take what you want (not the power armor, that isn’t sneaky!), walk out the door and hang a left or right and exit the area leaving the survivors of Quincy to the raiders. In the Wasteland it is survival of the fittest and you are the meanest, deadliest son of a bitch in the Commonwealth. Embrace your inner Pickman (or your favorite villain/bad guy from another medium) and stroll south toward downtown Boston leaving a trail of death and destruction in your wake.

 

Companions-

Companions will get a brief nod as I do think it is important to touch on in any build. Now as I mentioned above, one optional thing you could use your extra SPECIAL point with the SPECIAL book to work towards is picking up the Lone Wanderer perk. This is a fantastic perk for the Red Butcher, helping with damage, carry weight, damage taken, even action points. However, you can have some fun over the course of your playthrough with various companions. McCready loves stealing and mercenary work. Hancock and Cait love a good fight and a good chem (don’t do Cait’s quest unless you really can’t live without her perk). Gage is great for Nuka-World and fits his role as second to your Overboss role. Strong was my favorite though by far as he is a brute and an enforcer-like bodyguard for the Butcher to use as a literal wall of meat between her and enemy bullets. He also struck me as a nice roleplay for trying to intimidate others as who would want to mess with anyone backed up by a seven to eight foot tall super mutant with a big two handed hammer.

However, be warned, Strong doesn’t stealth -at all- and could play havoc with your gameplay if you are not careful (conversely Dogmeat has the highest stealth of any companion and skill works with Lone Wanderer). He can make a great distraction though too. Run with these companions as long as you want and then dump them if you don’t like their morals, or if you get their companion perk and want to move onto someone else. Remember you are selfish and care nothing for others and use your walking meat shields accordingly. These people are weapons and tools for your own gain and should be treated no different from your own rifle or blade.

 

 

Weapons & Armor-

Perhaps the only two things that the Red Butcher cares anything about besides herself is her sniper rifle and her combat blade. Your rifle should always be your primary focus and you should always be on the lookout for upgrades. A scoped pipe rifle will be your first pickup but watch for combat rifles and hunting rifles to start dropping. The Overseer’s Guardian is a nice early pick up and you can cannibalize found combat rifles overtime for upgrades and can get you well into middle to late tier gameplay. Any rifle with the legendary effects for two shots like the Overseer’s Guardian or Old Reliable from Far Harbor modded with found parts can be great. The Instigating legendary effect is also amazing as double damage combined with all your stealth modifiers is insane damage for that first shot and really should one shot virtually anything. Farm some legendary enemies and cross your fingers for a decent rifle to have it. Old Faithful can be a nice energy rifle with this effect but I felt ballistic weapons fit the character best. A handmade rifle from Nuka-World is also a great option but can be difficult to get with the right parts. This might be a better option if you have decided to invest some extra perk points into getting Gun Nut as this is likely a late game pick up and you might have hit level 50 by then.

For melee there are really only two knives you should be interested in. The first you should hunt down early on and this is Pickman’s Blade with the Wounding legendary effect. This adds a bleed to your attacks and a great, lightweight melee weapon to back up your rifle. Later in the game when you get to Nuka-World you will want to purchase the Throatslicer which has the same effect only with even higher damage. Plus the look of the blade is absolutely brutal and fits the character wonderfully.

 

As far as armor goes, you will want to pick up anything useful that is reasonably lightweight and good protection. Snagging some ultra-light modifications for your gear (or investing into the Armorer perk beyond your base perks to build them especially for late game gear like Nuka-World raider gear) helps with both AP regeneration and your low carry weight. Without settlements you will be very selective with what you pick up and take with you as only the lightest and most valuable items will find their way into your inventory. I will leave specific items off the list but anything with a raider aesthetic is great and gives the Butcher a menacing and deadly look. Feel free to get creative and post pictures of your outfits below!

 

 

Conclusion-

I think that about does it! I hope you enjoyed reading this build and give it a shot if you want something different and unique for a playthrough. I know I had a ton of fun designing, building, and testing this build as stealth was something I just had not explored before. Also playing from the female perspective was unique and different for me as I typically prefer to play male characters as I naturally identify with them. That said, there is nothing stopping you from running this exact build with virtually no difference as a male. Thanks again for reading and have fun raiding the Commonwealth!

 

Ohh and just to clarify, this build is NOT for the event. This is just a little side project I have finally gotten around to typing up and posting. Enjoy. :)

Made a few tweaks, enjoy everyone!

Some pictures are edited a bit odd, but I love it!!!! I love the look AND the theme of the character. Well done Amornar!

How so Noodles?

They overlap, but no, don't change it, I like it a lot too. 

Oo two are edited together to be one picture because they are VATS screenshots for the most part and te overlaps are covering HUD stuff you can't remove lol. Also allows a few more pictures without going crazy with a ton of individual ones. I wish I had good photo editing skills...

to quote radier radio "you're a bunch of psychos - and I love ya for it!"