Fallout Character Building » Discussions


Character Building Event: Secret Origins

Tags: #Fallout Character Building Event 
  • Member
    April 29, 2017

     

    Greetings vault dwellers and welcome to the second Fallout Character Building Event, here on the Tamriel Vault. Just like last time, anyone who posts a character build for this event will receive a prize, more about it below. What I'm about to say applies for Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4. Participants can create event builds for any of the three games. Still, to keep everything simple, I'm going to explain things only from the perspective of Fallout 4. Back when Fallout 4 came out many of us felt very restricted by the game's roleplaying possibilities since the main characters' backstories were already set in stone by Bethesda. Secret Origins sets out to rectify this "mistake" by challenging players to think outside the box and give new context, while still sticking to, the events that happened to Nate and Nora before exiting Vault 111. Who's to say that Nora isn't actually a Russian super-spy sleeper agent undercover as a mere graduate of Law School? This event is about creating character builds with simple or complex backstories that look at the past from a whole new perspective and do one of the following:

    - Exploit the huge (literal) plot holes and time lapses present in the 200+ years gap between the end of The Great War and the start of Fallout 4's gameplay;

    - Further detail the past of Nate or Nora. We only know that Nate served in the army and Nora is a lawyer with no experience;

    - Both of the above

    I know it might be a bit hard to process so here are a few ideas for backstories that are elligible for Secret Origins: What if the vault dweller was replaced by a synth sometime during those 200+ years of cryo sleep? What if constant small doses of radiation creeped into Vault 111 during the vault dweller's slumber and mutated him / her? This is such a common thing for superhero or supervillain origin stories. What if the Vault Dweller was placed into witness protection before The Great War and was offered new identities for the entire family? All these ideas work because they do not deny the pre-set backstory, but give a whole new meaning to it. For short, create a character build with a backstory that respects all the past events of Fallout but bends them to your will. If you're still not sure you understand what Secret Origins is about, take a look at the backstories from the below character builds. The Neuromancer has a complex backstory that expains how Nora is actually an undercover Russian spy with psionic powers. The Atom Witch on the other hand has a much simpler backstory detailing how exposure to radiation during cryo sleep turned her into a mutant taken out of a horror movie. Click the comic book covers below and find out more.

      

    And yes, these two builds would suffice the event's requirements. Both of them contain a backstory that puts everything in a new light but still stick to all the past events of Fallout 4.

     

    Tips

    - I know that coming up with an exciting backstory may prove to be a tough challenge. That's why, if you have difficulties, send me a friend request and I will help you out to the best of my abilities. Also, if you want help or feedback from the vault's top writers, I encourage you to post the event build as a work in progress discussion in The Workshop.

    - If you're new to Fallout character building or the idea of building in general I would advise having a look over this guide. It's not something set in stone though. You can organize your build however you want as long as other people can understand it. It's just to give a helping hand if you're experiencing difficulties. Of course please feel free to message me or Motty about anything you have trouble with. We'll do our best to help!

    - Following is a backstory that ticks all the event's requirements. It's the actual full backstory to my Samurai build for the event. :D

    Long ago in a distant land, we, PCR, the People's Republic of China, unleashed an unspeakable evil. But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a power suit stepped forth to oppose us. Before the final nuke had struck, she tore open a portal in time, and flung herself into the future where all evil is law. Now the fool seeks to correct the mistakes of the past and undo the present that is the post-apocalypse.

    -Mad Scribbles of a Chinese Ghoul

    Born into the Unites States of America, but of Japanese descent from an ancient line of samurai warriors, Jackie was raised in the ways of Bushido and the Katana. Upon reaching adulthood, having an instilled sense of righteousness, duty and loyalty, she went to the Suffolk County School of Law and joined the JAG Corps (Judge Advocate General) a.k.a. military law. Military law, as opposed to civilian law, was a branch of the United States Armed Forces that dealt with prosecuting the actions of war criminals. By exercising the moral principles learned in childhood and attending regular physical training, Jackie felt right at home.

    When the Americans finally reclaimed Alaska from the Chinese invaders, Jackie was there, both in the courtroom as well as on the battlefield. She wasn’t present just as a practicing military lawyer, but as a soldier too. Before the final push towards victory was made, an all hands on deck order was issued. This meant that every man or woman associated to any military branch (including law) was to answer the call to arms. Blood poured like a heavy rain when Jackie charged into enemy fire fully clad in a power armor suit wielding what looked like an over sized Katana. Troops on either side of the barricade didn’t have much love for her though. The Chinese, it was obvious why, the Americans on the other hand kept associating her with the enemy due to her race and facial features. That’s how Jackie earned the name Full Metal Bitch during her time serving. Once Alaska was back in friendly territory, the rest became history. Jackie went back home, met Nate, married him, had a baby, finished law school, took shelter when the nukes dropped and woke up to the apocalypse.

     

    Rules and Organizing

    - The event build must contain a backstory that does not deny the past events of Fallout, but puts things into a new perspective. It doesn't have to be something mindblowing. You can post an event build for Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas or Fallout 4;

    - Completed character builds must be posted between the 29-th of April and the 1-st of June. You cannot post a build and continue to work on it in the Fallout Character Building Group. However, you can post a work in progress version of the build in The Workshop group any time you want. Motty and I will make sure we comment with constructive feedback.

    - Completed character builds must be posted with the title "Event Build: (FO3 / FNV / FO4)"

    - Posted event builds must have the tag "Event:Secret Origins" in addition to the game and playstyle ones. You can find more information on the latter two in The Fallout Character Build Archives.

    - The author of every completed and posted event build will receive a .png image file containing a custom made comic book story about the built character (with pictures in rectangles, speech bubbles and whatever effects I can come up with). It'll be just like the content of a comic book but using in-game footage. If the story is about a Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas or Modded Fallout 4 character, I will require that you give me screenshots detailing the story so that I might photoshop everything into the comic book. Here's an example:

    - The author of every completed and posted event build will also receive a badge on their account related to the event.

    - The posted character build won't require having a level limit. However I strongly advise making sure that the build can do most of what it can from the gameplay point of view in the first 20 - 25 levels.

     

    List of Participants

    - Noodles: The Samurai (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - Mottyskills: The Pack Alpha (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - Crooks: The Space Monkey (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - Amornar: The Techmarine (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - John LeBlanc: crySYNTHamum (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - Maddmannatee: The Insurgent (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - Chris: The Orbitalus Marinus (Fallout 4)

    - Chris: The Psionic Commando (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - Daryl Sawatzky: They Call Him, Raven (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - Ryokoichi: The Junkie Paladin (Fallout 4)

    - Paul: The Comic Book Guy (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - XxFlamezSwordxX: Faceless One (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - Chris: The Mecha President (Fallout 4)

    - Elyrius: The Dude (Completed) (Fallout 4)

    - D3LTAFOX: The Mercenary (Completed) (Fallout 4)

  • Member
    April 29, 2017

    ChooChoo - All aboard! :D

    I'm excited for this one as backstory is the weakest part of my building repetoire. It will force me to sit down and be creative. 

    Count me in with "The Pack Alpha". 

  • Member
    April 29, 2017

    Sounds Great! mine is called the Space Monkey (promise to post mine this time also!)

  • Member
    April 29, 2017

    Updated the discussion guys! :D

  • Member
    April 29, 2017
    Me me me! The Techmarine :D
  • April 29, 2017

    Lissette and I are teaming up for a build.  We may change the name, not sure yet, but based on my crySYNTHamum WIP (and my synth replacement predates the idea..lol)

  • Member
    April 29, 2017

    That's a funny name John! :)) Discussion's been updated.

  • Member
    April 29, 2017

    I'll post a build that I originaly wanted to post for the Comic Book event. It's based on Two-Face, Batmans villain and my favorite DC character. It will require the player to interact with the build to reach it's fullest potential.

     

    "The Girl with Two Faces"

     

    I think it's just perfect for Nora, with her being a lawyer. It will also be my second time playing Fallout as a female. So, sign me on!

  • Member
    April 29, 2017

    D3LTAFOX said:

    I'll post a build that I originaly wanted to post for the Comic Book event. It's based on Two-Face, Batmans villain and my favorite DC character. It will require the player to interact with the build to reach it's fullest potential.

     

    "The Girl with Two Faces"

     

    I think it's just perfect for Nora, with her being a lawyer. It will also be my second time playing Fallout as a female. So, sign me on!

    That sounds awesome D3lta! Welcome to the fold! :D

  • Member
    April 29, 2017

    Damnit Noodles, I was just about to take a week break from Character Building! Regardless, I gladly accept this challenge. 

    Put Mr Mannattee down for: "The Canadian Insurgent"