Legacy Playthrough of the Fallout series and roleplaying?

[Alixen]

Hm, this is sort of a ramble with questions mixed in.

In the Elder Scrolls games i've taken to playing a single character through the series, via magical means or vampirism. I want to play through all the Fallout games, and i want some other connection than the world between the characters, and obviously those means I use in TES are not avalable. Though the idea of playing a vampiric Vault Dweller would be amusing.

Having a connection keeps things interesting, somewhat fresh, and allows thing to feel like an interconnected roleplay like on the table top.

The obvious and easiest way is to do it in a family tree format, as FO1 and FO2 already somewhat offer that. That gets hairy with Tactics, FO3 and NV, but is still managable. Or perhaps I could simply always join the Brotherhood of Steel, and have that be the connection? Anyone have any thoughts?

My second issue is getting the most out of Fallout and Fallout 2. How do you do it? With the time limits, no matter how generous, I tend to end up rushing (if only because the character would fidn things urgent). I also try and get things done while i'm in location, rather than coming back, and half the time that simply doesn't work. I have problems actually roleplaying in the older games.

How do you as a player pace your gaming? And most of all, fellow roleplayers, how do you approach roleplay in FO and FO2? Its easy enough to (even unwittingly) break things, so that you are a good talker, in great armor, with a nice weapon, and thus you have absolutely no good roleplaying reason to do things like sleep with the slaver for a discount on Vic, or do any of the more interesting things the games allow.

 

[zegh8578]

I actually annoy myself at the mechanical gaming style I often employ when re-playing these games, and must remind myself to try to have some fun, pretend some, immerse, etc.

I too tend to try to "finish" locations as I get there, but like I said, it tends to feel very mechanical, like chores you do.

I am actually doing a new playthrough on FO3 just now, playing as a female character. That has provided almost a little revival in my role-playing interest in these games, because it is something new. I tend to go through much of the same motions, but at least the game "feels" a bit different.

I will often make concious choises to stop rushing, and immerse myself. For example, make a character in FO2 stand in a bar, and drink beer.
But immersion, I find to be easyer with games you haven't played to death, because you will react more genuinely to events that happen to you, since you aren't expecting them.

Just wanna mention, FOT brings a whole different kind of immersion. For example, it is wise for a FO2 character to try to prioritize many skills, and balance them, a bit of science, a bit of repair, a bit of lockpick, etc etc.
While in FOT this is mostly moot. You have companions available who can lockpick, the rest is pretty much useless, and most skill points belong in the weapons department. Imho anyway. This results in very different character types, from FO1/2 to FOT.
FO3 doesn't count, because your statistics tend to mean fuckall as for game progress. Science, lockpick, have hard limits you must meet, for example "you need 25 lockpick skill to open this door", apart from that, having a low intelligence or high intelligence does rather little to your character.

 

[Walpknut]

If you are playing FO3 and New Vegas on PC just download a mod that adds Vault 13 apparel to FO3 and buy the Courier's Stash in New Vegas (wich includes the Vault 13 armored Jumpsuit) And just pretend it's a family safekeep.

 

[Akratus]

FO3 doesn't count, because your statistics tend to mean fuckall as for game progress. Science, lockpick, have hard limits you must meet, for example "you need 25 lockpick skill to open this door", apart from that, having a low intelligence or high intelligence does rather little to your character.

Doesn't Fallout 1 and 2 have this also? And New Vegas?
Because the alternative to me seems to be a percentage chance and that defeats the whole purpose with the availability of saving and reloading.

 

[zegh8578]

FO3 doesn't count, because your statistics tend to mean fuckall as for game progress. Science, lockpick, have hard limits you must meet, for example "you need 25 lockpick skill to open this door", apart from that, having a low intelligence or high intelligence does rather little to your character.

Doesn't Fallout 1 and 2 have this also? And New Vegas?
Because the alternative to me seems to be a percentage chance and that defeats the whole purpose with the availability of saving and reloading.

I'm not sure what you mean now. With FO3 you never need to save before working on a lock. In 1 and 2 you can get the pesky jammed lock if your skill is too low, and you meddle too much with it. But you are never informed directly how much a skill a door requires.

Either way, my point was that science and lock pick are exceptions - where you would want to keep increasing these skills. The remaining skills, like Medicine, I find to be useless. You need 40 to get that pointless hint about the Arefu vampires, and that's it. With thousands of stimpacks and endless food available, it is redundant.

I'm still not sure I'm understanding what you mean tho

 

[Alixen]

Thanks guys, I started and finished FO1 from a more 'roleplaying' mindset. It was fun, but slightly iffy since the original game isn't a very large game overflowing with roleplaying options. Still, it worked.

I'm actually having a problem with my FO2 character from a roleplay POV, and i'd appreciate it if i could get some input to my ideas, for improvements and the like. After all, the Chosen One is my first real chance to properly roleplay, as FO2 has the most options, playing a female offers hurdles to cannon, and so forth.

First, a little copy paste from my stat thread. 'The concept of the character I had was to have a somewhat naive character, who ends up on Jet, and has to do thing like 'bargain' with the Slaver to free Vic, and so on rather than always going the minmaxing option.' Jet offers a way to bleed off excess caps, gives motive to get invovled in seedier stuff, and gives the character a vice.

The only real 'cannon' problem I can think of, aside from perhaps male refrences, is the Bishop child. But, if I have the character get pregnant with the Bishop child, and the child somehow ending up back/staying with his Reno family thats solved easily enough. Except, how would this come to pass from a roleplaying perspective? Ideas? I plan to have my NV character be the second daughter of the Bishop child, who ran away/grew up in Arroyo.

Since the Chosen One has reasonable odds of still being alive in New Vegas, I also plan to have her make a cameo to perhaps rescue her grand-daughter in Vegas. I forget if you can become a NCR Ranger in FO2? If so, it would be fun to have her dressed in the veteran ranger getup, since it is unrealistic for a younger Courier to become one by definition.

 

[Akratus]

FO3 doesn't count, because your statistics tend to mean fuckall as for game progress. Science, lockpick, have hard limits you must meet, for example "you need 25 lockpick skill to open this door", apart from that, having a low intelligence or high intelligence does rather little to your character.

Doesn't Fallout 1 and 2 have this also? And New Vegas?
Because the alternative to me seems to be a percentage chance and that defeats the whole purpose with the availability of saving and reloading.

I'm not sure what you mean now. With FO3 you never need to save before working on a lock. In 1 and 2 you can get the pesky jammed lock if your skill is too low, and you meddle too much with it. But you are never informed directly how much a skill a door requires.

Either way, my point was that science and lock pick are exceptions - where you would want to keep increasing these skills. The remaining skills, like Medicine, I find to be useless. You need 40 to get that pointless hint about the Arefu vampires, and that's it. With thousands of stimpacks and endless food available, it is redundant.

I'm still not sure I'm understanding what you mean tho

I think I misunderstood your point on hard limits, I thought you meant they were bad.