Source
r/Fallout•
VerySharpCup

[Fallout 1 and 2 Spoilers (Minor)] How is Fallout New Vegas compared to Fallout 1 and 2 in regards to high Charisma/Speech playthroughs?

Question

I tried using the subreddit search option for this, but there don't really seem to be many people on this subreddit that have only played Fallout 1 and 2 and haven't played any of the later games.

First, I am fine with going from hexagonal based movement to FPS.

In 1 and 2 I played through them in a bit of a pacifistic way. I would kill enemies in random encounters, but not really anyone in side or main quests. I had my Charisma and Intelligence stats both set to 10 and to me, the games (especially 2) were all about the dialogue. I loved the dialogue so much. The way with a high enough Charisma and Speech stat you could talk your way through nearly any situation and the dialogue options really helped you to shape your character in your mind while also being funny.

Some random examples from Fallout 1.

http://imgur.com/a/LkX8U

http://imgur.com/a/eMC3B

http://imgur.com/a/YV2u0

I have a sister who has played only the later games and not the early ones and she was surprised when I mentioned how you could work as a pornography star in Fallout 2 and how there are so many times you can prostitute yourself to get money/progress in quests, or how you can frequent brothels. Did they remove "controversial" things from the later games? That makes me sad if they did. Is Jet still a thing?

I've heard that Fallout New Vegas is the last game made by the original developers, so it's the only other game I am interested in. I also know it's not expensive, but £10 on Steam is enough money for me to want to just ask. Don't worry though, I won't hold you guys accountable if I do end up buying it and not liking it.

Thanks for any answers!

TL;DR: Can you do high Charisma/Speech Pacifist playthroughs in Fallout: New Vegas like in Fallout 1 and 2 without feeling like you've missed out? Is the dialogue as great in Fallout: New Vegas as it is in the earlier two games?

Posted Feb 28, 2017, 11:54 AM UTC

318
GraysteveNew World Hope•

Charisma isn't important at all really, but Speech is around just as powerful.

8
VerySharpCupOP•

I never looked up anything to do with the stats when I played through the games, but I presumed that having high Charisma helped you to convince people to do things for you? Is it different in NV? Or does it actually not do that at all in 1 and 2 anyway?

1
GraysteveNew World Hope•

There are several charisma checks in the first 2 games, but not any that I know of in New Vegas. Charisma in 2 changed how many companions you could have, but not in New Vegas. In New Vegas, all it does as far as I know is change companion nerve, which is useless unless you are playing a game where you make your companions get all the kills and you don't do anything, but even then it is barely useful. Speech is the big thing, it can do so much in 1, 2, and New Vegas.

6
SalsaRicePc•

Nah, in NV charisma only gave you 2 speech/barter skill points per charisma point and increased the damage/defense of conpanions. Speech checks are pretty much all handled by Speech skill, with a fair amount using science/barter/sneak/survival skill checks.

Fallout 3 (by bethesda, not original devs) handled speech checks differently. In new vegas, you automatically fail if you attempt a speech check with too low speech skill. In fallout 3, you can attempt any speech check with any speech skill.... you just have a % chance to fail. So if you are at a speech check that requires 80 speech skill, but you only have 15 speech skill.... you have a very low chance to pass. But if you had 90 speech skill... you'd have a really good chance to pass. Charisma worked with this by working as a multiplier with the speech skill. Even if you had a low speech skill (like in the previous example) having a high charisma skill could boost your % chance to pass the skill check by like 20%.

Personally, I loved fallout new vegas more than 3, but I feel the speech check system was better in 3. Although due to it being possible to pass with a low skill if you were lucky.... Lots of people would just save scum past all the skill checks.

1
SlowbroGGOPTunnel Snakes•

TBH, I can only think of 3 examples in the entirety of Fallout 2 that give you bonus options. Captain of the Guard for Vault City required 8, porn star required 9, and going on a date with a couple of NPCs had a requirement.

It was a dump stat in 2. You only put it up if you needed more companions. Speech was the real game changer and New Vegas is like Fallout 2 in that regard. Charisma checks are in there, but not something you'd want to go for unless you really want to make your companions better.

1
Psyker_girlMaccready4Life•

New Vegas had a fantastic amount of speech and skill checks, you can talk your way out of most everything. Point of clarification though: NV was not made by the original developers, it was developed by some of the original team at Obsidian who worked on Fallout 1 &2, and published by Bethesda.

6
VerySharpCupOP•

That's an answer I like to hear!

My sister told me that the original developers made Fallout 1; then a subset of those developers made Fallout 2; then a subset of those developers made Fallout New Vegas, so I figured that since I loved Fallout 2 so much, I might really like NV.

2
blubat26•

New Vegas is great, and has several references and callbacks to Fo2. You can also 100% the game without killing a single person, be it personally or having a companion do it for you

1
SlowbroGGOPTunnel Snakes•

To piggyback off of this without a new post, I'll say that you will love New Vegas. It's a true continuation of the events of the originals. They use things like healing powder, talk about New Reno, and you even hear about Mr. Bishop and things like that.

The skill checks are numerous and use almost every skill at some point in the game. The builds are varied and the replay value is high. The faction system is back and there are a good bit of little areas with their own stories. You can play through the game and kill every or play through a game and kill no one.

It's a must play for fans of older Fallouts and sadly it's something we likely won't ever see again. Fallout 4 gets so much hate because it almost blatantly ignores the progress that New Vegas made over Fallout 3 and it's a sure sign that Fallout 4 is the vision of Fallout moving forward.

1
serpentsevensixBig Iron•

Is the dialogue as great in Fallout: New Vegas as it is in the earlier two games?

Some of the developers that worked on Fallout 2 also worked on New Vegas. The dialogue is very well done, and the game is structured such that you can avoid a substantial amount of combat by simply talking your way out of trouble.

3
VerySharpCupOP•

I like this answer. Thanks!

2
rtfcandlearntherules•

Short answer to your TL;DR: Yes you can, it's great. But just like in Fallout 1/2 you don't need charisma that much, speech is the more important part. But there are also tons of other skillchecks in conversations, like barters, science, intelligence, etc.

If you want to go for a pacifist build you should definitly make sure that your intelligence is high, and of course the speech. It is much more realistic when it comes to skill checks, speech works most of the time but there are always options for other skills that fit the context. for example if you are discussing business decisions or rewards in quests your barter will be useful. if you are talking to a gun nut your guns skill will help, if you are talking to a scientist intelligence and science can help, and so on.

Charisma is checked very rarely but it's not worthless. It also makes your companions much stronger than with low karma.

PS: Fallout new vegas is essentially a true fallout 3, it was made by a lot of guys who worked on the older games. It also feels and plays exactly like 1 and 2, except of course for the different graphcis and engine. If you get it make sure to get the game of the year edition, the DLC is well worth it. It takes place in New Vegas and the NCR is one of the major players in the game, it continues the story of 1 and 2. And yes, Jet is still a thing but this time you can cure your addiction ;-)

3
VerySharpCupOP•

Thanks for the answer! This is a good amount of information.

I presumed that Charisma helped with convincing people to do things for you in Fallout 1 and 2. Does it not actually do that? Either way, I always maxed out my speech and had good fun with that, but thanks for your answer.

I specifically picked New Vegas in my question because it seemed to be done by the same developers. I hear the game is really buggy though. Has it at all been patched over the years since it was released? Or is it not that buggy?

1
PatrollinTheMojaveNCR and Proud!•

It is buggy, but mainly just on PC and even then, save every hour or so and you'll be fine.

Its a running joke that anything made with Bethesda's software is buggy.

2
rtfcandlearntherules•

the game is a lot less buggy than fallout 1 and 2, it really isn't an issue at this point.

Charisma was useless in 1 and 2, the only thing it effected (besides speech of course) is how many companions you could take. It is still "bad" inf fallout new vegas, but better than in 1 and 2. In 1 and 2 you always go 1 charisam if you min-max, but you still put speech to 100.

1
Ferase94•

Charisma is completely useless in NV, set it to one and put those points in Int, because it makes you get more level up points, wich you can put in speech, that's very useful, and Cha only gives an inicial bonus, so Int is much better in the long run

3
VerySharpCupOP•

Thanks for the answer!

3
Kloner22•

It definitely is. However, if you want to go true pacifist, then you are gonna want to invest in sneak as well. I'm also pretty sure there might be some areas you can get yourself into that may require combat. The game is still great though. And if you like the modern gameplay, I'd encourage you to try out 3 and 4 with the understanding that they are different experiences, but good ones. If you're okay with playing fallout games where your main enjoyment comes from exploration and story telling through good world building and less from role play, then 3 and 4 are a lot of fun.

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