#fallout ask game

[bonefydskeleton]

6, 7 and 14 for any of your fallout OCS!!

Oh my gosh hi moot!! It was so nice to come back home and get to think of answers to these questions, thank you so much for stopping by my inbox <3 Since there are only 3 questions I decided to answer them for Tiny, Dr. B’s, and Admiral Spittz.

6. Were they born pre-war or post-war?

Tiny: Post-war Virginia

Dr. Bartholomew Beau Brumsfeld: Post-war Texas

Admiral Spittz: Pre-war Russia

7. Do they wish they lived before the war / could go back to life before the war?

Tiny: I think she would LOVE to see life before the war. She’s an avid collector of pre-war clothing and has a stash of outfits she tries to keep as pristine as possible. Whenever she enters an abandoned building she treats it like a museum of people’s lives long past. Sure she’s there to scavenge for supplies to trade and sell but she takes her time combing through homes and old stores and shacks in the middle of the woods as if it might give her a better understanding of people who came before. There is a song in her playlist I consider to be a theme song of sorts, Story & Pictures by Wovenhand, that has a line which goes “As a boy I too drew near to the love of dust.” I just think that beautifully captures the way she sees the world around her razed to the ground and sees something precious and fragile in what remains. That if you disturb the ruins too much you might lose whoever was there before in their entirety. No photos, no personal belongings, just another empty space that was once filled. She’d love to experience life before the rising threat of nuclear war and see what it would be like to fit into some quaint suburban neighborhood. I can picture her daydreaming that the neighborhood is full of all her favorite people she’s met in her travels and they get to share in this peace too. Maybe have a barbecue with all her best friends and see what life would be like had it not hardened the hearts of so many.

Dr. Bartholomew Beau Brumsfeld: Not in the slightest. His family has plenty of history before the war and he is happy to put it all behind him and live life anew. My man LOVES being in the post-apocalypse where radiation has done the strangest things to creatures. I wouldn’t say he really studied veterinary medicine in any true capacity since universities don’t properly exist post-war, but his field studies have made him appreciate the resilience of life and the sheer awe-inspiring power of nature. Without the bombs dropping, he never would have discovered his love for the humble honeybeast or become a member of UCIT. His fascination with post-war life also extends to humanity! He’s currently on a quest to become irradiated himself because he’s convinced he isolated the gene that guarantees ghoulification. I say convinced because his theory has only worked once by happenstance after he saved his friend’s life with a Nuka Cola Quantum. For all I know this guy could blissfully walk into a rad twister and never be heard from again.

Admiral Spittz: He is the most nuanced case for this question because while I’m sure there are moments in life he is just Done With Being Here and wishes he could go back, he also recognizes that is a pipe dream and would much rather focus on the present problems he faces. He has a lot of other ghouls relying on him and a naval rivalry to maintain with Admiral Savrion. And life isn’t all bad! He owns a working plane and an aircraft carrier he wants to get seaworthy again. But every now and again time weighs heavily on him when he realizes just how old he’s become and how many people have entered his life and left again. It helps to eradicate the yearning by putting his thoughts and memories down on paper in journals.

14. What is their fondest memory?

Dr. Bartholomew Beau Brumsfeld: This one is so cute and wholesome for him- his fondest memory would be the day he discovered he could accelerate the growth process of a normal queen bee into a new Honeybeast! With a little help from some second hand brotherhood technology he got from a defector and a little tweaking, he was able to nurture his first companion, Annabelle! He was so excited to see her successful transformation in just 4 days that he celebrated by making her a little straw sunhat to wear so she wouldn’t get lost in the herd of other Honeybeasts his family was raising. When he got kicked out of his home for frivolous spending on his research and making so many bees they broke containment, she traveled with him to become his sidekick as an honorary member of UCIT. Sadly she passed away after attempting to sting a man who was holding hostages :( but he took a queen that she was carrying and made a new Honeybeast that is like Anabelle’s daughter! Her name is Bedelia and he loves her dearly. He gave her a little aviation cap so she wears a silly hat too.

Admiral Spittz: His fondest memory is one that is veeeery very old, pre-war in fact, back when he lived in a small Russian village as a young boy. His mother passed away from illness after his younger sister was born and their father was a nasty drunkard. So Spittz kind of took care of his sister in his mother’s place. He has a lot of personal memories of the two of them gathering produce from the market square together, teaching her to haggle a little, and then the two of them would walk to the local cemetery and eat their treats under the statue of a hooded angel. Estaire was the light of his life back then, and his heart hardened the day he lost her. He buried her in the cemetery next to the angel they visited and if he could find a way to get back to Russia now I think he would go and see if their small town survived the war and sit with her again at the statue.

[danses-with-dogmeat]

how about 6, 23 and 30? :0 not sure if any of these need to be game specific, but if so then NV please ^v^

Sounds good! Thanks for the ask! 😁

And it's only a little specific lol, but I ended up kinda answering for all of them 😅

6. If you could have one creature as a companion, what would it be? 

Ohhhhh, this is so difficult 😩 the obvious answer is deathclaw, I think, and that would be a spectacular companion, don't get me wrong, but... I also really like the pseudo-dog types. I'd love to have a mutant hound, or in NV's case, a night stalker would be very cool... but also brahmin and bighorners would be interesting too 🤔 ahh, I'm too indecisive for this, they're all too good!

Really, they just need to expand to more than humanoids and Dogmeat/Rex... and robots... Ok, so they have a decent variety, but I want more aminals, dangit.

23. Which SPECIAL stat do you tend to make the highest? 

It's generally either charisma (usually in FO4's case) or intelligence, but I'd like to do a lucky character sometime in the future, since that seems very fun to explore.

30. 3 things you’d like to see in the next fallout game?

This is a great question, and already partially answered above! But I'm gonna go over it again.

First, I'd like to see a bigger commitment to character development with the companions/npcs. As much as we all complain about the writing in FO4 (and for good reason), Bethany Esda really has shown growth in the way the companions have become more individualized characters with interesting backstories from FO3-FO4. But obviously there was still a lack of development and closure for a lot of these characters, a lot of tragic backstories they have in common *cough cough dead wife *cough and an overall lack of depth and care for the female characters (Clover, Cait, Curie, Cass, Cross why do all of their names start with C? and somewhat for Piper and Veronica as well.) And I do tend to play Fallout not for the combat/gameplay as much, but more for the story and character connections and the interesting environment; so I'd call for more companion quests and unique characters that really ground you in the world and help you to form emotional connections with them, and, in turn, become more invested in the game, story, and world as a whole.

Second, this is really just a critique for FO4, but please bring back the proper elements of roleplaying! Don't give our characters a whole ass backstory that's difficult to stray from or build off of if you want to stay true to cannon with your OCs. Also, for the love of god, bring back the dialogue options that aren't just one word gists of the whole actual line. I can't tell y'all the amount of times I went back in a save for saying something wrong 😩 Like.... I wanted to be sarcastic in a funny way, not be an asshole to Nick, geeze.

And last is that one I said earlier, where it'd be interesting to have different creature companions, but also, just more variety in general with the companions. Give us more female characters, more companions from different factions (Legion, Great Khans, Fiends, The Kings, Enclave, etc.), and more characters that are canonically trans, or have a specific sexuality/romantic preference instead of blanketing everyone as bi to be available to any kind of OC (which is awesome for some, but also, I'd like to see further commitment to diversity), which also means I'd like to see different races and ethnicities depicted as well.

ANYWAY, that was pretty long-winded, and just sort of word-vomited out, but hopefully it all makes sense.

There's definitely quite a few things I would want to see changed for future games, but also, I don't want to completely drag the ones I've played, since, clearly, they've had an enormous impact on my life. But I'm a true believer that most of us who enjoy these games, yet still want to see them change, want that because of how much we care about these games and we only want to see them improve more and more.

[turtletoads]

*astro bots your microsoft ips* (and some extras)

[sleights-of-hand]

✍Preston Garvey?

Redeeming aspects of Fallout 4 are this guy, and the retcon of 'cats extinct in Fallout'.

[soy-bean-factory]

good, neighbor'd.

shot, gunned.

han, cock'd.

i really like this guy

[chubbychiquita]

Will you ever do some twitch streaming? Playing or even just casual chatting?

yes omg i would love to!!! esp if any of you wanted to play multiplayer stuff with me!! i'll revive the chubbychiquita minecraft server and everyone has to bring me cakes, it'll be great

[gearbroth]

post-deathshroud doodle thingy (+feat my crossover sole ig hsdkjhfgf)

[furiouskettle]

I just KNOW you've got a fandom you're waiting for someone to say. Do that one.

UHHHHHH FALLOUT. not because i strongly care abt fallout but because of this guy:

[twosides--samecoin]

single dads. you agree

The Nakanos < prev

[cannibalcreeps]

Wait we can request fallout stuff… can we see Jeremy and Edward Deegan interact? :) honk honk

Absolutely welcome to send in requests, my inbox is open <3

Once again Jeremy has struck fear into the commonwealths hearts! Whilst Deegan is confused why of all creatures, that is still around.

[chiimeramanticore]

listening to the new vegas soundtrack a lot lately ive become curious. fnv fans:

[bonefydskeleton]

ahem, taps mic I was meaning to do this when you originally reblogged it but didn't have the chance to properly look at the questions til now... 9, 14, 15, 16, 25, 56 ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), 65 whicheva of your fallout ocs you wanna answer with :3c

OMG HIIIIIII I wish I’d seen this sooner 💜 what a delight to come back to. I’m gonna use Tiny for this because she’s my main character I post on here.

9. Where did they grow up? Where do they currently reside?

Tiny grew up all along the east coast as far south as North Carolina and as far north as Maine. A majority of her childhood took place on the coastal beaches of Virginia but rising threats from mutated aquatic creatures forced her family to move inland towards the forested regions of the Appalachian mountains. She eventually fell in with a group of moonshiners and mountaineers that taught her to navigate the craggy rock formations and become familiar with the still-used trails and trade routes. The constant movement instilled in Tiny a wanderer’s soul and she now finds it hard to settle down in one place for too long. The injuries and selective mutism that resulted from being captured by Super Mutants contributed heavily to a life of isolation after that. The closest thing to a permanent residence Tiny has is a guest room at Jimbo’s place that goes unused for most of the year until she returns to the area for trade. Otherwise she normally carries a rucksack with sleeping arrangements and supplies to set up camp in the woods.

14. What is their fondest memory?

Tiny’s fondest memory is probably trying Nukashine for the first time. Jimbo brewed up his own spin on the drink and offered it to her. The trip it sent her on was so wild and so intense that she jumped off the patio and ran straight into a tree and knocked out cold. She needed stitches down the right side of her face after the incident and it’s where she gets her signature scar. I think she wears it with a lot of pride.

15. What is their proudest moment/accomplishment?

The soft return of her ability to speak. Though her vocal chords were severely damaged in the Super Mutant camp and the traumatic experience left her mostly mute, her time with Jimbo has nursed back a few phrases that help her avoid the frustration of cartoonish charades to get her point across.

16. What is their biggest regret?

I think Tiny’s biggest regret would be her struggle with sobriety and loneliness. With limited resources in the wasteland, Tiny almost immediately took to drinking alcohol like water and formed a bad addiction that she’s never bothered trying to kick. Being inebriated not only exacerbates the mutism but increases her volatility. She’s started more than a few scraps she knew she couldn’t win and seeks out pain as a punishment she thinks she deserves. Though this means she approaches life with reckless abandon and a stubborn sense of adventure, it also means she is caught up in a repeated cycle of putting down roots, drinking herself to misery, and convincing herself she needs to pick up and move away from everything that brings her a sliver of joy in the post apocalypse.

25. Are they quick to trust others?

The state of the wastes almost forces you to trust others, and for Tiny that once was true. She found it very easy to fall in with those who wandered like herself and to pool resources and skillsets to survive - especially when social drinking was involved. Super Mutant captivity instilled in her a fear of physical contact and even more so a fear of being abandoned and left behind by those she cares for. Now she often looks for trouble and acts stubborn as a way to hopefully keep people an arm’s length away. If you can get through that cold exterior you’ll end up with a loyal companion for life who would fight the world for you.

56. How do they feel about robots?

NOT THE TEXT FACE BUDDY you know me too well. When I played through FNV I was encouraged to um. Reprogram and personally test FISTO. Tiny may have assumed the position and then walked FISTO to The Atomic Wrangler while holding his servos the whole way back. What more can I say? :)

Also ED-E was her one consistent companion, I truly believe in robots being fundamental for Tiny’s well being.

65. Describe their living space (how do they decorate it? Does it have running water and/or electricity? Etc)

Tiny makes her living spaces in old run down shacks or sets up a portable tent with a bedroll. All her accommodations include a handcrafted Brahmin plush from one of her friends to sleep with and any old stuffs she finds as she travels. She tends to decorate with the kind of stuff you’d find in a guest room of a lodge. Just the most hodge podge patterns that don’t quite fit together unless you squint and odd lamps made from deer horns or scraps of vehicles and robots. Most of her temporary residences don’t have electricity or plumbing, so expect a lot of candles and oil lanterns and starting baths the old fashioned way - in a creek or boiling water over a fire for a warm bath in a crude tub. Definitely lots of old animal bones and cans strung together as alarm systems for intruders.

[danses-with-dogmeat]

Saw your Fallout asks post! How about 23/24? What are your thoughts on fallout characteristics?

Hey friend! Thanks for the ask! 😁

So I answered 23 already, but it was charisma and/or intelligence for my preferred SPECIAL stats when I play.

24. Which is your favourite skill? 

For this though... Golly, it depends on the game. For FO4, I really like to be good with Speech, and then, just overall, I like to have my character's skills coincide with my OC's backstories.

So, for my FO3 OC, Revelation, she took after her father in becoming a doctor, so she's good with medicine. Hope, my other FO3 OC is good with Big Guns, because she values violence above all else, lol. And so on, and so forth.

Typically though, I like to be good with either Science or Lockpicking, Large or Small Guns, and then one more specific skill, like medicine, repair, or explosives.

(On a separate note, I really need to do some character sheets for my OCs 🤔, so if anybody has a link to a good template, I'd appreciate it if you'd be willing to share 😅)

[theresattrpgforthat]

hello! long time fan, second time asker! any fallout/fallout-esque ttrpg recommendations? esp. styled after 1, 2, and new vegas. could be recommendations based on setting, vibe, mechanics - whatever you like :) i did already get after the bombs fell by the illustrious aaron king on your recommendation, and am very excited to play! if you've already answered this kind of ask before, then maybe some recommendations for trigun-esque ttrpgs - i love the setting of trigun, and i think it would lend itself well to an rpg. anyways, thank you so much for all you do, and for opening my eyes to so many fun games! happy adventuring to you!

THEME: Trigun!

Alright so for Fallout games, I think I did a really good job in my Fallout Recommendation Post, and I also reblogged this post a while back that has a few more hits involved. I might also have a few more recs at the end of this post. So I guess what we’re going to try to do today is find some games that would lend themselves to running a Trigun-style game!

I haven’t seen Trigun, so I did some research about it. From what I understand, it’s about Vash, a superpowered outcast who’s being hunted by people for a big bounty, despite his vow to never take another person’s life. The series seems to be an examination about the choice to act or not, and the characters all seemed to be flawed or haunted in one way or another. What’s really interesting to me is that this feels to have a lot of overlap with the themes of Cowboy Bebop, especially since the creators of Trigun appear to be inspired by westerns as well.

With that in mind, I’ve got a lot of space - western ttrpgs here; the settings of all of these can probably be altered to reflect more closely the setting of Trigun, without doing that much harm to the way the rules work.

BXLLET, by Rathayibacter.

The world was broken, a long time ago. We've fought hard to build something better in the aftermath, but we're haunted by the ruins, weapons, and monsters of the past. Will you scratch out a corner of paradise, or will you give in to the temptations of the gun on your hip?

[BXLLET> is a game about systems of violence and power in a world rebuilding itself. As wandering gunslingers, you'll travel the world and do what you can to help the people you encounter. You'll become more powerful the more bullets you carry, but you'll also struggle with the responsibility that power carries with it. Violence will come easily to you, but can you feed crops with rivers of blood?

This game deals with issues of gun violence, exploitation, and apocalypse, and those sensitive to those issues should go into this fully aware. It's not a game for fascists, bigots, capitalists, or their lackeys, and shouldn't be approached from a perspective that boils the complexities of the world into "good guys with guns vs bad guys with guns."

If you want a game that directly tackles the uses of violence and the weight that comes with the decision to kill, I definitely recommend checking out BXLLET. One of the most poignant mechanics of this game revolves around the storage of bullets, and the way your bullet hoard gives you powers. If you spend a bullet, someone will die - you won’t have to roll for it. But if you spend your bullets, you’re also spending your XP. I think it’s very interesting that you only gain the use of special powers if you choose not to spend your killing resource - and by using your bullets to kill, you also lose special, very effective powers.

Even though BXLLET isn’t necessarily a space western, I think it definitely communicates the themes of Trigun in a very interesting way, and I definitely think it’s worth checking out.

Orbital Blues, by Soulmuppet Publishing.

This is the rock and roll future of yesteryear that never was—and nobody wanted.  It is an intergalactic age of cowboys, outlaws and bandits playing on an interstellar stage. It is a time of hyper-capitalism and a cut-throat gig economy. Unreliable trash-heaps carry scrappy underdogs to their next gig, and corporation freighters lumber across the horizon laden with an empire’s bounty. These are the music-fuelled, moon-age daydreams of a rebel space age.  These are your ORBITAL BLUES.

ORBITAL BLUES is a lo-fi space western roleplaying game from SoulMuppet Publishing, written by Sam Sleney & Zachary Cox.  A roleplaying love-letter to off-beat sci-fi, vintage music, and cooperative old-school styled roleplay, Orbital Blues allows you to play out rules-light tabletop adventures in the style of space westerns. Stepping into the shoes of Interstellar Outlaws, players band together to form Crews, and navigate a hard-going, gig-economy living on the fringes of a space-faring society.

Orbital Blues is more in the style of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop, but from what I gather about Trigun, that somewhat sad western feel rings true for that series as well. As sad space cowboys, each of the players chooses a Gambit - a special ability that is special to your character - as well as a Trouble - something that haunts your character, a problem that just won’t go away. Playing into your Trouble grants you a Blues, a measure of how much of your past sins weigh down on you. Should your Blues get too high, you’ll have to confront your Trouble, but this also allows you to spend your Blues like a resource, and at the end of the scene, you can gain new abilities, restore health, or increase a stat by 1.

If you want a game where wrestling with your past and your worries is what fuels your character’s story, you want Orbital Blues.

Clink, by Technical Grimoire Games.

Clink is a tabletop RPG about drifters, the creeds that bring them together, and the history that drives them apart. This game uses coins to tell a story inspired by spaghetti westerns, ronin tales, and shows like Firefly or Supernatural.

Your past is a mystery, but your Creed drives you forward.

Characters begin as rough sketches of the shifty sort you’d see in an old Western or Noir film. They all start as blank slates, their histories unknown. Tell stories about their past and create your character as you play.

You can play Clink in the setting of your choice, but what remains true about the characters is that they are competent, and they drift from place to place. As a group, all of you have the same Creed, a commitment that the group promises to follow - perhaps that they will seek revenge, or that they will never kill someone in their search for peace. Your characters will also have personal Triggers - certain situations or actions that prompt them to do something that puts them and the group in trouble. Your backstory isn’t written at the beginning of the game, but rather unraveled through moments called Flashbacks, which do double duty as exposition as well as the reason why your Drifter is good at roping, shooting, piloting, and more.

Finally, Clink uses coins, two of which are flipped every time you attempt something difficult or dangerous. As long as one of those coins comes up heads, you’ll do alright - but get double tails and your success comes at a cost - a Scar. Scars are dark moments from your part, moments you wish you didn’t have to relive. Gain too many Scars, and your group may splinter, bringing the story to a bitter or sorrowful end.

Dubious Pursuits, by Nested Games.

Dubious Pursuits is a short, PbtA RPG  for 4-6 players about Bounty Hunters in pursuit of their target, emulated stories like Cowboy Bebop. Your pursuit will be propelled not by violence, but by learning personal details about your bounty and what brought them to this point. What will you do when you finally catch up with them? 

Dubious Pursuits credits Cowboy Bebop as a source of inspiration, but I think it has the ability of delivering an emotional story that challenges your players to face the complexities of chasing down someone while learning things about them that might make bringing them to justice harder and harder to do. I don’t own the game so I’m not sure how much control the table has over the truths of the target, but I wonder if it might be possible to use this game to approach a super-powered bounty from the perspective of someone like Meryl Strife.

24BB: The Mud, The Blood, & The Beer by Calvin J’onzz.

You are a sinner. You are wicked. You have taken human life, first in self defense but then because it felt good. You have stolen from those in need, first to survive but then because it was easy. You have treated humans as objects and property because they were less powerful and could not stop you. But now you have stopped doing those things. You are still that person—you still want to do those things—but you are trying on a different approach to life. You have realized a new ethos, and you feel deep camaraderie with any who share it.

A Western. The world presented here aims to reflect the weirdness of Trigun and the energy of The Mandalorian without losing the tension of For a Fistful of Dollars. The gravitas of Clint Eastwood's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly or the schlock of Patrick Swayze's Steel Dawn is optional. 

The rules for MBB are pretty easy to pick up - different size dice that scale up with your skill and a simple threshold of 4 to beat for any given roll - and the setting is minimalistic, allowing you to flavor or fill it as you like. Trigun is listed directly in the series of references for this game, which tells me that you’ll be able to create a character similar to Vash without any trouble.

A unique mechanic to this version of 24XX is your character’s edge. Edge is a meta-resource (that could have a physical manifestation) belonging to your character that can give you a boost when you need it, or that can help you avoid some kind of consequence. Edges are one-use items that are erased when tapped, although they can be gained again during play. You can take an edge when you play into your one redeeming virtue, such as never harming kids, taking others’ burdens, or aiding in forgiveness. The game comes with a whole roll table to inspire your personal edges, and I think these virtues make this game an homage to Trigun more than anything else.

Magitech Space Western, by ApexCity.

Welcome to the Beyond, pard. Beyond what? Beyond hope or help, beyond safety and security. Unfortunately, not beyond the reach of the Law or the Civ, or the ever avaricious Corporations. Beyond just about everything that you’ve been told is necessary to survive, though. But that’s ok. Dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and let’s take a stroll…

Magitech Space Western is a card-based hack of Powered by the Apocalypse, using a standard set of playing cards to determine the outcomes of actions instead of dice. It also includes variants of Poker and Blackjack to abstract player conflict and vehicle action, respectively.

While this game comes from the PbtA design school, the use of cards instead of dice leans into the themes of the genre, asking the players to build their characters according to two card suits of their choice. These card suits represent different aspects of a character’s personality. The staggered successes of PbtA show up here as the values on the cards you draw and play - 7-10 for a mixed success, Jack-Ace for a full success, and a 6 or lower for a a miss. However, since you’re playing from a hand that you might have, you may occasionally get to choose what you play - and playing cards that align with the suits you’ve chosen give you something extra to spend down the road.

Since you’re playing from a deck, you can to some extent plan around what’s already been drawn as you play. I think this might also allow an ebb and flow as you tell the story - a string of bad luck should lead to something good, and a string of good luck means that there’s trouble down the road.

When it comes to setting, you’re all existing in a capitalistic world that ignores the troubles of the marginalized and the backwater folks. Expect to attract trouble from the rich, the powerful, and the desperate - and expect that things are never going to go completely your way.

Other Games I Recommend….

Check out my Post Apocalypstic Community Recommendation Post!

I also did a Nuclear Radiation Recommendation Post a while back.

I’ve got a Space and Stars Recommendation Post that might have some funky settings.

I also have another Space Western Recommendation Post that have some overlap with what you see here, but also have more options!

[sleights-of-hand]

✍️ a take on the og deathclaws of fo1/2?

Dude I think my chameleon is sick.

[artbyblastweave]

🔥 New Vegas: Old World Blues

I do not think they gave appropriate weight to the racial implications of the Little Yangtzee internment camp and the use of its inmates as test subjects- particularly since, unlike similar sites in the franchise where the atrocity is long past, the specific perpetrators and overseers are still alive and are meant to come across as, if not sympathetic, at least massively charismatic