You asked for a variant not locked to Gifted. This is it. Dropping Gifted costs you ~7 SPECIAL points, but you shed its two penalties: no −10% to skills and no −5 skill points/level. The result is a character with higher starting skills and 19 skill points per level — the smoothest early game of the three, ideal for a first serious melee run or a more role-played hero.
Strength plan: unchanged — ST 6 start, Power Armor → ST 9 for late perks.
Total = 41 points (base 35 + 5 creation + 1 Small Frame). No Gifted, so the numbers are lower — but every skill point works harder.
| Stat | Val | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ST | 6 | Bonus HtH Damage; →9 in Power Armor |
| PE | 6 | Awareness + Better Criticals |
| EN | 6 | Toughness + HP |
| CH | 2 | Dump; Mentats to recruit |
| IN | 7 | Still clears quests; 19 skill pts/lvl |
| AG | 8 | 9 AP; enough for Slayer & Bonus HtH Attacks |
| LK | 6 | Min for More/Better Criticals + Toughness |
*6% Luck + 10% Finesse. Note the 19 skill points/level — three more than either Gifted build, every single level.
Gifted build (Build 1) vs this no-Gifted build. Gifted wins on raw attributes; this build wins on skill economy and early-game competence.
Small Frame +1 Agility (gets you to AG 8 affordably). Minor carry-weight penalty.
Finesse +10% crit chance — partly compensates for the lower Luck 6.
Alt: swap Small Frame for Fast Metabolism (+2 healing rate) if you'd rather heal faster than swing faster, or run no second trait at all for the purest character.
Don't tag Unarmed. Base 30 + 2×(ST+AG) = 58% at AG 8 / ST 6, and free trainers (Sullivan +10%, Sierra bags +10%, Prizefighter +5%, Lo Pan +20%) still carry it past Slayer's 80% for free. With no Gifted penalty you also have spare points to top it off, so a tag would be doubly wasted. Tag instead:
Speech the real "talking" skill — most quest XP, and talks Cameron down for 600 XP in the Temple.
Doctor unlocks Living Anatomy (+5 dmg vs living) and Vault City training.
Lockpick utility you can't get free — Temple door and containers.
| Lvl | Perk | Req | Payoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Bonus HtH Damage | ST 6, AG 6 | +2 melee dmg/rank |
| 6 | More Criticals | LK 6 | +5% crit/rank |
| 9 | Better Criticals | PE 6, AG 4, LK 6 | +20% crit table |
| 12 | Action Boy | AG 5 | +1 AP → 10 AP |
| 12 | Living Anatomy | Doctor 60% | +5 dmg vs living |
| 15 | Bonus HtH Attacks | AG 6 | −1 AP per attack |
| 18 | Toughness | EN 6, LK 6 | +10% DR/rank |
| 24 | Slayer | ST 8*, AG 8, Unarmed 80% | Every hit is a critical |
*ST 8 met by Power Armor (6 base + 3). AG 8 already satisfied at creation — no Gifted needed for Slayer.
The most beginner-friendly of the three. Higher starting skills mean you're competent immediately instead of limping through the first ten levels while Gifted's penalty bites. Slightly lower attribute ceiling, but the extra 3 skill points/level let you max Unarmed and Doctor and Speech comfortably. By endgame it reaches the same Slayer payoff — just with a smoother road there.
Every build starts here in Arroyo. A melee character breezes through it — save often.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| Don't hit Klint | Never attack Klint at the entrance (or any Arroyo tribal) — it can turn the village hostile later. |
| Chapel — fight | Kill the giant ants & radscorpions with your starting Spear (good early XP). Trick: attack once, then use leftover AP to run 3 hexes — they can't reach you. |
| Locked door out | Open it with Lockpick — any value works, just retry. |
| Passage traps | Disarm the spear/dart plates with Traps for 25 XP each (save first — a crit-fail locks that trap), or hug the right-hand wall to avoid them. |
| Sanctuary door | Only plastic explosives (in a nearby pot) open it. "Use" one, set the 10-second timer, place it, run. |
| Cameron (final test) | Talk him down (needs IN 4+ and Speech tagged) = 600 XP; steal his key (Steal) = 600 XP; or fight unarmed = 300 XP (drop then re-grab your weapon; he yields after ~20 damage but can still kill you — save). |
| Exit | Leave via the top grid: +15 Karma, and you step into Arroyo with the Pip-Boy 2000. |