FearMonkey said:
Knight Captain Kerr said:
I didn't do it. I didn't do a lot of side quests because they involve killing. Also the best thing to do is sneak and run away from hostiles.
Well, that's disappointing. I really expected more from Obsidian.
Don't blame Obsidian; they DID do amazing things with what they were given. Blame Bethesda... for a variety of reasons. For starters, forcing Obsidian to use their Oblivion Engine. People can clamor on and on all they want about "how much variety" Bethesda titles have, but really they're glorified sandbox shooters. Considering Obsidian had to work with this engine, what they pulled off with New Vegas is absolutely nothing short of a MARVEL to behold. Give it some appreciation! =)
Yeah, as many users have expressed, a large number of quest have NO "non-violent" solutions. SOME encounters can be avoided by running away, SOME ( like Ghost Town Gun Fight) can be "modified" if you choose to Reverse-Pickpocket better gear into the inventories of the NPCs you want to win, and a very small number of non-quest related encounters can be dealt with via a speech check. The end of the game can be completed by having 100% Speech, but for the rest of the game, if you sincerely want to kill nothing, and win your victories through words, you're going to be avoiding 80% of the game, if not more. (Generic enemies littering the environment count, and in DLCs, they make up the BULK of your day-to-day labors...)
P.S. Depending on if you GENUINELY want to kill no one, including "inadvertently", you may have to avoid recruiting any and all NPCs whatsoever. If you just want the COURIER to be the only non-violent character involved, then you can let your companions do all the killing for you, sit back, and watch your "non-violent solution" in action! (Though I seriously doubt this is what you want.)
FearMonkey said:
I don't intend to get into combat so I'm not sure why strength is a big deal other than carrying capacity. And since I won't be carrying anything heavy like weapons (as I am a pacifist), I figured I don't need the stat very high. 160lb seems like plenty to me for carrying around food/water/ingredients/etc., unless there's something I don't know. :p
I might change my Luck stat. They let me change stuff around one last time before I leave Goodsprings right?
ALL stats have a "speech check", of sorts. For example, having 6 or 7 ST will intimidate several specific NPCs. You won't actually harm them, just scare them into doing whatever it is you need done (usually divulge information). Luck has a MASSIVE impact on the game, overall, and if you have less than 6, you'll be hurting. 8 or higher, and many things will come rather easily. He was vague, so I won't go into further detail, either.
Since the Engines between the original games and New Vegas are NOTHING alike, the stats have the following importance:
LK: Non-violent money maker. MUST HAVE for those that wanna survive without looting.
IN: Next most useful stat, purely for Skill points. Unlike the originals, your dialog isn't impacted by your IN.
ST: Besides weapon requirements, you'll need this for carry weight. If you're patient, or intend to use the Long Haul Perk, you can ignore this.
AG: A must have for most players. If you avoid combat, this is worthless.
EN: Only useful for starting HP and qualifying for Strong Back. HP per level is static, so you can ignore this, otherwise.
PE: Practically useless. Only useful for the "6th Sense", which is boosted more by a Companion than your PE itself. 6 is enough for most related Perks.
CH: Least useful stat in the game. Speech isn't affected by CH. Companions won't suffer much from low CH.
Certain skills have more applications outside of "succeed more often" and "does more damage" for combat. Explosives, for example, increases the delay when you trip mines. The delay is different for each mine type, and some will explode with little delay even with 100% Explosives, however, the skill still helps in the same way. Other skills, even if you never intend to use the weapons they correspond to, will also be involved in certain "speech checks".
I'd suggest remaking your Courier. Set no stat above 8, and lower the "less than useful for me" stats to 1-4. Outfits in FO3/FONV increase stats and skills, so unless you're planning on getting Power Armor exclusively so you can survive running away all the time, should you choose more tactical equipment, you'll be wasting their benefits with certain skills being 91% or higher, or stats 8 or higher.
You'll only get ONE chance to completely remake your character, and once you "leave" Goodsprings, that's final. If you've moved on and still have 9 CH, restart the game.
P.P.S. Ghost Town Gunfight is an ESSENTIAL quest (at least activating it, anyway), if you want to ever be able to play Caravan. It's a surprisingly fun mini-game, and if more of my local friends played New Vegas, I would've loved playing Caravan with them, for real! =D It can also be abused, somewhat, because any vendors that play Caravan can essentially be "bought out" without making any financial transactions! Since you won't be looting any bodies, I'd highly recommend you obtain a Caravan Deck from Ringo. Chances are you'll activate MANY quests that cannot be solved without some bloodshed, and they'll remain active on your Pip-Boy permanently, so why avoid Ghost Town Gunfight?
P.P.P.S. Nothing you steal in Doc Mitchell's house will alarm him, and he has a pair of glasses sitting on his desk right besides the bed you regain consciousness in, so if you want to use Four Eyes, GRAB THEM IMMEDIATELY!
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