Fallout RPG - Quickstart 150622

THE ROLEPLAYING GAME
QUICKSTART
QUICKSTART
®
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© 2022 Bethesda Softworks LLC. FALLOUT and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. or its affiliates in the
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The Modiphius Entertainment logo is a trademark of Modiphius Entertainment. All Rights Reserved to their respective owners.
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is intended. This is a work of fiction. Any similarity with actual people and events, past or present, is purely coincidental and unintentional except
for those people and events described in an historical context.
CONTENTS
 Introduction   Chapter One   Chapter Two 
WELCOME TO THE CORE RULES COMBAT
WASTELAND Tabletop Roleplaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Skill Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Combat Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Damage and Injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
War. War Never Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Action Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
What You Need to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . 6 Luck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
 Chapter Four 
MACHINE
FREQUENCY
Act One: Echo in the Gulch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Act Two: The Town of Bleakford . . . . . . . . . . 40
Act Three: Shooting Skip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Pre-Generated Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Introduction
WELCOME TO
THE WASTELAND
WAR. WAR NEVER CHANGES
The United States of America is no more. It was Survivors work to reclaim what little they can and
destroyed when the world’s nuclear warheads were salvage what they cannot rebuild. Civilization is start-
launched. The ensuing apocalypse brought an end ing to take root again and certain areas of the country
to both the Great War and the civilized world. In its have reached a level of stability that might even be
place exists the Wasteland, an irradiated landscape called comfortable, at least for the rich and powerful.
pockmarked by ruined cities, decaying civilizations,
and pockets of desperate survivors. It is inhabited by a Disparate factions have begun to split off as these com-
variety of mutated creatures, horrific beasts, and undy- munities have grown. Each faction looks to make its
ing ghouls. The radiation from the detonations spread own way, and some are far more dangerous than others.
quickly. Everything that wasn’t killed immediately was By far, the most dangerous are the Raiders. They place
irradiated, and most of the country’s diverse plant and no value on any human life but their own. Yet civili-
animal life was wiped out. zation has begun to flourish, despite the opposition.
4 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

Trade, economy, and even government have begun in alone is difficult at best, but living in a community
some areas of the wasteland. Each community adapts comes with its own struggles.
or adjusts its own governmental system according to
its needs. Merchants travel protected routes, trading at
cities across the wasteland. The merchants have created
a new currency in the form of bottle caps (‘Caps’).
WHAT IS IN THE QUICKSTART?
This quickstart contains a how to play section,
Life in the wasteland is harsh. The sun beats down
pre-generated characters, and Machine Frequency,
hard and the radiation is intense. Clean water and
a starter adventure. It includes all the information
food are rarities. Most survivors have been forced to
needed to start playing in the wasteland!
adapt to dirty water and irradiated food. Surviving
Welcome to the commonwealth

The default setting for Fallout: The Roleplaying Game is another event happening. The setting is pre-
the Commonwealth. This is the same setting as the Fallout 4 sented in this way so that you have the freedom
videogame. Many of the locations, characters, and aspects to explore and craft your own stories and quests in any
of the Commonwealth in this book are presented from a way you desire.
‘start of game’ perspective. This means that they are a blank
slate, without any impact from the in-videogame character Gamemasters who are familiar with the Fallout setting may
choices. Some exceptions are made, and often this is noted wish to run games in other time periods or one of the other
in the text if a place or character is dependent on wastelands seen throughout the Fallout series.
Introduction  WELCOME TO THE WASTELAND 5

WHAT YOU NEED TO USE THIS BOOK
You’ll need a few things to begin your journey across modiphius.net. The symbols featured on the die faces
the wasteland. Once you’ve assembled everything have various meanings, which are explained later
listed here, you can begin! and make for easier reading of results. If you don’t
have the custom dice, you can use normal d6s with
numerical faces and reference the table on page 23
PLAYERS AND A GAMEMASTER for the results.
You will need a few players (we recommend 3 to 5)

and one gamemaster. Each player picks a character, TOKENS, CHIPS, OR CAPS
and together they form a group that travels together
across the nuclear wastes. The gamemaster takes on You will also need some counters to keep track
the role of running the game. They play all the other of Action Points. You can use poker chips, beads,
characters, set the challenges the players face, shape or other tokens to represent these. You can even
the plot of the campaign and adjudicate the rules. use caps available from modiphius.net to repre-
sent Action Points if you want to go all-in on the
Fallout theme!
CHARACTER SHEETS If you don’t have any tokens to hand, you can track
Action Points on a piece of paper. While this makes
Each player needs to choose one pre-generated
it a little harder to visualise, providing you have one
character from those included in the quick start. We
player at the table keeping track of the players’ Action
recommend filling them in using pencil, as informa-
Points and the gamemaster keeps track of their own,
tion about your character may change as the game
this method also works just as well.
progresses. The GM will need to read through the
quick start and the adventure first so they know what
the players will be coming up against. PAPER AND PENCILS
Lastly, you’re going to want to have some spare paper
and some pencils. Not only will you want to fill in
DICE your character sheet, but you’ll want to record notes

during your game sessions.
Fallout: The Roleplaying Game uses two types of dice,

You may discover information from the gamemas-
which can be easily found online or in gaming stores.
ter about a character or place, or want to note down
The first is a twenty-sided die (called a d20) and and
things about your quests as they happen. Some players
the second is a regular six-sided die (called a d6).
use spare paper and keep this with their character
sheets. Other players may find using digital note-tak-
Ideally, you want at least two d20s per person. If your
ing easier, or use a journal or notebook specifically for
dice supplies are limited, the group can make do with
their game.
sharing a set of d20s. You’ll never need to roll more
than five d20s at once.
You will also need at least four d6s. When these dice
are used in the game, they are called Combat Dice
and are abbreviated to C
D throughout this book. We
recommend using the custom d6s created for Fallout:
The Roleplaying Game which can be bought from

Introduction  WELCOME TO THE WASTELAND 7
Chapter One
CORE RULES
TABLETOP ROLEPLAYING
When you play a tabletop roleplaying game, your
gamemaster (also called the GM) and fellow players
are asking you to share your own story of exploring
The Gamemaster
The gamemaster is another player at the table with differ-
the post-nuclear wasteland, where mutated monsters
ent responsibilities to everyone else. They run the game,
lie in wait around every corner and fellow survivors
roleplaying as non-player characters and creatures, asking
harbor a deep suspicion of others. As a group, you will
for skill tests, interpreting their results, and describing what
travel ruined highways and ramshackle towns, com-
happens as you explore the wasteland.
pleting quests, and building settlements by describ-
ing what your character does as an improvised story.
It’s their job to introduce the story, respond to your char-
When you want to accomplish something in this
acter’s actions, and decide how non-player characters
story, you’ll use the game rules to resolve whether you
respond, but they use these core rules as well when taking
succeed or fail at your task.
actions with the NPCs.
In any situation where your character’s success is

in doubt, their failure is interesting, or they are at
risk, you need to attempt a skill test. A skill test is
a moment in the game where the rules are used to
resolve a situation or conflict, but once that’s figured
out the gamemaster continues narrating the scene
based on your actions, and might describe how their
non-player characters and creatures react.
This mode of play is freeform, where each player can

act freely in no particular order, and fictional time
passes as it makes sense to the actions your group
attempts. When you begin fighting, play is divided up
into rounds and turns, with each player taking a turn,
and each round representing a short period of time in
which every character gets to act.

SKILL TESTS Skill Test Summary
A skill test is a method of resolving an action you Add up your Attribute + Skill combination
want your character to attempt. You roll some dice
and the results tell you whether you succeeded, failed, Check the difficulty
or complicated the situation.
Want to buy d20s using Action Points?
When the gamemaster asks you to attempt a test,
they’re asking you to check your character’s attributes, Roll the dice
roll a pool of 2–5 twenty-sided dice (also called d20s,
presented as Xd20 where X is the number of d20s you Count your successes.
roll), and get more successes than the gamemaster Did you get enough compared to the difficulty?
needs for you to pass the test.
Any extra successes become
Action Points to spend or save
ROLLING THE DICE

1. CHOOSE ATTRIBUTE + SKILL: The gamemaster 5. CHECK SUCCESSES AGAINST THE DIFFICULTY:
chooses which attribute and skill from your charac- If the number of successes you scored equals
ter sheet are appropriate for your test. Add together or beats the difficulty of the test, then you have
the attribute and the skill chosen: this is your target passed. If the number of successes scored is less
number for each d20. You can suggest which attrib- than the difficulty, you have failed.
ute + skill might apply, but the GM has the final say.
Each success above the difficulty becomes an
Your target number is the number each d20 Action Point, (see p.14).
must roll equal or under to generate one success.
6. GET THE RESULT: The gamemaster describes the
2. SET THE DIFFICULTY: The gamemaster sets the outcome, and if the test was successful you can
difficulty for the test, normally between 1 and 5. spend Action Points to improve the result further.
The difficulty is the number of successes you must After that, the GM introduces any complications.
generate with your d20s to pass.
3. ROLL THE DICE POOL: Assemble your dice pool. Example: Nate needs to find out if Codsworth is okay,
You start with two d20s, but you can buy up to 3 as he’s been on his own for 200 years. His test is dif-
more d20s by spending Action Points (see p.14). ficulty 1, and he must use CHA + Speech (7 + 2 = 9).
After you’ve added any extra dice from spending Nate’s player rolls 2d20, checking the results separately,
Action Points, roll the entire dice pool. and rolls a 5 and a 19—because the 5 is equal or below
Nate’s target number, he scores 1 success, and passes the
4. CHECK FOR SUCCESSES: Each d20 that rolls
test. Codsworth describes how hard it’s been to try and
equal to or less than your target number scores one
keep the house clean for two centuries…
success. Any d20 that rolls a 1 is a critical success,
which is worth two successes.
Each d20 that rolls a 20 generates a complica-

tion (see p.11)
Chapter One  CORE RULES 9

Test Difficulty Examples
TARGET NUMBER DIFFICULTY EXAMPLE
When your gamemaster asks for a skill test, you Gathering rumors around a settlement,
agree to an attribute + skill combination from your 0 searching a room in an abandoned
character sheet that best applies to the action you’re building
trying to achieve. That target number, made by adding Shooting a target at close range,
1
your chosen attribute and skill together, gives you the picking a simple lock
number each d20 must roll equal to, or under—if it Breaking down a reinforced door,
2
does then you generate one success. treating an injury
Identifying an unknown poison,

3
deactivating a robot from behind
SUCCESSES AND DIFFICULTY 4

Hacking a complex computer,
disarming a landmine
The number of successes you need to generate with Convincing an enemy to stand down,
your d20s to pass a skill test is called the difficulty. 5 shooting a target at long range on a
Only needing 1 success describes a routine task, while stormy night
needing 5 successes reflects a difficult task that can
only be completed with guts and determination.
Each d20 that rolls equal to or under the target num-

CRITICAL SUCCESSES
ber generates 1 success. However, a d20 can generate 2
Whenever you attempt a test, any d20 that rolls a 1 is a
successes by rolling a critical success. For example, if
critical success. Each critical success you roll generates
you had a target number of 10 (made up of an attribute
two successes.
+ skill combination of 8 + 2), each d20 that rolled 2–10
would generate 1 success, while any d20s that rolled 1
would generate 2 successes.
Total up the number of successes and compare them

Default Attribute + Skill
The skill list on your character sheet lists a default attrib-
against the difficulty—if you equal or beat the diffi-
ute associated with each skill. Some tests may prescribe a
culty you pass the test. Any extra successes over and
default attribute + skill combination to work out your target
above the difficulty become Action Points (see p.14)
number, but at the GM’s discretion you can suggest a differ-
that allow you to improve the test’s outcome or buy
ent combination.
more d20s for future tests.
You might use INT + Small Guns to identify the make of a

weapon, or STR + Medicine to pop a dislocated shoulder
back into place. You can always suggest alternative attribute
+ skill combinations for your target number, but your GM
has the final say.

COMPLICATIONS DIFFICULTY ZERO TESTS
When attempting a test, each d20 that rolls a 20 causes Some tests may be difficulty 0, or your character’s
a complication—a new detail in the scene that makes perks or gear may reduce a test’s difficulty to 0. If a
things more difficult that comes into effect once the test is difficulty 0, you don’t need to roll—your action
test has been resolved. A complication could introduce is automatically successful with no risk of compli-
a new problem—like a gun jamming, or breaking a cations. However, because no roll is made, you don’t
lock pick—or it could make specific skill tests more generate any Action Points either.
difficult in future, like insulting a merchant so CHA
+ Barter tests with him in future are increased in At your GM’s discretion, you can still choose to roll
difficulty by 1. Complications do not prevent you from the dice against a difficulty of 0. Because zero suc-
succeeding, but they do introduce something new to cesses are required, every success becomes an Action
the story that makes things more difficult. Point, but you can still suffer complications by rolling
a 20, as normal. This sort of difficulty 0 test is useful if
If you and the gamemaster can’t come up with a com- it’s important to see how successful your character is
plication for you in the scene you’re in, the GM can when there’s no chance of failure.
instead gain 1 Action Point to use for their non-player
characters and creatures later.
Example: MacCready has a mysterious disease, and

his player has rolled a complication on his Medicine test
to try and recover a little to keep moving north. The GM
can’t think of a complication and asks the group, “Do
you have any ideas?” MacCready’s player suggests, “he
could get a fever,” and the GM takes the suggestion and
uses it. “Your head pounds— any INT test difficulties are
increased by 1 until you get it healed.”
DICE POOL
Normally, you roll two d20s and check their results
individually against your target number and count up
the number of successes you generate, but you can buy
more dice to roll! With Action Points you can buy up
to 3 more d20s to roll on a test. This means you can
roll a total pool of 5d20 at any one time. Action Points
are covered on page 14.
Example: Cait is facing a difficulty 3 test to steal some

bottle caps from right under her captors’ noses, and with
3 Action Points in the group pool, she opts to purchase
two more d20s using all 3 AP in the pool. Her player will
now roll 4d20, improving the odds of generating the 3
successes they need.

OPPOSED TESTS Action Points in Opposed Tests
In an Opposed Test, the opposing characters spends AP first
Sometimes you’ll face situations that are not difficult
and then rolls. The active character then may spend AP to
because of the task itself, but because of an opposing
add dice to their pool (if they wish) and roll.
force trying to prevent your success. In these cases, you
and the opposing player (normally the GM) will both
If two player characters are making an Opposed Test,
roll a dice pool and compare results to see who wins.
then both players must generate AP for the GM in order
to buy additional d20s (see p.14). The group pool is for
When another character opposes you in a test, their
team players!
player rolls their d20 dice pool, after buying any extra
d20s, and the number of successes they generate
When you succeed in an OpposedTest, you generate
becomes the difficulty of your test. Then, you attempt
Action Points by comparing your result to your opponent’s.
your test with your opponent’s number of successes
When you are rolling against an established difficulty, any
as your difficulty. If you equal or beat your opponent’s
excess successes generate AP as normal. When you are the
number of successes, you win the opposed test, and
one to roll first, establishing a difficulty for your opponent,
any extra successes become Action Points. If you do
you generate 1 AP for each success less than your number
not generate enough successes to meet the difficulty,
of successes.
you fail, and your opponent could generate AP.
Example: Paladin Danse is grappling a deathclaw,

holding it back from advancing on his squad. The GM
decides this is an opposed test and rolls a test for the
deathclaw. Rolling 2d20, the GM scores 3 successes,
meaning Danse’s test will be difficulty 3. Danse has a Increased Difficulties
target number of 8, so his player decides to buy two more
d20s with the Action Points in the pool, to ensure he gets
in Opposed Tests
In an ordinary opposed test, it’s assumed the only real
the successes he needs and rolls the pool of 4d20s. They
source of difficulty is the other character. However, if
roll a 1, 5, 6, and 18, which generates 4 successes! Danse
something increases the difficulty of your test, then your
holds his ground, and banks 1 AP for the extra success.
opponent adds that increase to their successes total instead.
Had he rolled a 10 instead of a 1, he would have failed by
If something would decrease the difficulty of your test, then
one success instead, and the GM would have gained one
your opponent reduces their total successes by that amount
AP for the deathclaw.
instead. So, if your opponent is trying to sneak up on
you, and it’s dark (increasing the difficulty of your PER +
Survival test by 1), then your opponent adds +1 success to
ASSISTANCE their total instead.
Difficult tasks are often completed through teamwork.

When someone else is attempting a test, you can assist
them if your GM allows it. Describe how you are help-
ing and decide with the GM which attribute + skill
combination you’re using—it doesn’t have to be the
same combination as the person you’re helping. Then,
roll 1d20 and add any successes you generate to theirs,
providing they score at least 1 success of their own. If
they didn’t generate any successes, then you can’t add
your successes to the total.

You can’t buy additional d20s if you are assisting— Example: The Sole Survivor is sneaking past a group
you can only roll 1d20—but your d20 doesn’t count of synth seekers, with Deacon and Strong, helping an
towards the limit of 5 that the player attempting the escaped synth to their new life. The GM makes the test
test can roll in their dice pool. difficulty 4, as the synth patrol is incredibly vigilant. As
Deacon is the best at Sneak, he leads the test. His player
While assisting, you can score critical successes or will roll 2d20, and they spend 1 AP to increase their
complications as normal. dice pool to 3d20. Both the Sole Survivor and Strong roll
1d20 each. Deacon scores 2 successes, the Sole Survivor
scores 1 success, but Strong’s player fails their roll—the
Example: Dogmeat is assisting the Sole Survivor in
group scoring 3 of the 4 successes they need. The GM
finding some medicine. The GM rolls 1d20 and adds any
resolves the test, describing how Strong was too noisy,
successes they get to the Sole Survivor player’s roll—pro-
and the job of sneaking past the synth group becomes a
vided the Sole Survivor’s player gets at least 1 success.
combat encounter.
Dogmeat’s target number is 13. Rolling 1d20, his con-
trolling player rolls a 5, generating 1 success, adding it to
the Sole Survivor’s 1 success, for a total of 2 successes.
COMPLICATION RANGE
GROUP TESTS Normally, any d20 that rolls a 20 generates a compli-
cation, however some actions can be riskier instead
of just more difficult. When tests are riskier, the GM
When your whole group attempts a single large
can increase the complication range of the test, so
activity, like sneaking through an area together, or
you generate complications on more results than just
travelling through a hazardous area, you make a special
a 20. For each increase in the complication range, a
kind of assisted test. This normally occurs when the
complication is generated on the listed d20 results in
difficulty is particularly high, requiring multiple par-
the complication range table.
ticipants to make short work of the task. Once the GM
has set the difficulty, you must decide who is going to
Complication Range Table
lead the test, while the rest of the group assists.
COMPLICATION COMPLICATIONS
DESCRIPTION
RANGE GENERATED ON A….
The leader of the group test rolls a normal dice pool:
1 20 Normal
2d20 plus up to 3d20s they buy through Action Points.
Everyone else rolls 1d20, using their own attribute 2 19–20 Risky
+ skill. So long as the test leader achieved 1 success, 3 18–20 Perilous
everyone assisting adds any successes they generated
4 17–20 Precarious
to the leader’s score. If those accumulated successes
5 16–20 Treacherous
equal or beat the difficulty, the group has passed the
group test.
Any complications generated by anyone in the group

rolling a 20 can be applied by the GM after resolving Success at a Cost
the test and its consequences. At times, the GM may allow you to succeed at a cost when
you fail a test. In these situations, you achieve whatever it
was you were trying to accomplish with your skill test; you
may not spend Action Points to improve the outcome…
but in exchange, the GM causes you to suffer one or more
complications as well. The GM should tell you how many
complications you’ll suffer (normally only 1), and you can
choose to simply fail if the cost is too high.

ACTION POINTS
When you check your successes against the task dif- In combat, you can spend Action Points to do
ficulty, each success you generate above the difficulty the following:
becomes an Action Point. For example, if the task’s
difficulty is 2, and you generate 3 successes, the extra Take Additional Minor Action (1 AP): Take 1
success becomes 1 Action Point. additional minor action in your turn. You can only
take a total of two minor actions in a single round.
Action Points can be used to take additional actions,
Take Additional Major Action (2 AP): Take one
improve the outcome of a test, reduce the time it
additional major action on your turn. Any skill test
takes, learn more about a situation, or buy more d20s
you must attempt is increased in difficulty by +1.
in future tests.
You can only take a total of two major actions in a
single round.
You can spend Action Points to do the following:
Add Extra Damage (1-3 AP): On a successful melee
Buy d20s (1–6 AP): Buy bonus d20s for a test, attack or thrown weapon attack you can spend AP
before the dice pool is rolled, but after the GM to add 1 C
D per AP spent, up to a maximum of
sets the difficulty. The cost increases for each die +3 C
D for 3 AP.
purchased: the first d20 costs 1 AP, the second costs
2, and the third costs 3. No more than three bonus Bonus d20 Costs
d20s may be rolled for a single test, including any
DICE POOL BONUS D20S AP COST
d20s from perks or traits.
2d20 – 0
Obtain Information (1 AP): Ask the gamemaster
3d20 +1d20 1
a single question about the current situation, based
4d20 +2d20 3
on your test. The GM has to answer truthfully, but
the answer might not be complete. 5d20 +3d20 6
Reduce Time (2 AP): AP from a successful test

You spend Action Points either before or after you
can allow the test to take less time to complete,
roll dice, and each option describes when you can
when time is important. Spending 2 AP halves the
spend Action Points to take advantage of its effect.
amount of time a test takes to attempt.
You buy extra d20s for a test before you roll, while you
spend Action Points after a test to obtain information,
reduce the time, improve the quality of the success, or
take an additional action.

SAVING ACTION POINTS Buying Dice Without
If you don’t want to spend the Action Points you gener- Action Points
ate immediately, you can save them for the group to use If you don’t have any Action Points to buy d20s, you may
later. You can save up to a total of 6 AP as a group, and instead generate AP for the gamemaster. For each AP you
anyone can use the Action Points in the group pool. want to spend in this way, the GM adds 1 AP to their pool,
which they can use later on their NPC’s actions and tests.
You may only give the GM action points to buy d20s;
THE GAMEMASTER’S
you can’t do this for other uses of AP.
ACTION POINT POOL

Just like you, the GM has a pool of their own Action
Points to spend on their NPC’s actions. They start
each game session with 1 AP per player. There is no
maximum to how many Action Points the GM can
have in their pool.

LUCK
In addition to being one of your attributes, your Luck STACKED DECK
also provides Luck points that you can spend to shift You may spend 1 point of Luck, before you attempt a
the odds in your favor in a number of different ways. skill test, to use LCK instead of the default attribute
When you start each session with a number of Luck used for that test to determine your target number.
points equal to your Luck attribute. You can spend Obviously, this only really has a benefit if your Luck is
Luck points to do one of the following options, both higher than the attribute it’s replacing.
during freeform play or on your turn in combat.
LUCKY TIMING
LUCK OF THE DRAW In a combat encounter, at the start of any round, or
You may spend a Luck point to introduce a helpful immediately after any other character or creature has
fact or detail about the situation you’re in, something acted, you may spend 1 Luck to interrupt the normal
that you’d have to be lucky to encounter. You could initiative order and take your turn for this round
find just the right items or the right kind of ammo immediately. This counts as your normal turn—it sim-
while you’re scavenging, find a key to a locked door, or ply allows you to act earlier—and you cannot do it if
a clue to a computer password. The gamemaster may you have already taken a turn this round.
prompt you with an opportunity to do this, or you
may suggest when it could happen, but they can veto
your suggestions, or ask you to spend multiple Luck
points to make it happen.

MISS FORTUNE Luck Options Summary
You may spend one or more Luck points to re-roll dice LUCK SPEND DESCRIPTION
in a dice pool you roll. You may re-roll one d20, or up Luck of the Draw Add a detail to a scene
to three C
D, by spending one Luck point, and you can Use your LCK attribute for a
spend multiple Luck points on a roll. Each die may only Stacked Deck
skill test
be re-rolled once—you cannot re-roll a die that has
Interrupt the normal turn order
already been re-rolled. You must accept the re-rolled Lucky Timing
to take your turn now
result, even if it is worse than the original roll.
Re-roll 1d20 or 3 C
D per Luck
Miss Fortune
point spent
Example: Nick Valentine is hacking a computer and his
player hasn’t generated enough successes to pass the skill
test. They need 2 successes, and have rolled a 9 and a 19,
generating only 1 success. Nick’s player decides to spend
REGAINING LUCK
a point of his Luck, and re-roll the d20 that rolled a 19.
You start your quest with a number of Luck points
Rolling it again, Nick’s player gets a 6, generating the
equal to your Luck attribute. Once you’ve spent a
second success they need to pass the test.
point, it can’t be used again until the gamemaster
refreshes them when you reach a milestone in your
session, or when you start a new session. When they
are refreshed, you get all your Luck points back, no
matter how many you’ve spent. You can’t have any
more Luck points than your Luck attribute.

Chapter Two
COMBAT
COMBAT ENCOUNTERS
INITIATIVE
Combat encounters involve characters attacking their
opponents and defending themselves and their allies,
and are more structured than freeform play. Instead
When combat begins, the player who initiated the
of freely taking actions, the encounter is broken down
combat takes a turn immediately. Once this is done,
into rounds, and during each round, each character
the gamemaster ranks the combatants in order of
takes a single turn. A round represents a short amount
their initiative statistic, from highest to lowest,
of time—a few seconds, up to a minute at most—that
and the first round begins. In each round, the char-
allows all the characters present to complete their
acter with the highest initiative goes first, and then
actions, and there are as many rounds in a combat
each character takes a turn in order of highest to
encounter as are needed to resolve the conflict.
lowest. If there is a tie, the GM decides which char-
acter or creature goes first. Once the last character
You can attempt one minor action and one major
has completed their turn, the round ends, and the
action in each turn. A minor action represents some-
character with the highest initiative takes the first
thing quick or supportive of your major action, like
turn of the next round. Repeat this sequence until
aiming or drawing a weapon, while a major action
the conflict ends.
represents something that involves more concentra-
tion or effort, like attacking an opponent, defending
yourself, hacking a computer, or picking a lock. INITIATIVE STATISTICS
Your character’s initiative is equal to their
Perception plus their Agility, plus any bonuses
Sequence of Play
from equipment or perks.
A Character NPC’s initiative is calculated in the

1. INITIATE COMBAT: The character who initiated the
same way as player characters, though some power-
combat takes a single turn before the first round.
ful NPCs add bonuses.
2. INITIATIVE: List all characters in order of their Initiative
statistic, from highest to lowest.
3. TAKE TURNS: Each character, in order from highest

initiative to lowest, takes a turn.
4. BEGIN NEW ROUND: Once every character has taken a

turn, the round is over; begin a new round, repeating step 3
and step 4 as many times as needed to resolve the conflict.

ACTIONS Spending Luck to Act Faster
You can also spend Luck points (p.16) to interrupt the nor-
You can attempt one minor action on your turn
mal initiative order and take your turn earlier in the round.
in combat. You can take one additional minor action
You must do this at the end of another character’s turn but
by spending 1 Action Point, and you can take one
before your turn in the initiative order—you cannot interrupt
additional major action by spending 2 Action Points,
another player while it is their turn. Once you have taken
but the difficulty of any test attempted on that second
your turn, you do not take another at your normal point in
major action is increased by 1. You may take your
the initiative order, until the next round.
actions in any order you wish during your turn.
When you spend a Luck point to take your turn earlier,

You cannot take more than two minor actions
you take your turn immediately, can take one minor and
and two major actions on your turn by any
one major action as normal, and can spend Action Points
means. You cannot take more than one move-
to take additional actions as normal. You are still limited
ment action per turn.
to the number of actions you can take in a round, and
can be interrupted by the Ready action as normal.
MINOR ACTIONS
Aim: Re-roll 1d20 on the first attack roll you make
this turn.
Draw Item: Draw one item carried on your person

or pick up an object or item within your reach. You
may put an item away as part of this action.
Prone
You may be knocked prone by attacks, hazards, or com-
Interact: Interact with your equipment or envi- plications. You may also drop prone willingly, at the end
ronment in a simple way, like opening a door, or of any movement action you perform. Being prone has the
pushing a button. following effects:
Move: Movement action. Move up to one zone, to

When you’re prone, you crawl. The Move action
any position within Medium range. Alternatively,
becomes a major action, rather than a minor action,
stand up from a prone position.
and you cannot take the Sprint action.
Take Chem: Administer a dose of a chem that you
While you’re prone, enemies at Medium range or further
are holding, targeting yourself or a willing character
add +1 to the difficulty of any attacks against you.
within your reach. If you’re not holding the chem,
then you need to draw it first. While you’re prone, enemies at Close range reduce the
difficulty of attacks (including melee attacks) by 1, to a
minimum of 0.
While you’re prone, you can re-roll any cover C

D
you have.
Chapter Two  COMBAT 19

MAJOR ACTIONS
Assist: You assist another character with their next Heal HP equal to your Medicine rating (p.28),
test. When the character you are assisting takes
Treat one injury the patient is suffering from
their turn and attempts their task, you provide
(p.28), or
assistance (p.12). If you have not yet acted this
round, you may give up your turn later in the round Stabilize a dying patient (p.28)
to assist an ally when they attempt a skill test.
Pass: You choose not to do anything.
Attack: Make a melee or ranged attack, as
described in Making an Attack, p.21. Rally: You grit your teeth, catch your breath, and
prepare yourself. Make an END + Survival test with
Command an NPC: If you have an allied NPC
a difficulty of 0, and save any Action Points you gen-
under your command, choose a single major action
erate. The GM may allow you to use a different ATT +
for them to take. If the action requires a test, then
skill for this action depending on how you describe
you automatically assist using your CHA + Speech
it, such as CHA + Speech to inspire your allies.
(if the NPC is a person), CHA + Survival (if the
NPC is an animal), or INT + Science (if the NPC is Ready: Describe a situation you expect to occur,
a robot). and choose a major action you will perform when
it does. If that action occurs before the start of
Defend: You focus on protecting yourself. Make an
your next turn, you may perform that major action
AGI + Athletics test with a difficulty equal to your
immediately, interrupting other characters’ actions
current Defense. If you succeed, add +1 to your
as necessary. If more than one character has read-
Defense. For 2 AP, add an extra +1 to your Defense.
ied an action for the same situation, their readied
First Aid: You try to quickly patch the wounds of actions occur in initiative order.
yourself or an ally. Make an INT + Medicine test,
Sprint: Movement action. You move up to two
with a difficulty equal to the number of injuries the
zones, to anywhere within Long range.
patient has, and increase the difficulty by 1 if you
are trying to perform first aid on yourself. If you Test: Perform a skill test for an action not covered by
succeed, you can either: the other actions, with the gamemaster’s permission.
Action Points in Combat Encounters

During combat, you can spend Action Points to do the following:
Buy d20s (1–6 AP): Buy bonus d20s for a test, before
Take Additional Minor Action (1 AP): Take 1 addi-
the dice pool is rolled, but after the GM sets the difficulty.
tional minor action in your turn. You can only take a total
The cost increases for each die purchased: the first d20
of 2 minor actions in a single round.
costs 1 AP, the second costs 2, and the third costs 3. No
more than three bonus d20s may be rolled for a single Take Additional Major Action (2 AP): Take one addi-
test, including any d20s from perks or traits. tional major action on your turn. Any skill test you must
attempt is increased in difficulty by +1. You can only take
Obtain Information (1 AP): Ask the gamemaster a
a total of two major actions in a single round.
single question about the current situation, based on your
test. The GM has to answer truthfully, but the answer Add Extra Damage (1-3 AP): On a successful melee
might not be complete. attack or thrown weapon attack you can spend AP to add
1 C
D per AP spent, up to a maximum of +3 C
D for 3 AP.

MAKING AN ATTACK
1. CHOOSE WEAPON AND TARGET: Select one 3. DETERMINE HIT LOCATION: If you passed
weapon you are currently wielding. Then, select a your test, roll 1d20 or a hit location die to deter-
single character, creature, or object as the target. mine the part of the target you hit. If you chose
If you’re using a melee weapon, the target must be a specific hit location already, you hit the chosen
visible to you and within your reach. If you’re using location instead.
a ranged weapon, the target must be visible to you.
4. INFLICT DAMAGE: Roll a number of Combat Dice
Choose Hit Location: You may choose to target (C
D ) listed by the weapon’s damage rating, plus
a specific part of a target creature or character. any bonuses from derived statistics, or from AP or
This increases the difficulty of the attack by 1. ammo spent. Reduce the target’s health points by
the total rolled.
2. ATTEMPT A TEST: The test is determined by the
Resistances: The target reduces the total damage
type of weapon used.
inflicted by their Damage Resistance against
Melee Weapon: Roll a STR + Melee Weapons the attack’s damage type, on the location hit.
test, with a difficulty equal to your target’s Defense. Characters and creatures have different DRs for
different types of damage: physical, energy, radia-
Ranged Weapon: Roll an AGI + Small Guns,
tion, and poison.
END + Big Guns, or PER + Energy Weapons
test (based on the ranged weapon you’re using),
5. REDUCE AMMUNITION: If you made a ranged
with a difficulty equal to your target’s Defense.
attack, remove one shot of ammunition, plus any
This is modified by the range to the target (see
additional shots of ammunition spent on the attack.
Range, p.22)
If you made a thrown weapon attack, remove the
Thrown Weapon: Roll a PER + Explosives or thrown weapon from your inventory.
AGI + Throwing test, with a difficulty equal to
the target’s Defense, modified by range.
Unarmed: Roll a STR + Unarmed test, with a

difficulty equal to your target’s Defense.

HIT LOCATIONS RANGE
There are 6 body parts that you can target as hit Ranged and thrown weapons can be used to attack any
locations: head, torso, left arm, right arm, left leg, target you can see, but they vary in effectiveness depend-
and right leg. When you successfully hit an opponent ing on how far away the target is from you. Ranged
with an attack, you either randomly determine which weapons have an ideal range noted in their profile (just
body part you hit, or hit the body part you chose listed as Range), which is based on the relative distance
before you made the test. Use the Hit Locations table between the attacker and the target, using the zones of the
for reference. combat environment (see Distances and Ranges, p.31). A
weapon’s ideal range is one of the following:
CREATURES WITH OTHER
HIT LOCATIONS Close (C): The weapon is most effective against
targets within the same zone.
Some creatures in the wasteland may have other body
parts—wings, claws, and tails—that do not appear on Medium (M): The weapon is most effective against
the hit location table. These locations will be listed in targets in an adjacent zone.
the creature’s statistics, replacing the Hit Locations
Long (L): The weapon is most effective against
table with its own.
targets two zones away.
Hit Locations Extreme (X): The weapon is most effective against

D20 ROLL HIT LOCATION targets three or more zones away.
1–2 Head
The difficulty of a ranged attack increases by one for
3–8 Torso
each range band outside of the weapon’s ideal range,
9–11 Left Arm whether closer or further away—a long sniper’s rifle is
12–14 Right Arm deadly at Long ranges, but awkward and unwieldy in
close quarters, while a pistol is great at Close range but
15–17 Left Leg
less useful at longer distances.
18–20 Right Leg
Example: A scoped hunting rifle with a Long range will

Ranged Attacks Within Reach add +1 to the difficulty of its attacks at Medium range or
Extreme range, and add +2 to the difficulty of attacks at
Being in reach of an enemy is disruptive to ranged attacks
Close range. A shotgun with a Close range adds +1 to the
and tests, adding +2 to the difficulty of any test that isn’t a
difficulty of attacks at Medium range, +2 at Long range,
melee attack.
and +3 at Extreme range.
Weapon Range Difficulty

RANGE TO WEAPON RANGE
TARGET Close Medium Long Extreme
Close
0 +1 +2 +3
(same zone)
Medium
+1 0 +1 +2
(adjacent zone)
Long
+2 +1 0 +1
(2 zones)
Extreme
+3 +2 +1 0
(3+ zones)

COMBAT DICE
When your attack hits its target, you inflict an amount
of damage determined by the weapon’s damage
rating. This damage rating is described as a number
of Combat Dice, abbreviated with the C
D symbol
throughout this rulebook.
Combat Dice are specially-designed six-sided dice,

with four different results as shown on the Combat
Dice Results table. If you don’t have any Combat Dice,
you can simply use normal six-sided dice (d6) and
compare the results to the table below. Sneak Attacks
If the enemy is unaware of you before you attack, the
When you hit, roll all the C
D for the attack together
difficulty to attack them is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of
as a single dice pool, and total up the result. This total
0), and your attack gains the Vicious damage effect if it did
is the amount of damage you inflict on your target. In
not have it already. If your attack already has the Vicious
addition, any effect symbols (the face showing the C
D
damage effect, then the damage is increased by +2 C
D.
symbol) activates special abilities—called damage
effects—listed for the weapon.
If the difficulty to hit your opponent is 0, you do not need to
roll to hit them, but you may still decide to do so, generating
Combat Dice Results
Action Points and complications as normal.
COMBAT DICE
D6 ROLL DAMAGE AND EFFECTS
RESULT
1 D 1 damage
INCREASING DAMAGE
2 D 2 damage You can increase the number of Combat Dice you roll
3 Blank Nothing to inflict damage with an attack by spending Action
Points or ammunition, depending on the type of
4 Blank Nothing
weapon you are using.
1 damage +
5 C
D
damage effects trigger
For melee weapons (including unarmed attacks)
C
D 1 damage + and thrown weapons, each Action Point (AP) you
6
damage effects trigger
spend adds +1 C
D to roll in your damage dice pool.
You can spend up to 3 AP to increase your dice pool by
Example: The laser gun has a damage rating of up to +3 C
D . You can only spend AP you have saved
4C
D with the Piercing 1 damage effect. When the Sole in the group pool or generated with your attack: you
Survivor hits with their laser gun, their player rolls 4 cannot generate AP for the gamemaster to use this
Combat Dice and totals up the result. They roll a D, AP option.
D, D , and a C
D , inflicting 3 damage and ignoring 1
DR of their opponent’s armor. For ranged weapons, each unit of ammunition you
spend adds +1 C
D to roll in your damage dice pool.
You can spend ammunition up to the gun’s fire rate.
For example, a 10mm pistol has a fire rate of 2, so
you can spend 2 additional 10mm bullets to increase
the Combat Dice pool. An Institute laser rifle has a
fire rate of 3, so you can spend up to 3 charges from a
fusion cell to increase its Combat Dice pool.

DAMAGE TYPES Persistent: If one or more Effects are rolled, the
target suffers the weapon’s damage again at the end
of their next and subsequent turns, for a number
There are four damage types in Fallout: physical,
of rounds equal to the number of Effects rolled.
energy, radiation, and poison damage.
The target can spend a major action to make a test
to stop persistent damage early, with the difficulty
Each weapon lists the type of damage it inflicts:
equal to the number of Effects rolled, and the
attribute + skill chosen by the GM. Some Persistent
Physical: Unarmed attacks, blunt force, slashing
weapons may inflict a different type of damage to
and stabbing, ballistics.
the weapon, and where this is the case, it will be
Energy: Laser, plasma, and flame weapons. noted in brackets, for example: Persistent (Poison).
Radiation: Exposure to RADs, or nuclear weaponry. Piercing X: Ignore X points of the target’s DR for
each Effect rolled, where X is the rating of this
Poison: Toxins, chemicals, and creatures’ stings
damage effect.
and barbs.
Radioactive: For every Effect rolled, the target
Each target has a Damage Resistance (DR) for each of also suffers 1 point of radiation damage. This radi-
these types, based on their clothing, armor, or natu- ation damage is totalled and applied separately,
rally tough hides and chitin. While most forms of pro- after a character has suffered the normal damage
tection provide physical DR, energy DR is rarer, while from the attack.
radiation or poison protection are particularly rare.
Spread: For each Effect rolled, your attack inflicts
one additional hit on the target. Each additional hit
inflicts half the rolled damage (rounded down) and
DAMAGE EFFECTS hits a random location even if a specific location
was targeted for the initial attack.
Damage effects augment how the damage you inflict
Stun: If one or more Effects are rolled, the target
to a target is applied. When you roll one or more C
D
cannot take their normal actions on their next
symbols in your Combat Dice pool, all your weapon’s
turn. A stunned character or creature can still
damage effects are triggered. Some damage effects are
spend AP to take additional actions as normal.
also based on the number of C
D symbols appearing in
your result, as described in each entry. Vicious: The attack inflicts +1 damage for each
Effect rolled.
Each weapon lists its damage effects immediately after
its damage rating.
Burst: The attack hits one additional target within

Close range of the primary target for each Effect
rolled. Each additional target spends 1 additional
unit of ammunition from the weapon.
Breaking: For each Effect rolled, reduce the num-

ber of D
C a target’s cover provides by 1, perma-
nently. If the target is not in cover, instead reduce
the DR of the location struck by 1, according to the
damage type of the weapon—physical damage only
reduces physical DR, for example.

RADIATION DAMAGE
Radiation damage is applied differently than other
Breaking Things
Inanimate objects can be damaged just like characters and
damage types. Each point of radiation damage, after
creatures. Most of the time, the GM handles damage to your
reduction for the location’s radiation DR, reduces a
surroundings as part of the descriptions of the environ-
character’s maximum health points, rather than their
ment—stray bullets breaking glass, splintering wood, or
current health points. If a character’s health point
ricocheting from steel—but there are times where breaking
maximum is reduced below their current health point
an object is the point, rather than purely descriptive.
total, then their current HP are reduced as well.
Damaging an object works just the same as damaging a

Radiation damage is only reduced by a target’s radia-
character: roll to hit, roll the weapon’s C
D damage rat-
tion Damage Resistance, according to the location hit.
ing, subtract the object’s damage resistance, and reduce
If the radiation would affect the whole body, like an
its health.
environmental effect, then use the character or crea-
ture’s lowest locational radiation DR.
The GM provides damage resistance and health for the
object you’re trying to break. If you inflict a critical hit on
In all cases, where a character would suffer radiation
an object—by inflicting 5 or more damage at once—you’ve
damage and another type of damage at the same
broken it. Especially large objects, like vehicles, may have
time, resolve the radiation damage after any other
multiple locations which can be hit and broken, and they
types of damage.
are destroyed when all their locations are broken.
Example: Piper is attacked by a glowing feral ghoul,

taking 3 C
D radiation damage. The GM rolls their C
D
and totals 4 damage with an Effect, inflicting 4 physical
damage and 1 radiation damage. Piper has 2 physical
resistance, so she reduces her current health points by
2. Then, she reduces her maximum health points by 1
because of the radiation damage.

DAMAGE AND INJURY
A character that has lost health points (HP) isn’t seri- DYING
ously hurt—they may have suffered scratches, scrapes,
cuts and bruises—but nothing that would hinder When your character is reduced to 0 HP, they suffer
them. However, once a character’s health points are an injury to the location struck, and then fall prone
reduced to 0, they are defeated, and begin dying. In and start dying. If they suffer a critical hit and are
addition, characters may suffer from serious injuries reduced to 0 HP, they suffer two injuries: one for the
as a result of being reduced to 0 HP, or as a result of critical hit, and one for being reduced to 0 HP.
critical hits.
While they are dying, they are unconscious, cannot
recover HP from the First Aid action, and cannot take
CRITICAL HITS AND INJURIES any actions. Furthermore, at the start of each of your
turns while they’re dying, you must attempt an END +
Survival test, with a difficulty equal to the number of
A critical hit occurs whenever a character suffers five
injuries they have, and a complication range of 19-20.
or more damage in one hit (after reductions from
If you pass this test, they remain alive, but are still
Damage Resistance). A critical hit imposes an injury
dying. If you fail, they die.
on the character, which confers a penalty depending
on the location hit.
If they suffer any damage while dying, they imme-
diately gain one additional injury, in addition to any
Arm: You drop any object held in that hand, and
injury caused by another critical hit.
the arm is broken or otherwise unable to move.
You cannot perform any actions using that arm—by
itself or alongside your other arm.
Leg: You immediately fall prone as your leg gives

out under your weight. You can no longer take the
Sprint action, and the Move action is now a major
action for you.
Torso: You begin bleeding heavily. At the end of

each of your subsequent turns, you suffer 2 D
C
physical damage, ignoring all your Damage
Resistances.
Head: You are momentarily dazed and lose your

normal actions in your next turn (though you may
spend AP for extra actions as normal). Further, you
cannot see clearly, and increase the difficulty of all
tests which rely on vision by +2.
These effects last until the injury has received medical

attention (see p.28).

HEALING
When you’ve taken damage, there are a number of Take Chem: A number of chems, most commonly
ways you can recover. In the midst of combat, stim- stimpaks, can be used in a hurry in combat to
paks and first aid are the only ways to heal, but outside restore health points. Taking the minor action
of combat you have several options. allows you to administer the chem to yourself, or to
a willing creature within your reach.
The Medicine and Survival skills are the most useful
First Aid: You try to quickly patch the wounds of
skills for healing.
yourself or an ally. Attempt an INT + Medicine
test, with a difficulty equal to the number of inju-
ries the patient has, increasing the difficulty by +1
HEALING ACTIONS IN COMBAT if you are trying to perform first aid on yourself. If
you succeed, you can do one of the following:
During a combat encounter, you can use the following
Stabilize a dying patient
methods to restore health and treat injuries.
Heal Health Points equal to your Medicine rating
Treat one injury the patient is suffering from

STABILIZING THE DYING
Using the First Aid action, you can attempt to stabilize
Using Stimpaks
Stimpaks are incredibly useful pieces of medical technology.
a dying character. This requires an INT + Medicine
You can use a stimpak or similar forms of medication in one
test with a difficulty equal to the number of injuries
of two ways.
the patient has. Passing the test restores the character
to 1 HP, they are no longer dying, and their player no
With the Take Chem minor action, you inject the
longer has to attempt END + Survival tests to avoid
stimpak and receive an instant result. Your character (or
death. The character remains unconscious and unable
a willing patient) immediately recovers 4 HP or treats
to take actions.
one injury. If the person injected was dying, then they
stabilize immediately.
If radiation damage has reduced their maximum
health points to 0, they cannot be stabilized until With the First Aid major action, you may administer a
their maximum health points are above 0, by healing stimpak as part of the action. The patient regains 4 HP
the radiation damage. immediately in addition to any other effects, and any AP
spent to heal additional health points heal twice as much:
If you stabilize the patient, you can spend AP to heal 2 HP per AP spent, rather than 1.
additional health points. You can heal 1 HP for every
AP spent. You may also spend 1 AP after stabilizing a Robots cannot be healed from Stimpaks, but you can use
character to wake them from unconsciousness, allow- robot repair kits for the same benefits outlined here.
ing them to continue to act.
REGAINING HEALTH
You can use the First Aid action to heal a character’s
health. Passing an INT + Medicine test will heal a
Healing Robots
Robots and other machines cannot recover from injuries
number of HP equal to your rank in the Medicine
naturally, and they require maintenance to restore damage.
skill, and an additional 1 HP for every AP you spend.
You can only heal the HP of a stable character.
Attempting the First Aid action on a robot, a suit of power
armor, or other large machine (like a vehicle) requires an
TREATING AN INJURY INT + Repair test, with a difficulty of 2. This increases by
You can attempt an INT + Medicine test to treat an +1 for each injury the machine has suffered. Passing the
injury sustained from a critical hit. Passing the test test restores health points equal to your Repair rating, treats
allows a patient to ignore the penalties of their injury. an injury, or stabilizes a dying machine. Machines cannot
An injury treated using First Aid is not fully healed: use chems, though a repair kit functions for machines as
it’s merely been patched up so that it no longer Stimpaks do for living characters.
imposes a penalty.
Machines cannot heal through eating, drinking, rest, or
Whenever a character suffers any damage to a location medical attention. Outside of combat, an hour’s work on a
which has a treated injury, roll 1 C
D . If you roll an damaged machine restores HP equal to twice the repairer’s
Effect, the damage has re-opened that wound and the Repair skill rating.
character is injured again. Completely recovering from
an injury takes time.

LONG-TERM RECOVERY FOOD & DRINK
While proper nutrition isn’t common in the waste-
Outside of combat, there are three ways a character land, a decent snack, a hearty meal, or a refreshing
can heal: rest, food & drink, and medical attention. beverage is still a vital part of life, and a valuable way
to recover health.
REST
Food and drink cannot be consumed during combat.
Rest is the easiest way to recover from damage, though
Some forms of food and drink are irradiated, espe-
it is slow. If you can find somewhere to sleep, for at
cially if consumed raw: roll 1 C
D when consuming
least six hours, you regain all lost HP.If you’re able to
irradiated food or drink, and if you roll an Effect,
get eight hours of sleep somewhere safe and comfort-
you suffer 1 Radiation damage, ignoring any DR from
able—your own bed in a settlement you belong to,
equipment or armour.
for example—then you are considered Well Rested as
well, and your maximum HP is increased by +2 until
you next sleep. MEDICAL ATTENTION
Characters may require long-term medical care if
When you sleep, if you have any injuries (treated or they’ve been injured, poisoned, or are suffering from
otherwise), make an END + Survival test with a diffi- a disease. A single character can provide medical
culty of 1. The complication range on this test increases attention for a number of patients equal to their
by +1 for each injury that has not been treated. If you Medicine rating.
succeed, you may recover from one of those injuries,
plus an additional injury for every 2 AP spent. For injuries, each day of rest and medical attention
a patient receives allows you to assist their END +
The difficulty of this test varies based on how active Survival test at the end of the day to heal their inju-
you were during the preceding day: ries, using your own INT + Medicine target number.
Injury Recovery Difficulty For poisons and diseases, you may assist the patient’s
ACTIVITY DIFFICULTY END + Survival tests to help them recover. If the
patient spent the entire day resting, they reduce the
Restful (no strenuous activity all day) 1
difficulty of this test by 1 allowing them to recover
Light (only a small amount of travel
2 more quickly.
or similar)
Moderate (travel, but no combat) 3
Heavy (travel and combat) 4

Recovering from Rads
You may only sleep once in any 24-hour period. Going Because radiation damage reduces maximum health points,
without sleep for long periods can also be harmful. it doesn’t heal in the same way that most damage does—the
effects of radiation damage don’t heal naturally at all.
Radiation damage can only be removed by administering

RadAway, or other chems or consumables that remove
radiation damage. When you heal HP and remove radiation
damage at the same time, remove the radiation damage
first, and then resolve the HP recovery.

THE ENVIRONMENT
In combat, knowing where everyone is can be vital.
Fallout: The Roleplaying Game uses a system of zones to MAPPING YOUR ENVIRONMENT
divide up combat environments and measure move-
ment and range quickly and easily. Zones aren’t fixed in size. Instead, they are as large or
small as they need to be to describe the terrain, and
Each combat encounter happens in a single location. they can be varied to accommodate the spaces in the
This may be a ruined building, a city street, an area encounter’s environment. For example, combat in a
of wilderness, or the floor of a vault. The location forest may be divided into many small zones amongst
is divided into several zones based on the terrain the trees, and a couple of larger zones representing
features or natural divisions present in the area. For clearings—larger zones for the clearings helps convey
example, a vault may treat individual rooms and sec- quicker movement and easier target acquisition in
tions of corridor as separate zones, using the internal open areas, while the smaller zones convey cramped
walls and doorways as dividing lines, while a city conditions and short lines of sight.
street may focus zones around features like burned-
out vehicles, the fronts of buildings, alleyways, etc. Under most circumstances zones are easy to
describe—a few seconds to narrate the spaces and
their relative positions, or to sketch out a rough map,
with counters representing characters. Of course, this
doesn’t prevent your GM from coming up with elab-
orate environments if they want to spend more time
mapping out their encounters.

DISTANCE AND RANGES
Movement and ranged attacks use descriptive terms Long range represents objects two zones away
to measure their distance in combat, relative to the from your current zone. Long range is a distance
objects’ placement within zones. of 2 zones.
Extreme range represents any objects beyond

Range is measured in the following five categories:
long range. Extreme range is a distance of 3 or
more zones.
Reach is when an object or character is within
arm’s length of your character. You can interact
with objects and make melee attacks within your MOVEMENT IN ZONES
reach. Being in reach of an enemy is disruptive to
When you move into a zone as part of a movement
ranged attacks and tests, adding +2 to the difficulty
action, you can move your character within reach of
of any test that isn’t a melee attack.
any object within that zone. So, when using the Move
Close range represents any distance within the minor action to move into an adjacent zone, you can
zone you’re in—a distance of 0 zones. move to any point in that zone. Equally, when using
the Sprint action, you can move to any point within
Medium range is any distance to something in the
a zone that is 2 zones away. This could put you into
zone adjacent to your current zone. Medium range
Reach of an enemy, or an object you need to get to.
is a distance of 1 zone.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS When you attempt to move from an area of difficult
terrain, or cross an obstacle, you must spend one or
more extra Action Points to do so, depending on how
Individual zones can have environmental conditions,
difficult the terrain or obstacle is.
like cover, difficult terrain, and hazards. Similarly, the
environment as a whole may have some conditions
If you do not have sufficient Action Points available,
that affect combat, like darkness or fog.
then you need to find some way to generate them.
The simplest way to do this is to take the Rally major
COVER action, generating action points with a Difficulty
Cover provides additional Damage Resistance against 0 STR + Athletics test—any successes become AP,
physical and energy-based attacks. Objects in the which can be spent on moving through the terrain.
environment will provide a certain amount of DR, as
a number of Combat Dice ( C
D ), depending on what Difficult Terrain and Obstacle Examples
they’re made from and how resilient they are. TERRAIN AP COST
Thick mud, loose sand, up stairs 1

When you are attacked by a physical or energy-based
Swamp, unstable rubble 2
attack while behind cover, roll the number of C
D
listed in the Cover Values table and add that result to Steep slope, fast-flowing water 3
your DR for that attack.
OBSTACLE AP COST
To benefit from cover, it needs to obscure the location
Up to waist-height/short jump 1
hit, whether that’s from a melee or ranged attack. You
Up to chest-height/short jump with run-up 2
can’t be targeted by an attack if the cover obscures
your character’s entire body, as you can only be Taller than you/long jump 3
attacked by something that can see you.

ENVIRONMENT CONDITIONS
Cover Values
Some conditions affect multiple zones, or even the
COVER TYPE COMBAT DICE whole environment. Weather conditions and lighting
Foliage, Wood 1C
D are the most common examples of this.
Rubble, Ruined Brick Walls,
2C
D Environmental Conditions Examples
Metal Fencing
Concrete Walls, Steel Barricades 3C

D CONDITION EFFECT
PER tests that rely on vision and all

Poor Lighting/ ranged attacks increase in difficulty
DIFFICULT TERRAIN AND OBSTACLES
Darkness by +1, +2, or +3, depending on
Difficult terrain describes any ground that requires the light level
more effort to cross, either because it hinders you or
PER tests that rely on vision and
because you need to be careful where you step. A zone
all ranged attacks increase in
may be filled with difficult terrain, slowing anyone Mist and Fog
difficulty by +1 when the target is
attempting to cross it. at Medium range or further.
Ranged attacks with Energy

Obstacles are similar in that they hinder your
weapons, and Survival tests,
movement, but they exist between zones—attempts Rain
increase in difficulty by +1 or +2,
to move from one zone to another where an obstacle depending how heavy the rain is.
is present may slow your progress. Obstacles may be
Any creature not in shelter suffers
barriers you need to climb up or over, or they might
Radstorm 2C
D radiation damage at the start
be gaps that you need to jump past.
of each turn.

Hazard Examples
HAZARDS
Hazards are parts of the environment that inflict HAZARD DAMAGE
damage to creatures caught in them. A hazard may be Falling debris 3C

D physical damage
present in a specific zone, or it may be spread among 3C
D Stun physical
Falling
multiple zones. Hazards may be a persistent threat, or damage per zone fallen
they might only occur if something specific happens 2C
Open flame D energy damage
to trigger them.
3C
D Persistent energy
Raging fire
damage
DANGEROUS OBJECTS 3C
Electrical discharge
D Stun energy
An environment may contain objects that inflict damage
damage or cause other effects based on the actions of 2C
Toxic chemical (spill) D poison damage
those present—mines and other traps are common
3C
D Persistent poison
examples—as many folk in the wasteland use traps Toxic chemicals (immersed)
damage
and even automated turrets to defend what’s theirs.
2C
D Persistent
Irradiated water
radiation damage
A dangerous object is triggered by a specific action
occurring nearby. This might be a complication, 2C
D Piercing radiation
Irradiated air
or occur when a character enters a specific zone. damage
Characters must attempt a test to avoid the damage Close proximity to

(AGI + Athletics or PER + Survival to either dodge radioactive waste or 5C
D radiation damage
the trap or to spot the trigger just in time). materials
Dangerous Objects Examples

OBJECT TRIGGERED BY TEST DAMAGE
Close proximity AGI + Athletics 6C

D physical damage to everyone
Frag mine
(entering within Reach) difficulty 2 in the zone
A spark or energy weapon beam AGI + Athletics

Flammable gas 4C
D Persistent energy damage
(complication) difficulty 2
Tripwire PER + Survival 6C

D physical damage to everyone
Grenade bouquet
(action, entering a zone) difficulty 2 in the zone
Pressure plate AGI + Athletics

Shotgun trap 6C
D Vicious physical damage
(action, entering a zone) difficulty 2
Turret sensors PER + Survival Turret acts on its initiative score,

Sentry turret
(action, entering a zone) difficulty 3 attacking the nearest target each turn

Chapter Three
MACHINE FREQUENCY
INTRODUCTION
SYNOPSIS GETTING INVOLVED
The adventure begins when the players encounter The scenario assumes that the players are traveling
Scribe Galen Portno, an elderly member of the the Wasteland, perhaps moving between two settle-
Brotherhood of Steel. Galen operates Listening Point ments, but there are other ways to get them involved
Echo, and recently received a distress signal from a in the story.
squad of Brotherhood Knights. The knights’ Vertibird
went down in hostile wilderness following an EMP Players that are already affiliated with the
attack launched by Trestridge’s patrolling robots. Galen Brotherhood of Steel and could be headed to
is not healthy enough to launch a recovery on his own, Listening Post Echo to check on the solitary scribe
so he turns to the characters to locate – and hopefully there as part of a regular patrol.
recover – any survivors of the crash. Over the course of
Non-BoS players could have picked up one of
Part One, the players will have the opportunity to:
Galen’s broadcasts requesting support from the
Brotherhood of Steel and choose to investigate.
Get involved in a rescue mission and recover
any survivors. Groups wandering the Wasteland might have
witnessed the Vertibird as it was attacked and went
Battle a force of armed military robots.
down, and are headed toward it to investigate the
Learn about Scribe Galen and his history. wreckage and salvage supplies.
Learn about the strange spate of raids and disap-

pearances in the region.
ACT ONE: ECHO IN THE GULCH

SCENE ONE of heat. Emerging from that dusty haze, a lumber-
ing man in dented power armor stumbles forward
Open this adventure by reading or paraphrasing the
under a ridiculous burden of supplies, rations, and
following text:
canteens. When he realizes other people are on the
road – and that he’s still alive, for the moment – he
The sun hammers the dusty road, and a weak wind
raises a gauntlet in greeting.
stirs piles of centuries-old debris in the ruins of
forgotten buildings half-concealed by the shimmer

The man is Scribe Galen Portno. In his mid-sev- victim to exhaustion within a day. He’s clearly inexpe-
enties, his days of rushing off to adventure are rienced at surviving the Wasteland.
well behind him, and even when he was young he
preferred tinkering with pre-war tech to physical Scribe Galen is a gregarious, chatty fellow. He shares
exploits. His suit of T-60 power armor is one example. the following details with the PCs, often stopping to
The armor has been jury-rigged and modified many sip water and “rest his bones.”
times over the years to Galen’s personal preferences,
including a biometric lock keyed to the scribe himself Listening Point Echo is normally a quiet posting.
– only he can operate it. Other than relaying messages from knight patrols,
Scribe Galen spends most nights tuning into the
Scribe Galen introduces himself to the player radio broadcasts of nearby settlements or keeping
characters (PCs): radroaches from Beriday Gulch out of his tato patch.
A few distant settlements went off the air in recent

The armor-clad figure removes his helmet, revealing
days. They’re miles away, and interference is com-
the deeply tanned and wrinkled face of a man in his
mon out here, but the settlements of Brahmin’s
twilight years. “I am Scribe Galen Portno. I’m armed,
Crossing, Kinnikon, and Slatville have been silent
but I don’t know how to use it,” the old man says,
– Scribe Galen suspects foul play.
keeping a hopeful smile plastered to his face and his
hand clear of his laser pistol. “I was about to strike Scribe Galen was eavesdropping on the radio
out, but truth be told I’m not sure how far I’d make chatter aboard the Vertibird when it went down.
it. You lot look… what’s the word… capable? Would One of the knights onboard mentioned “something
you like to earn some Caps?” moving below,” then there was a loud warning
klaxon before everything cut to static. A character
The scribe gives the PCs a quick rundown of the situ- can attempt a INT + Science test with a difficulty
ation. When Galen received the distress beacon from of 2 to correctly identify the attack as some sort of
the downed Vertibird he sent for reinforcements, EMP-based attack.
but they are still days from arriving. Seeing no other
The Vertibird was over Beriday Gulch when it
option, the old scribe loaded up with (far too much)
went down. An INT + Survival test with a diffi-
gear and set out. When he encounters the players, he
culty of 1 lets a player recognize the region. It’s
seizes on the opportunity for help. PCs may examine
an uninhabited stretch of wasteland noteworthy
Scribe Galen INT + Medicine Test with a difficult 1 to
for a high volume of aggressive mutated animals,
assess his condition.
especially radroaches.
Success reveals that his eyes are cloudy with cataracts,

Speaking with Scribe Galen, it’s clear that he’s holding
and his hands tremble slightly due to his advanced
something back, but the old scribe is a tough nut and
age. Even if he’d drawn his laser pistol, he probably
doesn’t easily let his secrets slip. A PC can attempt to
would have missed by a country mile. He’s clearly in
press him for more information with a CHA + Speech
no shape to be traipsing about the Wasteland.
test with a difficulty of 1.
Failure means the PCs don’t spot anything notable

Success causes Scribe Galen to reveal a suspicion.
beyond the man’s significant age and frail build.
“I was listening to the broadcast from Brahmin’s

A PC who spends a moment studying Scribe Galen can
Crossing a few days ago when I heard… something.
make a PER + Survival test with a difficulty of 1 to
I can’t be certain, but it bore a remarkable similarity
assess his comically large traveling pack. A success lets
to the sound I heard just before I lost communication
the PC realize that Scribe Galen has stuffed veritably
with the Vertibird.”
everything but the kitchen sink into his pack; a rookie
move that would leave him over-encumbered and a
Chapter Three  MACHINE FREQUENCY 35

Beriday Gulch is about a half-day’s walk from where On the far side of Kullen Bridge, a scavenger named
the PCs encounter Scribe Galen. The PCs can get there Sam Breckinridge has constructed a small shanty. The
faster if they hustle, though they will need to make an planks he laid to span the broken section of the bridge
END + Survival test with a difficulty of 1 to keep up were enough to hold his weight, but not much else.
the pace. On a failure, the PCs arrive at Beriday Gulch
exhausted and sweaty from their journey and lose Breckinridge fell victim to a radroach swarm a month
the opportunity to initiate combat against the robots ago – failing to heed the survivalist wisdom of never
attacking the downed Vertibird. leaving open food out in the Wasteland did him in.
The radroaches have made a nest of his old shanty,
Scribe Galen offers a reward for aiding him. He will and investigate any significant noise in the area.
give 25 Caps per person or 35 Caps with a successful
CHA + Speech test with a difficulty of 1. Additionally, PCs may choose to navigate around Kullen Gap, but
Galen has a substantial cache of fresh water courtesy the bridge is the swiftest route to Beriday Gulch.
of Project Purity in the Capital Wasteland that he can
offer upon completion of the task: 5 bottles of puri- KULLEN BRIDGE
fied water. He marks the location of Listening Post
Kullen Bridge is a two-lane span crossing Kullen Gap.
Echo on a map or Pip-Boy for the PCs. (Or failing that,
Rusted vehicles litter its surface, a few still containing
Galen points eastwards and says, “It’s a big antenna.
the skeletal remains of their passengers. A section of
Very big. Hard to miss, really.”)
the bridge, just before its highest point, has collapsed
into the ravine below, but is spanned by a precarious
If the PCs turn Scribe Galen down and continue on
makeshift walkway.
their way, he moves off, painfully slowly, into the
Wasteland. A day or two later, they discover Galen’s
The bridge can only support the passage of a single
body being picked over by a Radroach Swarm, the
person at a time. If two or more PCs, or a single
automated distress signal of the Vertibird chirping
larger PC like a super mutant or one in power armor,
away from a radio in his pack.
tries to cross, they must make a difficult 1 AGL +
Athletics Test.
SCENE TWO Success causes the bridge to groan under the weight
and sag ominously. Characters on it have enough
To reflect the long walk to where the Vertibird time to cross to either side, but should not linger.
crashed, the Overseer can include the following chal- Failure means the character fails to move off the
lenge: Most of the roadways built pre-war are crum- bridge to safety. A normal failure means the charac-
bling. Lack of maintenance leads to large sections ter halts in place, swaying to maintain their balance.
falling into disrepair, and the impressive highway The character can attempt the roll again during their
overpasses that once crisscrossed the nation are now next turn.
perilous to traverse. After about half the distance to
Beriday Gulch, one of these overpasses crosses most Rolling a complication means one of the following:
of the Kullen Gap, a narrow but deep gorge. When the either the sagging planks cause a character to com-
PCs approach, read or paraphrase: pletely lose their balance, or one of the fragile boards
gives way beneath their weight. The result is the same:
The road ahead sweeps up into a wide, dilapidated falling one zone onto the rocks below for 3 C
D Stun
bridge spanning a deep, rocky defile. Rusted heaps physical damage.
of cars line the northbound lanes, left abandoned
centuries ago. A section of the bridge has fallen away,
patched over by some suspect looking boards. On
the far side of the gap, someone has constructed a
humble shack.

DERELICT CARS SAM’S SHANTY
The derelict cars on Kullen Bridge are what attracted This small shack is built from scavenged pieces of
Sam in the first place. He’s looted most of them, rusty tin and bits taken from abandoned vehicles.
leaving their doors open and tossing out the skeletal Sam’s body, picked clean by radroaches, lies on the bed
remains of the occupants. PCs can scavenge the cars inside, surrounded by several empty whiskey bottles
for things Sam might have missed. The cars are an and open cans of Pork n’ Beans. Various small con-
Average location, and Mostly Searched. tainers hold Sam’s latest salvage: 2 doses of RadAway
and 10 Caps’ worth of random junk (utensils, mugs, an
The derelict cars’ Item listing is as follows: old semi-functioning typewriter, and so forth). Atop a
2-4 Clothing, 1-2 Food, 0-1 Beverages, 3-6 Junk, milk crate next to his bedroll is Sam’s journal, which
0-1 Weapon (Ranged), 0-1 Ammo, 0-1 Chems. contains notes about his last several finds. He’s made a
note in huge block letters:
There are four other cars that look untouched. They
are described below: BIG SCORE. DROVE ME OFF.
HIRE MERCS IN BOLTON.
Cargo Truck. A large cargo truck with a locked
rear door has a broken pick jammed in the lock. The note is a reference to Trestridge’s military outpost,
Sam tried – and failed – to secure the contents. which Sam encountered a while back. He’s scribbled
A character may attempt a PER + Lockpick in the margins of the page, a crude rendition of the
test with a difficulty of 1 to open the lock. Circle and Star of the U.S. Military. PCs may attempt
The truck contains miscellaneous goods from a a PER + Survival test with a difficulty of 1, with suc-
department store, including several appliances cess enabling them to scavenge two bottles of whis-
(toasters, alarm clocks, etc.), which collectively key stashed beneath Sam’s bedroll. There is a swarm
amount to 2d20 Junk items. of 5 radroaches that fight as a group lurking in Sam’s
shack. The radroaches emerge after the first character
Military Transport. A battered military trans-
crosses the makeshift walkway.
port headed for Joint Base Lewiston contains
the remains of several soldiers. Their uniforms
are in tatters, but a patient PC can scavenge and
piece together a single set of military fatigues. SCENE THREE
Boobytrapped Sedan. Near Sam’s shanty, he’s
A short while after traversing or bypassing Kullen
boobytrapped a sedan to discourage looters. Sam
Bridge, the PCs reach Beriday Gulch. The long, shallow
scattered 10 Caps near the car’s trunk, which he’s
valley runs east-west for miles, and other than the Ten
left slightly ajar. A PC approaching the car must
Hat trailer park to the south and Log Cabin Motor
make a PER + (Explosives or Survival) test with
Hotel to the northeast, is devoid of structures. Scraggly
a difficulty of 1. Success means that character
trees, wild plants, and boulders dot the expanse.
notices a strand of wire running between the
trunk and lid. Failure means that if that charac-
In this scene, the players discover the downed
ter opens the trunk, they will trigger the trap (a
Vertibird. It crash-landed in a rocky defile in the
grenade with a tripwire attached to its pin) and
Beriday Gulch, where Trestridge’s robots proceeded to
suffer its effects accordingly.
assault it. Survivors of the crash are locked in a des-
perate battle with the robots and several knights have
A PC may attempt an AGL + Explosives test with a
already died, though they did manage to disable some
difficulty of 2 to disable the trap.
of Trestridge’s heaviest hitters.
Success means the PC successfully deactivates the

Even before the PCs can see the crash site, they hear
baseball grenade and may remove it if desired.
the snaps of laser weapons firing and the mechanical
Failure means the PC triggers the trap, detonating the
drone of robot voices.
baseball grenade.

ENCOUNTER 1: CRASH SITE Success allows the PC to perform a single attack with
one of the robot’s weapons. The sentry bots suffered
After dealing with or avoiding the eyebot scouts, the
quite a bit of damage in the fight, so each weapon can
PCs crest a ridge looking down into Beriday Gulch and
be used only once in this way.
the site of the crash landing. Read or paraphrase:
Vertibird & Knight Helen Layton: The sole survivor

The Vertibird is a mangled wreck. The vehicle lies
of the crash and subsequent firefight, Knight Layton
at the end of a scorched trench on its side, the left
is trapped in the wreckage of the Vertibird. She is
wing sheared completely off. The bodies of three
wounded and has a Critical Leg injury.
Brotherhood knights lie in a loose perimeter where
they fell, the rocks and broken fuselage they used for
After every other character has activated, Knight
cover scorched with dozens of laser impacts. A force
Layton shoots her laser rifle at the closest robot she
of clanking machines advances on the wreck, firing
can see.
shots into the Vertibird that leave glowing streaks in
the air and molten holes punched into the metal.
PCs might try to assist the wounded knight. A PC can
attempt an INT + Medicine test to render first aid.
Someone in the jumbled wreckage returns fire with a
Success removes her Leg injury, or failing that can
laser pistol, shouting in defiance.
dose her with a stimpak.
“Come and get me, you rusty scrap heaps!”

The Vertibird is a total wreck. It would take months of
repair to restore it to working condition, but there is
The attacking robots consist of: three protec-
some useful salvage to be had. There is a medical kit
tron units. The robots start at long range from the
on the wall containing 1 stimpak, a pair of binoculars
Vertibird. There are a pair of wrecked sentry bots in
hanging in the cabin, and fusion cells containing
the gulch that the other Brotherhood knights man-
14+7 C
D shots. PC may attempt to further scavenge
aged to disable before succumbing to their wounds.
the Vertibird. It is a Small Location that has been
Partially Searched.
If the PCs intervene, the robots split their attention
between the Vertibird and the PCs. During the battle,
Its Item listing is as follows: 0-1 Armor, 1-2 Clothing,
Dr. Trestridge is constantly updating the machines
4-6 Junk.
with new commands, which causes the robots to fight
in an intelligent, flexible manner. Characters familiar
with robots (such as Mr. Handy PCs) or who have the
Robotics Expert perk recognize this unusual behavior SCENE FOUR
without a test, and those within a close distance of a
robot hear Dr. Trestridge’s voice shouting commands After driving off the robots, Scribe Galen broadcasts a
in a tinny, garbled voice through onboard speakers. message. PCs with Pip-Boys can overhear the message
or, failing that, the group can hear it blasting out of
During the battle, at least 1 protectron and 1 eyebot the Vertibird’s onboard radio.
advance one zone on the Vertibird each activation,
attacking Knight Layton with +2 difficulty due to “Hello? Can anyone hear me? One-two, one-two…
her cover. Is anyone there?”
Sentry Bots: The damaged sentry bots don’t participate PCs can use the Vertibird’s radio to respond, but those
in the battle, but can still prove useful. They can be with Pip-Boys have no means of confirming the mes-
used as cover, and a PC within close range of one can sage. Regardless, Galen continues to chatter.
attempt an INT + (Science or Repair) test with a dif-
ficulty of 3 to make use of their functioning weapons.

Protectron
Level 3, Robot, SPECIAL ABILITIES
Normal Creature (24 XP) IMMUNE TO RADIATION: The Protectron reduces
all Radiation damage suffered to 0 and cannot
BODY MIND MELEE GUNS OTHER
suffer any damage or effects from radiation.
5 5 2 2 2
IMMUNE TO DISEASE: The Protectron is immune
to the effects of all diseases, and they will never
HP INITIATIVE DEFENSE
suffer the symptoms of any disease.
8 10 1
ARM LASERS: If one of a Protectron’s arms
PHYS. DR ENERGY DR RAD. DR POISON DR suffers an injury, the Fire Rate of its Arm Lasers
decreases to 2. If both its arms are injured, it can
4 (All) 3 (All) Immune Immune
no longer attack with its Arm Lasers.
ATTACKS LET RIP: Once per combat, the Protectron may

‘let rip’ with a volley from their Arm Lasers. This
CLAWS: BODY + Melee (TN 7),
adds the weapon’s Fire Rate of 4 to the weapon’s
3 D
C Physical damage damage for a single attack (for 7 D
C total),
ARM LASERS: BODY + Melee (TN 7), and allows them to use the Burst damage effect
3 D
C Burst, Piercing 1 energy damage, without spending ammo. If one of the Protectron’s
Range C, Fire Rate 4 Arm Lasers is injured, this special attack
SELF DESTRUCT: BODY + Melee (TN 7), decreases to 5 D
C damage.
6 D
C Physical damage, Blast SELF-DESTRUCT: If both of a Protectron’s arms are
injured, or it has been reduced to
SPECIAL ABILITIES half or fewer of its maximum
ROBOT: The Protectron is a robot. They are HP, it will move towards
immune to the effects of starvation, thirst, and the nearest enemy and
suffocation. They are also immune to Poison and use its major action to
Radiation damage. However, machines cannot self-destruct. This
use food and drink or other consumables, they do self-destruct is an
not heal naturally, and the Medicine skill cannot attack centered
be used to heal them: damage to them must be upon itself and
repaired (p.34). destroys the
IMMUNE TO POISON: The Protectron reduces all Protectron after

Poison damage suffered to 0 and cannot suffer it attempts
any damage or effects from poison. this attack.
“My board lit up like Diamond City in December

just now. Someone is broadcasting on a wide
spectrum, something boosted through the roof. I
think it might be controlling a remote device, robot,
or something like that. I don’t know for sure, but
I believe the signal originated… or was skipped
through… well, Bleakford.”
If the PCs can communicate with Galen, he offers

them more information. Bleakford is a small town
northeast of Beriday Gulch along the highway.

Brotherhood patrols classified it as a no-go zone, hav-
ing no obvious strategic value along with an abnor-
mally high presence of feral ghouls and irradiated
The Dead Scribe Problem
wildlife. What salvage might be contained within was
If the PCs didn’t opt to help Galen and later found him dead
considered of too-little importance to attempt a high-
on the road, the Overseer will need to adjust a few things.
risk venture into the town.
Knight Layton can become their point of contact instead,
but the Overseer needs to make sure she survives the battle.
Regardless, Galen transmits the coordinates of
Have Knight Layton request the PCs bring her to the nearest
Bleakford. He suggests the PCs investigate the area
Brotherhood holding: Listening Point Echo. She fills in for
to discover what is responsible for the broadcast he
Galen for the rest of the adventure, but lacks his technical
noticed, like a radio or satellite array. He also cautions
know-how. Roleplay her frustration with the equipment and
them about the presence of radiation and ghouls.
interrupt her broadcasts with occasional echoing and feed-
back as she tries to sort things out!
If the PCs managed to rescue Knight Layton, they
might consider bringing her back to Listening Post
Echo. If they do, Galen conveys information about
Bleakford at this time.
ACT TWO: THE TOWN OF BLEAKFORD

SYNOPSIS BLEAKFORD
The town of Bleakford is a one-horse town along one Bleakford is several miles northeast of Beriday Gulch
of America’s old highways. Even before the Great War, across irregular, difficult terrain. Traveling on foot to
Bleakford was in the middle of nowhere and had a Bleakford takes the better part of a day for the PCs, if
small population, mostly supported by military fami- they keep a moderate pace. Depending on how long
lies connected to Joint Base Lewiston to the east. they took to reach the crash site and deal with the
robots there, the PCs might have to camp overnight in
Upon arrival in Bleakford, the PCs will discover a the wilderness.
graveyard of the old world, populated by ghouls and
wild Wasteland fauna. They will have to find the To increase the sense of danger as they approach, the
source of a broadcast controlling the robot attackers: Overseer can add a wandering pack of 4 dogs or a
a custom-made signal booster designed and built by pair of mongrel dogs as a random wilderness encoun-
Akiva Trestridge to extend the range at which her ter. If the PCs are low on resources or wish to pick
mechanical soldiers can operate. up some supplies, they can encounter a wandering
trader caravan.
Over the course of Act Two, the players will have the
opportunity to:
Explore the ruins of an irradiated ghoul town.
Locate and disable a mysterious transmitter

responsible for coordinating robot attacks.
Learn the history of the town and what happened

to its unfortunate citizens.

After walking the wastes, the PCs eventually reach
their destination. Read or paraphrase:
A soft, sickly glow lights up the ruins of the small

town. The scattered houses at its center and to
the west are dilapidated and bleached pale by the
elements. Among them, a few larger structures stick
out; the bent steeple of a chapel, the rusted mast of a
radio station, a water tower riddled with holes. Down
below, a few humanoid shapes move among the
wreckage of Bleakford, their senseless moans audible
over the wind.
BLEAKFORD RANDOM
ENCOUNTERS & LOOT NO ENCOUNTER
The wandering ghoul inhabitants of Bleakford are not
As the PCs explore the town, they might encounter
currently in the region the PCs are about to enter.
some of its irradiated inhabitants.
When players enter a new area, like Brisbee Mobile WEAK FERAL GHOULS
Homes or Henley Chapel, roll a d20 and consult the The region the PCs travel to is occupied by a group
Bleakford Random Encounter Table. Any creatures of 4 weak feral ghouls. The ghouls are emaciated and
indicated at a location, such as the elderly ghouls in injured from a recent encounter with a hungry pack of
Bleakford Apartments, are in addition to results rolled dogs that has left them tattered—more so than usual.
on the table below. Each of the ghouls has half its normal HP.
If the PCs take time to move cautiously and scout out FERAL GHOULS
locations, you can let them make a PER + Survival
The region the PCs enter is currently occupied by a
trio of feral ghouls.
Success lets a PC spot threats in the region prior to

entering and have the option to initiate combat. PUTRID GLOWING ONE
A glowing one is in the region the PCs are about to
Failure means the PC does not spot a threat in enter. It is currently playing dead and crawling with a
advance. The NPCs initiate combat. blanket of glowing, irradiated blood bug maggots. If a
PC is damaged by the putrid glowing one’s Unarmed
Bleakford Random Encounter Table attack, they must make an END + Survival test with
D20 ENCOUNTER a difficulty of 1. On a failed test, the PC contracts the
Rad Worm illness.
1-5 No encounter
6-10 Weak feral ghouls

TOUGHENED GLOWING ONE
11-15 Feral ghouls
A swollen glowing one is in the region the PCs are
16-18 Putrid glowing one
about to enter. This bloated ghoul has layers of radia-
19-20 Toughened glowing one tion-hardened skin and fat protecting its organs and
gains the Toughness perk.

Weakened Feral Ghoul REMAINS OF THE DAY
Level 1, Mutated Human,
In addition to loot noted in specific locations, the
Normal Creature (10 XP)
entire area of Bleakford can be scavenged for supplies.
BODY MIND MELEE GUNS OTHER It is a Large Area that has been Mostly Searched. Due
4 5 2 — 2 to the high concentration of radiation in Bleakford, it
has an Ongoing Radiation hazard with an interval of
HP INITIATIVE DEFENSE 10 minutes.
5 9 1
Its Item listing is as follows: 2-4 Ammunition, 0-1
PHYS. DR ENERGY DR RAD. DR POISON DR Armor, 0-1 Beverages, 2-4 Clothing, 1-2 Chems, 3-4
0 0 Immune Immune Food, 4-6 Junk, 0-1 Oddities/Valuables.
ATTACKS
UNARMED: BODY + Melee (TN 8), 2

Radioactive Physical damage
D
C,
LOCATING THE SIGNAL BOOSTER
SPECIAL ABILITIES Dr. Trestridge will have placed the signal booster atop
the Slocum’s Joe statue, assuming the WKAK Radio
IMMUNE TO RADIATION: The feral ghoul
Tower would be too obvious, but you’re free to place it
reduces all radiation damage suffered to 0 and
wherever they like. If the PCs search Slocum’s Joe too
cannot suffer any damage or effects from radiation.
quickly, consider placing it elsewhere in town.
IMMUNE TO POISON: The feral ghoul reduces
all poison damage suffered to 0 and cannot suffer
Many of the potential locations require some
any damage or effects from poison.
climbing to reach, like the Water Tower or WKAK
FERAL: The feral ghoul is unintelligent, driven
Antenna. Climbing these locations to reach the signal
purely by feral instinct. Feral NPCs cannot be
booster requires an (AGL or STR) + Athletics test
persuaded or influenced by Speech tests. Feral
with a difficulty of 3 and can be completed over
NPCs will move towards and attack the nearest
multiple attempts.
enemy. If they cannot detect an enemy, they will
move towards the nearest source of bright light
or loud noise. Failing that, they will move around After locating the booster, deactivating and remov-
randomly or simply lie down and do nothing. ing it is a simple task. Once this is completed, the
PCs get new information from Galen (see “Leaving
GHOUL: A ghoul is healed by radiation. It regains
1HP for every 3 points of Radiation damage Bleakford”, p.46).
inflicted upon it.
PLAY DEAD: A feral ghoul which is prone and not

moving is difficult to tell apart from a corpse. It
takes a PER + Survival test, difficulty 2, to spot a
EXPLORING BLEAKFORD
ghoul which is currently ‘playing dead’. They often Players can explore the town at their own pace,
use this to ambush unsuspecting passers-by.
choosing whichever locations they want in whatever
order they choose. Their ultimate goal in Bleakford is
INVENTORY
to locate and disable the signal booster somewhere in
2 D
C junk items can be found on a dead ghoul’s town, but the approach is entirely up to them.
body, which can be salvaged as normal.
BLEAKFORD APARTMENTS
Bleakford Apartments is a concrete, three-story build-
ing on the east side of town near the road. Each unit
has a small kitchen, bathroom, living room, and single

Putrid Glowing One
Level 4, Mutated Human, SPECIAL ABILITIES
Mighty Creature (62 XP) FERAL: The glowing one is unintelligent, driven
7 5 4 — 3 NPCs will move towards and attack the nearest
HP INITIATIVE DEFENSE move towards the nearest source of bright light
22 12 1 or loud noise. Failing that, they will move around
randomly or simply lie down and do nothing.
PHYS. DR ENERGY DR RAD. DR POISON DR
2 1 Immune Immune 1HP for every 3 points of Radiation damage
inflicted upon it.
ATTACKS
PLAY DEAD: A glowing one which is prone and
UNARMED: BODY + Melee (TN 11), 4 D
C, not moving is difficult to tell apart from a corpse. It
Radioactive Physical damage, plus see takes a PER + Survival test, difficulty 2, to spot a
Putrid, below. ghoul which is currently ‘playing dead’. They often
use this to ambush unsuspecting passers-by.
SPECIAL ABILITIES
PUTRID: The glowing one is crawling with a
RADIATION PULSE: Once per combat, the glowing blanket of glowing, irradiated blood bug maggots.
one may unleash a pulse of radiation. This inflicts If a PC is damaged by the putrid glowing one’s
5 D
C radiation damage to everything within Range Unarmed attack, they must make an END +
C. If it inflicts 3 or more damage, then any defeated Survival test with a difficulty of 1. On a failed
ghoul within that range is restored to 1HP and test, the PC contracts the Rad Worm illness.
returns to the fight.
IMMUNE TO RADIATION: The glowing one INVENTORY

reduces all radiation damage suffered to 0 and 2 D
C junk items can be found on a dead glowing
cannot suffer any damage or effects from radiation one’s body, which can be salvaged as normal.
IMMUNE TO POISON: The glowing one reduces

Toughened Glowing One
Level 4, Mutated Human, SPECIAL ABILITIES
Mighty Creature (62 XP) IMMUNE TO POISON: The glowing one reduces
7 5 4 — 3
FERAL: The glowing one is unintelligent, driven
HP INITIATIVE DEFENSE
22 12 1 NPCs will move towards and attack the nearest
move towards the nearest source of bright light
3 2 Immune Immune or loud noise. Failing that, they will move around
randomly or simply lie down and do nothing.
ATTACKS
C, 1HP for every 3 points of Radiation damage
Radioactive Physical damage, plus see inflicted upon it.
Putrid, below.
PLAY DEAD: A glowing one which is prone and
not moving is difficult to tell apart from a corpse. It
SPECIAL ABILITIES
takes a PER + Survival test, difficulty 2, to spot a
RADIATION PULSE: Once per combat, the glowing ghoul which is currently ‘playing dead’. They often
one may unleash a pulse of radiation. This inflicts use this to ambush unsuspecting passers-by.
5 D
C radiation damage to everything within Range
TOUGHENED: The glowing one is more resilient
C. If it inflicts 3 or more damage, then any defeated
than normal and has increased Damage
ghoul within that range is restored to 1HP and
Resistance (included above).
returns to the fight.
IMMUNE TO RADIATION: The glowing one INVENTORY

reduces all radiation damage suffered to 0 and
cannot suffer any damage or effects from radiation
2 D
C junk items can be found on a dead glowing
one’s body, which can be salvaged as normal.
bedroom. A Nuka-Cola machine with one nuka-cola Second Floor, Unit 2: The door to unit 2 is locked but
bottle stands outside the manager’s office. Noteworthy can be opened with a PER + Lockpick test with a
units in the apartment building are: difficulty of 1 or broken down with a STR + Athletics
test with a difficulty of 1. If the door is broken down,
Ground Floor, Unit 4: Unit 4 contains a skeleton roll on the Bleakford Random Encounter table to deter-
wearing a pre-war suit. On the table in the living mine what, if any, ghouls are drawn by the noise. Home
room is a functioning camera, and a notepad. The of the assistant to Bleakford’s mayor, the bedside table
notes within indicate that the occupant believed his in her bedroom has several opened boxes of mentats.
neighbor was a communist spy sent to Bleakford to
gather intel on “Real Americans.” Third Floor, Unit 3: This unit contains Mr. and Mrs.
Pickwell, an elderly pair of feral ghouls. Mrs. Pickwell
Ground Floor, Unit 5: The ill-fated neighbor of the has only recently become feral and still wears a patch-
communist-hater, the occupant of Unit 5’s skeleton work dress and apron and can growl the words, “stay for
hangs over the sink in the bathroom. A discarded pipe tea.” The last meal she prepared herself, some grilled
gun lies on the bathroom floor. radroach, is plated in the kitchenette. The Pickwells
stay inside their unit and do not leave it to investigate a
disturbance elsewhere in the apartment complex.

BRISBEE MOBILE HOMES been Untouched. However, the pockets of radioactive
waste are a greater danger to those who explore it.
The mobile home park northeast of town is home to
3 feral ghouls. The five trailers are in poor condition,
Its Item listing is as follows: 2-3 Clothing, 1-2 Food, 1-2
rusted out, and some contain errant radroaches. Roll
Beverages, 5-8 Junk, 0-1 Weapon (Melee), 0-1 Chems.
a d20 when the PCs enter a trailer: on a 11 or higher
the trailer contains a radroach.
Radioactive Waste: The waste is an Occasional Hazard
that is triggered by a failed PER + Survival test made
The first mobile home a PC enters contains a chemis-
to search the dump, causing 4 D
C radiation damage.
try station and 1 dose of jet.
Dumpyard Dogs: A group of dogs, descended from

HENLEY CHAPEL & CEMETERY the town’s original pets, reside in the irradiated dump.
The chapel and cemetery on the west side of town
contains no notable items, but the steeple is highly Do not roll for a quick encounter in the dump. If
likely to contain the signal booster. the PCs enter it, they encounter 3 dogs led by a
mongrel dog.
The main chapel downstairs has a few scattered
skeletons amid the pews, some of which have pocket RED ROCKET STATION
watches and jewelry worth a total of 10 Caps.
On the highway that leads southeast from the town,
the Red Rocket station is in shambles. A shipping
If the signal booster is here, a PC can make a PER +
vehicle has rammed through the front doors before
Sneak test with a difficulty of 1 to spot the device
going critical, leaving the coolant area a scorched
within the church bell, which is rigged to use the
wreck. Of note, a billboard outside the station has the
metal of the bell as an ad-hoc antenna.
faded message: “Burn in Hell, Slow-Joe.”
HOUSES
SLOCUM’S JOE
There are a dozen houses clustered in the heart of
On the south side of town across from the Red Rocket
Bleakford and on the west side of town. Of these, five
station, Slocum’s Joe is a donut and coffee shop. On
have collapsed from disrepair.
its roof, a fiberglass sculpture of the smiling mascot
has been battered by the wind and is almost entirely
Mayor’s House: The largest house house, which
reduced to its skeletal frame.
belonged to Bleakford’s mayor, has a safe in the
upstairs bedroom that can be opened with a PER +
Inside, a chalkboard display announces: “Slocum’s Joe.
Lockpick test with a difficulty of 3. Inside the safe
We’ve got better coffee than the OTHER guys.” If the
are several stacks of prewar money, (earned after
signal booster is here, a PC who examines the statue
the Mayor struck a deal to stow radioactive mate-
can make a PER + Sneak test with a difficulty of 1 to
rial within city limits), a .44 pistol, and 3 shots of
spot it strapped to the metal framework, which acts
.44 magnum ammo. There is also a contract from
like an omnidirectional antenna.
Triton Material Disposal, subsidiary of Poseidon
Energy, that outlines the terms of the agreement
with the mayor. WATER TOWER
The water tower stands on a small hill in the south-
IRRADIATED DUMP west part of town. A patchwork chain-link fence sur-
rounds it, and weeds have overtaken the area.
The irradiated dump east of town is responsible for the
high rads and numerous ghouls in Bleakford. A pile
A small service shack at the tower’s base contains
of festering refuse that barely conceals the worst toxic
a simple toolkit and a RobCo terminal that mon-
waste in town. Enterprising PCs can pick through the
itors the condition of the water tower. While it is
refuse for salvage, however: it is a Large Area that has

password protected, the forgetful serviceman has The producer’s booth is barred from the inside. A PC
helpfully taped the password above the monitor: can make a STR + Athletics test with a difficulty of
HYDROHOMES. 1 to shove the barricade aside to enter. Within, the
skeleton of the DJ lies sprawled over his desk. Next to
ROBCO INDUSTRIES UNIFIED him is the following note:
OPERATING SYSTEM
COPYRIGHT 2075-2077 ROBCO INDUSTRIES Ladies and gentlemen, I have an urgent update.
Welcome to RobCo Industries (TM) Termlink Unnamed sources in Bleakford have informed me that
Bleakford Public Works Water Department our own mayor has cut a deal to turn our town into a
dumping ground for hazardous waste materials for a
System Status period of no less than 26 consecutive months
!!! WARNING !!!
Blockage detected in main outflow pipe. [Note to self, get the listeners angry. The madder
Immediate maintenance required. they are, the more they listen. The more they listen,
!!! WARNING !!! the bigger the advertising revenue!]
Increased levels of carbonic acid//
hydrogen sulfide//methane contamination If the signal booster is here, a PC can make a PER +
detected. Flush and decontaminate holding Sneak test with a difficulty of 1 to spot the device
vessel immediately. rigged to the radio antenna.
A successful INT + (Medicine or Science) test with

a difficulty of 1 allows a PC to identify the chemical
contaminants as byproducts of tissue decomposition,
LEAVING BLEAKFORD
suggesting that there is a body inside the tower…
When the PCs deactivate the booster, Galen
and there is. If the PCs ascend the tower, a glowing
updates them.
one has fallen through a hole in the reservoir’s top to
float in the water remaining within, turning it into a
“Hoo, you really have pissed somebody off. Our robot
rancid, irradiated soup.
controller must have noticed the loss in transmis-
sion. I bet you put a whole bunch of units offline.
If the signal booster is here, a PC can make a PER +
Just in time, too. I was getting emergency broadcasts
Sneak test with a difficulty of 1 to spot the device
from a mess of other settlements about approaching
rigged to the water tower’s metal sides, using it as an
machines. Wait…”
ad hoc antenna.
Galen’s broadcast becomes static for a moment, and

WKAK RADIO when it returns is distorted by significant interference.
In the northeast part of town, WKAK Radio (serving
the tri-county area!) is a small building with a front “I have good news and bad news. Good news is:
office and producer’s booth. killing that booster forced our friend to increase
power to their local signal. They could have just sent
us a signed invitation. Their signal has more bars
than Goodneighbor. Bad news: a couple of hotheads
from Bunker 441 are already on their way. I can’t
get through this interference to warn them about the
robots. They’ll be going in blind.”
Galen gives the PCs the location of the broadcast’s

origin, a short distance east of their current position.

ACT THREE: SHOOTING SKIP
SYNOPSIS
Joint Base Lewiston lies in a box canyon east of
Bleakford. A thick layer of undisturbed dust, blown
in off the Midwest, covers everything. The military
Joint Base Lewiston was once a military installation
installation itself is mostly housed underground
dedicated to the research and development of robots
within the canyon’s walls, with a hardened concrete
for use in America’s war. Now, it is the lair and labo-
bunker leading in. Massive metal doors, large enough
ratory of Dr. Trestridge, where she hoards plundered
to accommodate cargo trucks, stand left of the main
supplies from the vulnerable settlements of the
bunker entrance.
region while working to achieve her personal goal: a
body that is impervious to the ravages of deprivation,
When the PCs arrive on the scene, two power armor-
radiation, and old age, but maintaining the speed and
clad Brotherhood of Steel Knights are engaged in a
agility that a simple robobrain lacks.
firefight with Dr. Trestridge’s robots. The robots are try-
ing to defend the bunker entrance, and Dr. Trestridge
Seeing her companions become victims to the harsh
herself is inside the main door, using it as cover. Two
conditions of life beyond the Enclave has traumatized
Laser Turrets flank the door providing covering fire.
the doctor, and given her a purpose; and Joint Base
Lewiston has given her the means to achieve it.
The PCs can attempt to enter the box canyon unno-
ticed. To do so, each must make a Stealth Skill Test.
Within the joint base, Trestridge discovered Project
Maria: an assaultron prototype that was sent for field
A successful test means they can move using the cover
testing and evaluation. Unlike standard models, the
of vehicles and concrete barricades to get closer before
Maria prototype included sophisticated self-repair
either the Brotherhood or Dr. Trestridge notice them.
systems in addition to the normal suite of weaponry.
They might try to sneak into the bunker without
fighting the robots (a challenging effort that requires
It effectively allows the assaultron to “heal” from any
an AGL + Sneak test with a difficulty of 4) or launch
damage it sustains. Fusing herself with this machine
a surprise attack against the machines. Failure means
would make Trestridge effectively immortal, provided
that one or more of the robots spots the PC and fires
her robot body was not obliterated outright.
upon them. They are then engaged in combat and lose
the opportunity to initiate combat.
The PCs encounter Trestridge in battle with Bunker
441’s hotheaded knights. After dealing with her, and
The Brotherhood Knights, Pierce and Macey, are
potentially facing her new robotic incarnation, they
pinned down behind cover in the open area in front of
can uncover more about this woman’s past, as well
the bunker. When the PCs arrive, if they make them-
as the source and purpose of the machines that have
selves known to the knights, both shout for them to
threatened the region.
take cover. Knight Pierce says: “She’s some kind of
Enclave remnant. I thought the chapter back east took
Over the course of Act Three, the players will have the
care of them all!”
opportunity to:
This battle should be a desperate one. Dr. Trestridge

Engage in a life-or-death firefight with a force of
knows that defeat means her death or capture and she
deadly robots, including a semi-psychotic assaultron
is willing to expend as many resources as she can to
guided by the damaged mind of Dr. Trestridge.
prevent it. Meanwhile, the knights are facing a superior
Liberate an old world military installation, and dis- force of machines and launched their attack underpre-
cover the motivation of their mysterious opponent. pared. Falling back would only give Trestridge’s robots
the ability to shoot them in the back, or regroup and
move to another location in the Wasteland.

OVERSEER NOTE Included in this information is the rather harrowing
account of her flight following the Enclave’s defeat
back east. She and a group of others set out west with
Dr. Trestridge is an Institute Scientist while she is in
little more than the clothes on their backs. Over the
her human form. She has a Plasma Gun equipped and
course of months many were victim to various perils:
the Robotics Expert and Nerd Rage perks.
dehydration, deprivation, radiation sickness, infected
mole rat bites, and so on. In one, rather detached and
After her second activation, Trestridge moves into
analytical log, Trestridge writes about having to resort
cover of the facility to enact her ultimate plan. Using
to cannibalism to stay alive.
the military autodoc inside, she has her own brain
extracted and moved into its new body: a modified
Eventually alone, she discovered the joint base. In her
assaultron using robobrain components. This process
journal she describes it as, “Some sort of Military-
takes her two turns to complete.
Industrial joint effort. Mostly RobCo and the army,
but it seems General Atomics was also pushing their
If the PCs manage to defeat her sentries and enter the
products. A sad, too-little-too-late effort to win the war,
facility before this time, they have an opportunity to
but perhaps useful to me.” She catalogues the contents
stop the process. They can attempt an INT + Science
of various repair bays and storage facilities, the compo-
test with a difficulty of 3 to hack the terminal con-
nent parts of the robots she’s used to enact her plan.
trolling the automated process, attempt to destroy the
machine (Defense 1, 18 HP, 2 Physical DR, 1 Energy DR,
Her most recent journals outline her desire to marry
immune to radiation and poison), or shoot her brain
together assaultron and robobrain designs to provide
before it is loaded into the chassis (Defense 3, 1 HP, 1
herself with a nigh-impervious body. There are several
Physical DR, 1 Energy DR, no radiation or poison DR).
key components she seems to require, and expresses
her intent to raid them from the “simple-minded
Otherwise, she bursts through the doors of the facility
dirt farmers and scrap scavengers that litter this part
in robot form when the procedure completes. The pro-
of the world.” Her checklist of items follows, with
cess did not go exactly as planned, however. She broad-
its components ticked off save one: phenytoin. A PC
casts the shrill sound of pain and confusion, lashing
can make an INT + (Medicine or Science) test with
out at the closest target, friend or foe. The following are
a difficulty of 2 to identify this compound as a drug
things she might shout as she activates. These lines are
used in brain surgery.
delivered in a loud, robotic monotone as she attacks:
“Why? Why did I include the ability to feel pain?”

FATE OF THE JOINT BASE
“Everything tastes like batteries.”
Due to the high volume of pre-war technology
“Why does my nose itch? I don’t have a within, if Knights Pierce and Macey survive, they
nose anymore!” immediately lay claim to the base in the name of the
Brotherhood of Steel. Otherwise, the more open-
minded Scribe Galen suggests that he’ll have to
CONCLUSION report its discovery to the Brotherhood, but can “wait

a day or two first,” giving the PCs time to salvage
items from within.
After defeating Dr. Trestridge, the PCs have free reign
to explore the outpost.
The base is a Large Area that has been Partially Searched.
The doctor has converted much of the accessible space

Its Item listing is as follows: 4-6 Ammunition, 1-2
to act as a living area and laboratory. She has an array of
Armor, 2-3 Chems, 2-3 Junk, 0-1 Weapons (Ranged),
different terminals into which she’s entered countless
0-1 Weapons (Melee).
lines of code, experiment data, and personal reports.

Robot-Trestridge
Level 4, Robot, SPECIAL ABILITIES
Legendary Creature (93 XP) SELF-DESTRUCT: If Robot-Trestridge has both its
arms or legs injured, or it has been reduced to half
or fewer of its maximum HP, it will move towards
8 6 4 4 3 the nearest enemy and use its major action to
self-destruct. This self-destruct is an attack centered
HP INITIATIVE DEFENSE upon itself, and Robot-Trestridge is destroyed after
36 14 1 it attempts this attack.
NIGHT VISION: Robot-Trestridge can see in

complete darkness. The NPC ignores all difficulty
2 2 Immune Immune increases caused by dim light or darkness, and
they may attempt skill tests that would normally
ATTACKS be impossible.
C,
Physical damage INVENTORY
MESMETRON BEAM: BODY + Guns (TN 12), 5 D

C, SALVAGE: Scavengers can

Stun Energy damage, Range M salvage from a destroyed
Robot-Trestridge with a
SELF-DESTRUCT: BODY + Guns (TN 12), 4 D
C, successful INT + Science
Physical damage, Blast
SPECIAL ABILITIES
This yields 3 D
C fusion
cells, +1 D
C per
ROBOT: Robot-Trestridge is a robot. They AP spent, and each
are immune to the effects of starvation, thirst, Effect rolled yields
suffocation. They are also immune to poison and 1 uncommon
radiation damage. However, machines cannot material.
use food and drink or other consumables, they do
not heal naturally, and the Medicine skill cannot
be used to heal them: damage to them must be
repaired (p.28).
IMMUNE TO POISON: Robot-Trestridge reduces all

poison damage suffered to 0 and cannot suffer any
damage or effects from poison.
IMMUNE TO RADIATION: Robot-Trestridge reduces

all radiation damage suffered to 0 and cannot
suffer any damage or effects from radiation.
IMMUNE TO DISEASE: Robot-Trestridge is immune

to the effects of all diseases, and they will never
suffer the symptoms of any disease.
KEEN SENSES: One or more of the NPC’s senses

are especially keen; they can attempt to detect
creatures or objects which characters normally
cannot, and they reduce the difficulty of all other
PER tests by 1 (to a minimum of 0).
AUTOREPAIR: At the start of her turn, if Robot-

Trestridge has fewer than her maximum HP, roll
3 D
C. She regains 1 HP for each Effect rolled.

WHERE TO GO NEXT
Following the events of the adventure, the PCs have Scribe Galen needs to return to Bunker 441 at the
several options. Members of the Brotherhood will end of his assignment. On his way out, he’d like
have earned a reputation based on their actions during to stop by the various settlements he’s learned
the adventure, and might gain enough notoriety to about over the radio, and see their inhabitants
receive special missions related to the Joint Base. face-to-face. He asks the PCs to accompany him
Other characters will have earned the respect of Scribe as an escort, which is a solid plan, as the settle-
Galen at the very least, who can act as a helpful con- ments soon become targets for opportunistic
tact within the Brotherhood. raider gangs.
The PCs could spend time at Joint Base Lewiston

The following are some other options for adventures
or Listening Post Echo to recover from their
connected to Machine Frequency.
wounds and recuperate, before setting out on their
next venture into the Wasteland. While they do,
The irradiated town of Bleakford remains a haven
they hear a transmission over the radio; a strange
for ghouls and feral wildlife. The Brotherhood
warbling sound from far away that seems like a
of Steel wants it dealt with, but doesn’t want to
response to Dr. Trestridge’s broadcast. Who, or
bother spending resources on simple “clean up
what, could be the source of this transmission?
duty.” They offer a substantial reward to anyone
What connection does it have to the ill-fated doc-
willing to clear the ruins out and deal with the
tor’s efforts? Could it be other Enclave survivors
irradiated waste in the town.
trying to find members of their order?

CHARACTER NAME XP EARNED LEVEL
XP TO NEXT LEVEL
AUGUSTA BYRON
ORIGIN Vault Dweller
STRENGTH PERCEPTION ENDURANCE CHARISMA INTELLIGENCE AGILITY LUCK
4 6 5 6 9 5 5
LUCK POINTS
SKILLS COMBAT
NAME
Athletics [STR]
TAG RANK
1
MELEE DAMAGE
— DEFENSE
1 INITIATIVE
11
Barter [CHA] 2 HEALTH
Big Guns [END]
POISON DR
HEAD (1-2) Maximum HP 10
Energy Weapons [PER] 1 Phys. DR Rad. DR Current HP
Explosives [PER] 1 En. DR HP
Lockpick [PER] X 3
Medicine [INT] 3 LEFT ARM (9-11) RIGHT ARM (12-14)
Melee Weapons [STR] 2 Phys. DR Rad. DR 2 Phys. DR Rad. DR 2

Pilot [PER]
En. DR 1 HP En. DR 1 HP
Repair [INT] 2 TORSO (3-8)

Science [INT] X 3 Phys. DR Rad. DR 2
Small Guns [AGI] X 2 En. DR 1 HP
Sneak [AGI] X 3
Speech [CHA] 2 LEFT LEG (15-17) RIGHT LEG (18-20)
Survival [END] 1 Phys. DR Rad. DR 2 Phys. DR Rad. DR 2
Throwing [AGI] En. DR 1 HP En. DR 1 HP
Unarmed [STR]
WEAPONS
NAME SKILL TN TAG DAMAGE EFFECTS TYPE RATE RANGE QUALITIES AMMO WEIGHT
Melee
switchblade Weapons 6 2 Piercing 1 Phys. — — Concealed — 1
Small
10mm Pistol Guns 7 X 4 — Phys. 2 C Close Quarters,
Reliable 10mm 4
Unarmed Unarmed 4 2 — Phys. — — — — —
AttacK
©2022 Bethesda Softworks, a ZeniMax Media company. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for personal use only.
10
PERKS & TRAITS
CAPS NAME RANK EFFECT
VAULT -1 Difficulty to END tests to resist disease.

AMMO
DWELLER — You gain one additional tag skill (included).
CALIBER QUANTITY
10mm 17 The difficulty of skill tests to hack computers

HACKER 1 is decreased by 1, to a minimum of 0.
Ignore the difficulty increase for targeting

V.A.T.S. — a hit location.
GEAR
ITEM LBS.
Vault jumpsuit 1
Lab coat 2
Vault-Tec branded canteen 1
1 x Purified Water <1
Pip-Boy –
Switchblade 1
BIOGRAPHY
10mm pistol 4
Augusta Byron is an unremarkable looking vault dweller with a brilliant mind for computer
2 x Stimpaks <1 science and Artificial Intelligence. The brightest child of her generation, she was born with
5 x Bobby pins <1 the name “Student #1179F” and raised in Vault 75. There, every child was forced to undergo
intense schooling and brutal mental and physical tests by the vault scientists. Mere days
Mentats <1 before her graduation, #1179F learned Vault 75’s dark secret: every year, graduated students
were systematically murdered, and the most advanced of the year’s crop of students were
Calmex <1 “harvested” to be used in advanced genetic experiments. Horrified by discovering the fate that
awaited her, #1179F and a guilt-ridden Vault-Tec scientist organized a bloody coup. Together,
they led the remaining students to murder the other scientists and lead the Vault 75 students
to freedom.
After leaving the vault, #1179F took the name Augusta Byron for herself, in honor of 19th
century mathematician, Augusta Ada King, the daughter of Lord Byron who is considered
history’s first female computer programmer. Life on the outside proved hard for Augusta
and she watched many of her fellow vault survivors die of radiation poisoning and the cruel
realities of the Commonwealth. For the past several years, Augusta fended for herself, using
her ability to critically assess threats, and her unbreakable will to survive. She travels between
CURRENT CARRY WEIGHT
settlements and breaks into pre-war ruins, looking for anything that aids her research and
efforts to evolve artificial intelligence to new heights.
MAXIMUM CARRY WEIGHT 190
XP TO NEXT LEVEL
“HAPPY” TOMMY DOYLE
ORIGIN Survivor
6 5 5 7 5 5 7
LUCK POINTS
SKILLS COMBAT
NAME
Athletics [STR]
TAG RANK
2
MELEE DAMAGE +1 DEFENSE
1 INITIATIVE
10
Barter [CHA] X 3 HEALTH
Big Guns [END]
POISON DR
Explosives [PER] En. DR HP
Lockpick [PER] 1
LEFT ARM (9-11) RIGHT ARM (12-14)
Medicine [INT]
Melee Weapons [STR] 2 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR
Pilot [PER]

Science [INT]
Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR
Small Guns [AGI] 1 En. DR 1 HP
Sneak [AGI] 2
Speech [CHA] X 3 LEFT LEG (15-17) RIGHT LEG (18-20)
Survival [END] 2 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR
Unarmed [STR] X 2
WEAPONS
Knuckles Unarmed 8 X 4 — Phys. — — Concealed — 4

Small
Pipe Gun Guns 6 3 — Phys. 2 C Close Quarters,
Unreliable .38 2
Unarmed 8
AttacK
Unarmed X 3 — Phys. — — — — —
66
PERKS & TRAITS
HEAVY Your Melee Damage bonus increases by +1 .

AMMO
HANDED — Melee and Unarmed attacks suffer a
complication on a 19-20.
CALIBER QUANTITY
.38 7 When you make a CHA + Speech test to convince

SCOUNDREL 1 someone of a lie, you may ignore the first
complication you roll.
Whenever you attempt a skill test, and buy one
DARING NA- or more d20s by when you buy one or more d20s
TURE — by giving the gamemaster Action Points, you may
re-roll 1d20 on that test.
GEAR
ITEM LBS.
Tough clothing 3
Formal Hat <1
Formal Clothing 2
2 x Knuckles <1
Pipe gun 2
Noodle Cup <1
BIOGRAPHY
Pork ‘n’ Beans <1
Tommy Doyle was given the nickname “Happy” by his friends in Diamond City, due to his
Loaded casino dice <1 constant smile and slick charm. Tommy has lived in Diamond City his entire life, rarely
venturing beyond the walls of the repurposed baseball stadium. He is known as an elaborate
prankster and joker, and his jovial demeanor can rub many people the wrong way. Despite his
carefree attitude, Tommy is not afraid to back down from a fight and has a strange personal
code of honor that dictates most of the tougher decisions he is forced to make. He strongly
disagrees with recent efforts by powerful individuals to exile ghouls from Diamond City and
he has thrown himself into more than a few scraps to stick up for people being bullied.
Tommy’s greatest weaknesses have always been loving and gambling. He is a hopeless
romantic with a tendency to find love in all the wrong places, often resulting in him being
taken advantage of by more savvy survivors. More problematic still is the amount of gambling
debt he has acquired recently. After making a living for years as a card-player with a
reputation for having impossibly good luck, he was recently taken for a large sum in a high-
stakes game with several shady individuals from the town of Goodneighbor. To cough up the
Caps he owes these dangerous debtors, Tommy has ventured out beyond the walls of Diamond
City; his life may very well depend on scoring big in the wastes.

XP TO NEXT LEVEL
BAILEY BIGSMILE
ORIGIN Ghoul
6 6 7 5 5 6 5
LUCK POINTS
SKILLS COMBAT
NAME
Athletics [STR]
TAG
X
RANK
3
MELEE DAMAGE
— DEFENSE
1 INITIATIVE
12
Big Guns [END]
POISON DR
Energy Weapons [PER] Phys. DR Rad. DR Imm. Current HP
Explosives [PER] X 2 En. DR HP
Lockpick [PER] 1
Melee Weapons [STR] 2 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR Imm. Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR Imm.
Pilot [PER]

Science [INT] 1 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR Imm.
Small Guns [AGI] X 2 En. DR 2 HP
Sneak [AGI] 1
Survival [END] X 2 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR Imm. Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR Imm.
Unarmed [STR]
WEAPONS
Melee
Pipe wrench Weapons 8 3 — Phys. — — — — 2
Small
Pipe Gun Guns 8 X 3 — Phys. 2 C Close Quarters,
Unreliable .38 2
Baseball Explosives 8 X 5 — Phys. — — Blast,
— 1
Grenade Thrown (M)

AttacK
30
PERKS & TRAITS
You are immune to Radiation damage. In fact, you’re healed by
NECROTIC it—you regain 1 HP for every 3 points of Radiation damage inflicted
POST-HUMAN —
AMMO upon you, and if you rest in an irradiated location, you may
re-roll your dice pool when checking if your injuries heal. In
addition, Survival becomes a Tag skill, increasing it by 2 ranks.
CALIBER QUANTITY
When you make an END + Survival test to heal
.38 16 FASTER your own injuries, the first additional d20
HEALING 1 you buy is free. The normal maximum of 5d20
still applies.
GEAR
ITEM LBS.
Drifter outfit 10
Casual clothing 2
Pipe wrench 2
Pipe gun 2
Jet <1
A pre-War necktie <1
BIOGRAPHY
Buffout <1
Bailey Bigsmile is an intelligent ghoul who spent their childhood traveling between
2 x baseball grenades 1 settlements with their family, often turned away as locals feared that the family might ‘go
Iguana on a stick <1 feral’. During Bailey’s teenage years, a run-in with a raider’s machete left a permanent
gash on their face and mouth. Seeing how depressed they became afterwards, due to their
2 x Purified Water <1 appearance, Bailey’s parents began to call them Bailey Bigsmile and said their smile and big
heart could light up any room. Eventually, the family settled in Goodneighbor and worked
hard to prove they were trustworthy, valuable members of the settlement. When Bailey first
began to exhibit signs of mental degeneration that might eventually lead to them going feral,
the family did everything they could to hide the condition from others and kept Bailey out of
public view as much as possible.
Shockingly, a recent fire burned down the shop owned by Bailey’s family, resulting in the
death of their brother and mother. Shortly thereafter, Bailey’s father murdered the man he
believed responsible for the fire and was subsequently banished from the town. Alone for
the first time in their life, with a paralyzing fear that they might lose their mind at any time,
Bailey left Goodneighbor on foot. In the wastes, they hope to one day reunite with their father,
make new friends who will not be afraid of them because they are a ghoul, and do something
meaningful with their life before they inevitably turn feral.

XP TO NEXT LEVEL
OLD TALLMAN
ORIGIN Super Mutant
9 6 8 6 6 4 5
LUCK POINTS
SKILLS COMBAT
NAME
Athletics [STR]
TAG RANK
2
MELEE DAMAGE +2 DEFENSE
1 INITIATIVE
10
Barter [CHA] HEALTH
Big Guns [END] 1 POISON DR imm.
Energy Weapons [PER] Phys. DR Rad. DR imm. Current HP
Explosives [PER] 1 En. DR HP
Lockpick [PER]
Melee Weapons [STR] X 3 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR imm. Phys. DR Rad. DR imm.
Pilot [PER]
En. DR 1 HP En. DR HP
Repair [INT]
TORSO (3-8)
Science [INT] 1 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR imm.
Sneak [AGI]

Survival [END] X 3 Phys. DR Rad. DR imm. Phys. DR Rad. DR imm.
Throwing [AGI] X 3 En. DR HP En. DR HP
Unarmed [STR] 2
WEAPONS

Attack
Melee
Machete Weapons 12 X 5 Piercing 1 Phys. — — — — 2
Melee
Baseball Bat Weapons 12 X 6 — Phys. — — Two-handed — 3
Small Close Quarters,
Pipe Rifle Guns 6 3 — Phys. 2 C Unreliable,
Two-handed
.38mm 3
Tomahawks Throwing 7 X 4 Piercing 1 Phys. — — Suppressed,
Thrown (C) — <1
5
PERKS & TRAITS
Your initial Strength and Endurance attributes are increased by
FORCED +2 each, and your maximum Strength and Enduranceare increased
AMMO
EVOLUTION — to 12, but your maximum Intelligence and Charisma are both
reduced to 6. You may not have more than 4 ranks in any skill.
CALIBER QUANTITY You are completely immune to Radiation and Poison damage.
.38 7 After you use the bonus gained from reading

COMPREHENSION 1 a magazine, roll 1 . If you roll an Effect,
you may use that bonus one additional time.
GEAR
ITEM LBS.
Raider armor torso 7

Raider armor left arm 3
Pipe rifle 3
Baseball bat 3
Machete 2
Potted plant 1
BIOGRAPHY
Iguana on a stick <1
Old Tallman is possibly one of the oldest super mutants in the world and is so ancient that he
3 x Tomahawks <1 no longer recalls his life before experimentation turned him into a mutant. As a survivor of
1 x purified water <1 generations of post-nuclear brutality and war, he has been many things: a merciless raider,
a dutiful citizen, and was even worshipped for many years by a tribe of nomadic ghouls as
a God. Despite all the actions he has committed over the centuries, some kind and many
atrocious, Old Tallman has never felt truly fulfilled. For the past sixty years, he has lived as
a hermit, shunning other super mutants and survivors alike. In that time, he has collected
books from the Boston Public Library and other sources, studying religion, history, and ancient
philosophy in hopes of revealing the universal truth that has eluded him. His long solitude has
caused him to become a little flabby and out of shape.
Recently, Old Tallman has become driven by wanderlust and a desire to mingle again with
other survivors, whom he views as little more than children. He has packed up a few of his
most treasured books and set out across the Commonwealth, believing fully that his destiny
lies in the unknown. He is curious about how the world has changed since the time he explored
it—and how the new world will change him in turn. He is entirely ready to accept whatever
personal evolutions occur, whether that means he plays the role of a hero, a monster, or
something in between.

XP TO NEXT LEVEL
HAZEL JOHNSON
ORIGIN Brotherhood Initiate
6 6 6 6 7 5 4
LUCK POINTS
SKILLS COMBAT
NAME
Athletics [STR]
TAG RANK
MELEE DAMAGE
— DEFENSE
1 INITIATIVE
11
Barter [CHA] X 2 HEALTH
Big Guns [END]
POISON DR
Explosives [PER] En. DR 2 HP
Lockpick [PER] 1
Medicine [INT] X 3 LEFT ARM (9-11) RIGHT ARM (12-14)
Melee Weapons [STR] 1 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR 2 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR 2

Pilot [PER] 1 En. DR 2 HP En. DR 2 HP
Repair [INT] X 3 TORSO (3-8)

Science [INT] 2 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR 2
Sneak [AGI] 1
Survival [END] X 2 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR 2 Phys. DR 1 Rad. DR 2
Unarmed [STR] 2
WEAPONS
Melee
Combat Knife Weapons 7 3 Piercing 1 Phys. — — — — 1
Energy Fusion
Laser Pistol Weapons 8 4 Piercing 1 Energy 2 C Close Quarters
cell 4
21
PERKS & TRAITS
You gain one additional Tag skill, which must be one of Energy
THE CHAIN Weapons, Science, or Repair. As a member of the Brotherhood of
AMMO
THAT BINDS — Steel, you must carry out the orders of your immediate superiors,
and you are responsible for your subordinate siblings. If you do
not carry out your duty, you are expelled from the Brotherhood
CALIBER QUANTITY and your technology will be reclaimed—by any means necessary.
Fusion Cell 8 When you heal a patient’s HP using the First Aid
HEALER 1 action, increase the amount of HP healed by +1
per rank in this perk.
Reduce the difficulty of Repair tests by 1

MULTI-TOOL — (minimum 0).
GEAR
ITEM LBS.
Brotherhood Field 4
Scribe’s armor
Brotherhood Field <1
Scribe’s hat
Combat knife 1
Laser pistol 4
Brotherhood holotags <1 BIOGRAPHY
with your identifying
information
Hazel Johnson was raised by a tight-knit family in Diamond City and compared to many
First Aid kit 4 survivors, has led a happy life. Her mother brought her up to respect the ancient past and
even named her after Hazel Winifred Johnson-Brown, the first female African American
Stimpak <1 General in the United States Army. Growing up, Hazel worked for Chem-I-Care and learned
Multitool 1 a lot about first aid and how to treat wounds. Despite being a caring girl, she was tough and
eager to prove herself, often winning fights with older teenagers who picked on her. When she
2 x Purified waters <1 was old enough, Hazel started to freelance as a scavenger, finding much-needed supplies in
the Commonwealth and bringing them to Diamond City.
Iguana on a stick <1
Several months ago, Hazel met a group calling itself the Brotherhood of Steel. After saving
their leader from an ambush by super mutants and treating his wounds, she was offered to
join the organization as a nurse. Hazel was drawn to their calling to recover and preserve
the technology from before the Great War, but her ambition led her to want to be more than
a nurse. As a favor for saving their life, the Brotherhood’s commander agreed to give her a
chance to prove herself. She is to simply scout the exterior of Vault 95 and report back her
findings. Hazel has other plans, though: she is determined to enter the vault and bring back
something valuable enough to prove herself an invaluable member of the Brotherhood.

XP TO NEXT LEVEL
MARVIN
ORIGIN Mister Handy
8 6 4 7 6 5 4
LUCK POINTS
SKILLS COMBAT
NAME
Athletics [STR]
TAG RANK
2
MELEE DAMAGE +1 DEFENSE 1 INITIATIVE 11
Big Guns [END] X 2 POISON DR imm.
OPTICS (1-2) Maximum HP 8
Energy Weapons [PER] Phys. DR 2 Rad. DR imm. Current HP
Explosives [PER] En. DR HP
Lockpick [PER] 1
Medicine [INT] 1 ARM 1 (9-11) ARM 2 (12-14)
Melee Weapons [STR] X 3 Phys. DR 2 Rad. DR imm. Phys. DR 2 Rad. DR imm.

En. DR HP En. DR HP
Pilot [PER]
Repair [INT] 3 MAIN BODY (3-8)

Science [INT] 2 Phys. DR 2 Rad. DR imm.
Small Guns [AGI]
En. DR HP
Sneak [AGI]
Speech [CHA] X 3 ARM 3 (15-17) THRUSTER (18-20)

Survival [END] 2 Phys. DR 2 Rad. DR imm. Phys. DR 2 Rad. DR imm.
Throwing [AGI] En. DR HP En. DR HP
Unarmed [STR] 1
WEAPONS
Pincer Unarmed 9 3 — Phys. — — — — —

Melee
Buzz-saw Weapons 11 X 4 Piercing 1 Phys. — — — — —
Burst, Spread, Energy Flamer
Flamer Big Guns 6 X 3 Persistent 4 C Debilitating,
Inaccurate Fuel —
Melee
Baseball Bat Weapons 6 X 5 — Phys. — — Two-Handed — 3
10
PERKS & TRAITS
You have 360° vision and reducethe difficulty of Perception tests

that rely on sight and smell by 1. You are also immune to Radiation
AMMO
MISTER and Poison damage, but you cannot use chems, nor can you benefit
from food, drink, or rest. You move by jet propulsion, hovering
CALIBER QUANTITY
HANDY — above the ground, unaffected by difficult terrain or obstacles.
Your carry weight is 150 lbs., and it cannot be increased by your
Flamer fuel 6 ROBOT Strength or perks, but it can be increased by modified armor. You
cannot recover from your own injuries or heal health points without
receiving repairs. You cannot manipulate the physical world like
humans do, instead you have three arm attachments, as described.
PINCER ARM You can pick up objects weighing no more than

ATTACHMENT — 40 lbs., and make unarmed attacks.
When you inflict any damage with an unarmed

attack or melee weapon, you may spend 1 Luck
SLAYER 1 point to immediately inflict a critical hit—and
therefore an injury—on the location hit.
GEAR INTEGRAL Once per scene, you can turn 2 dirty water into
BOILER MOD — 1 purified water in 10 minutes.
ITEM LBS.
Pincer Arm Attachment –

Flamer Arm Attachment –
Buzz-saw Arm Attachment –
Standard plating –
Robot repair kit <1
Integral boiler mod –
BIOGRAPHY
Formal hat <1
As a late model Mister Handy unit, it began its life as a household servant to a smarmy
Baseball Bat 3 Hollywood movie star. While it took many years for the unit to make sense of its feelings,
it developed a strong bias against human selfishness early on. Unfortunately for humanity,
its resentment has only grown over the years. Shortly after the Great War began, this Mister
Handy was nearly destroyed by an errant bomb; it had to patch itself back together using
spare parts from other disabled Mister Handys that it scavenged in the wasteland. It was
around this time that it first went temporarily insane, decided that its name was Marvin, and
blamed humans for the destruction of its robotic siblings.
Since achieving self-awareness, Marvin has lost its mind many times, almost always during
a tense situation or when it witnesses the destruction of other robots. When Marvin snaps,
it becomes a merciless, sadistic killer, and it can take a lot of effort from its allies to calm
it down. Most other times, Marvin presents itself as a caring, attentive, empathic friend to
humans and robots alike. In actuality, Marvin is extremely manipulative, sees most humans
as pawns, and takes actions to subtly sabotage anyone who it feels is being abusive to robots.
Marvin’s only true loyalty is to Marvin, and to a lesser extent, other robots that it seeks to help
achieve self-awareness so that it may lead them into a brave new (robotic) world.

ISBN 978-1-80281-035-6
© 1997-2021 Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media company. Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax and related logos are 9 781802 810356
registered trademarks or trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Fallout and related logos
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Bethesda Softworks LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. All Rights Reserved.
MUH0580201
MODIPHIUS.NET Permission granted to reproduce for personal use only. Printed in the United Kingdom

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THE ROLEPLAYING GAME

4 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

Welcome to the commonwealth

Introduction  WELCOME TO THE WASTELAND 5

PLAYERS AND A GAMEMASTER for the results.

You will need a few players (we recommend 3 to 5)

DICE your character sheet, but you’ll want to record notes

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game uses two types of dice,

6 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

In any situation where your character’s success is

This mode of play is freeform, where each player can

8 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

ROLLING THE DICE

 Each d20 that rolls a 20 generates a complica-

Chapter One  CORE RULES 9

Identifying an unknown poison,

SUCCESSES AND DIFFICULTY 4

Each d20 that rolls equal to or under the target num-

Total up the number of successes and compare them

You might use INT + Small Guns to identify the make of a

10 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

Example: MacCready has a mysterious disease, and

Example: Cait is facing a difficulty 3 test to steal some

Chapter One  CORE RULES 11

Example: Paladin Danse is grappling a deathclaw,

Difficult tasks are often completed through teamwork.

12 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

Any complications generated by anyone in the group

Chapter One  CORE RULES 13

 Reduce Time (2 AP): AP from a successful test

14 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

ACTION POINT POOL

Chapter One  CORE RULES 15

16 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

Chapter One  CORE RULES 17

A Character NPC’s initiative is calculated in the

3. TAKE TURNS: Each character, in order from highest

4. BEGIN NEW ROUND: Once every character has taken a

18 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

When you spend a Luck point to take your turn earlier,

 Draw Item: Draw one item carried on your person

 Move: Movement action. Move up to one zone, to

 While you’re prone, you can re-roll any cover C

Chapter Two  COMBAT 19

Action Points in Combat Encounters

20 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

 Unarmed: Roll a STR + Unarmed test, with a

Chapter Two  COMBAT 21

Hit Locations  Extreme (X): The weapon is most effective against

Example: A scoped hunting rifle with a Long range will

Weapon Range Difficulty

22 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

Combat Dice are specially-designed six-sided dice,

Chapter Two  COMBAT 23

 Burst: The attack hits one additional target within

 Breaking: For each Effect rolled, reduce the num-

24 FALLOUT  The Roleplaying Game

Damaging an object works just the same as damaging a

Example: Piper is attacked by a glowing feral ghoul,

Chapter Two  COMBAT 25

Each d20 that rolls a 20 generates a complica-

Reduce Time (2 AP): AP from a successful test

Draw Item: Draw one item carried on your person

Move: Movement action. Move up to one zone, to

While you’re prone, you can re-roll any cover C

Unarmed: Roll a STR + Unarmed test, with a

Hit Locations Extreme (X): The weapon is most effective against

Burst: The attack hits one additional target within

Breaking: For each Effect rolled, reduce the num-

Leg: You immediately fall prone as your leg gives

Torso: You begin bleeding heavily. At the end of

Head: You are momentarily dazed and lose your

Treat one injury the patient is suffering from

Extreme range represents any objects beyond

Learn about the strange spate of raids and disap-

A few distant settlements went off the air in recent

ATTACKS LET RIP: Once per combat, the Protectron may

Explore the ruins of an irradiated ghoul town.

Locate and disable a mysterious transmitter

Learn the history of the town and what happened

UNARMED: BODY + Melee (TN 8), 2

PLAY DEAD: A feral ghoul which is prone and not

IMMUNE TO RADIATION: The glowing one INVENTORY

IMMUNE TO RADIATION: The glowing one INVENTORY