Fallout: New Vegas Walkthrough – SPECIAL Guide

SPECIAL
Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck are the SPECIAL attributes that have been used in the Fallout Universe since time immemorial. These affect everything you do in game.

Strength:
“Strength will tell you how easily a cowboy totes his saddle and those bigger firearms, or how much help he's gonna be in a saloon brawl”.

1 Wet Noodle            Carry Weight: 160
2 Beached Jellyfish        Carry Weight: 170
3 Doughy Boy            Carry Weight: 180
4 Lightweight            Carry Weight: 190
5 Average Joe            Carry Weight: 200
6 Barrel Chested        Carry Weight: 210
7 Beach Bully            Carry Weight: 220
8 Circus Strongman        Carry Weight: 230
9 Doomsday Pecs        Carry Weight: 240
10 Hercules' Bigger Cousin    Carry Weight: 250

Perception
“A perceptive cowboy always knows when there's a lit stick of dynamite nearby … or when a varmint's sneakin' up on him”.

1 Deaf Bat
2 Senile Mole
3 Squinting Newt
4 Unsuspecting Trout
5 Wary Trout
6 Alert Coyote
7 Big-eyed Tiger
8 Monocled Falcon
9 Sniper Hawk
10 Eagle with Telescope

Endurance
“You can't keep a good cowboy down, not if he's the endurin' type .. and not if he's got a six-shooter the size of all tarnation”.

1 Basically Dead    Health – 120
2 Crumbly        Health – 140
3 Do Not Bend    Health – 160
4 Handle With Care    Health – 180
5 Stain-resistant    Health – 200
6 Hardy        Health – 220
7 Tough-As-Nails    Health – 240
8 Flame Retardant    Health – 260
9 Bulletproof        Health – 280
10 Unstoppable    Health – 300

Charisma
“You' find some smooth-talkin' cowboys out there that got themselves a voice sounds like an angel's harmonica”.

1 Misanthrope        Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +5%
2 Old Hermit        Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +10%
3 Creep Undertaker    Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +15%
4 Peevish Librarian    Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +20%
5 Substitute Teacher    Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +25%
6 Cheery Salesman    Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +30%
7 Diplomat        Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +35%
8 Movie Star        Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +40%
9 Casanova        Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +45%
10 Cult Leader    Companion Nerve: Armor and Damage +50%

Intelligence
“A smart cowboy's good at most anything, from suckin' the poison out of your rattled bite to fixin' your broken wagon axle”.

1 Sub-brick        Skill Points: 10.5
2 Vegetable        Skill Points: 11
3 Cretin        Skill Points: 11.5
4 Knucklehead    Skill Points: 12
5 Knowledgeable    Skill Points: 12.5
6 Gifted        Skill Points: 13
7 Smartypants        Skill Points: 13.5
8 Know-it-all        Skill Points: 14
9 Genius        Skill Points: 14.5
10 Omniscient        Skill Points: 15

The Half Points live up to their name. You will receive the boost from them every other level as they will accumulate.

Your intelligence can affect your responses. There are times have a lower intelligence makes the game funnier to play (think LoL Catz).

Agility
“When a fella's in a gunfight and shoots the other guy six times before they can get off a shot, it's 'cause that fella is agile”.

1 Walking Disaster    Action Points: 68
2 Accident Prone    Action Points: 71
3 Oaf            Action Points: 74
4 Butterfingers    Action Points: 77
5 Under Control    Action Points: 80
6 Catlike        Action Points: 83
7 Knife Thrower    Action Points: 86
8 Knife Catcher    Action Points: 89
9 Acrobatic Marvel    Action Points: 92
10 Walks on Water    Action Points: 95

Luck
“Some folks claim not to believe in luck, but when they lose in a duel you'll hear them say 'That lucky son-of-a-gun!'”

1 13 Pitch-Black Cats        Critical Chance +1, All Skills +1
2 Broken Gypsy Mirror    Critical Chance +2, All Skills +1
3 Sickly Albatross        Critical Chance +3, All Skills +2
4 Spilled Salt            Critical Chance +4, All Skills +2
5 Coin Flip            Critical Chance +5, All Skills +3
6 Stacked Deck        Critical Chance +6, All Skills +3
7 Lucky 7            Critical Chance +7, All Skills +4
8 Leprechaun's Foot        Critical Chance +8, All Skills +4
9 21-Leaf Clover        Critical Chance +9, All Skills +5
10 Two-Headed Coin Flip    Critical Chance +10, All Skills +5