Traits and More Perks

Traits and More Perks

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Traits and More Perks

What does this mod do?

This mod adds a number of new Traits and a few new Perks into the game. Because the standard perk menu (the Vault Boy chart) precludes adding new perks/traits directly, these new perks and traits are obtained by constructing a special item at a Chemistry Station (under the Utility section), then using that item on your character to add the perk. Many Traits/Perks are directly inspired by previous Fallout titles, but quite a few are original creations. Also included are items that remove all perks and remove all traits, so if you want to re-spec your character build or want to uninstall the mod, it’s only a few clicks away.

What’s a Trait?

Good question! Traits are special character features that were present in Fallout 1, 2, and New Vegas, but were absent from Fallout 3 and 4. Essentially, Traits are something that add both a valuable advantage AND a great disadvantage to your character, making them even more unique. They’re unlike Perks, because Perks can only help your character and are always something good, whereas Traits contain something good AND something bad. Whether a Trait is worth the trade-off is up to your own judgment and playstyle, but experimenting with new Traits can reinvigorate an existing playthrough or add a lot of variety to a second playthrough.

Can this mod be used with an existing save game?

It sure can! All you need to do to access the new Traits and Perks is find a Chemistry Station anywhere and you’re free to access all the new content!

How will this work with a new game?
Because of script limitations, you won’t be able to add Traits to your character at creation, as was the case in earlier Fallout titles. Instead, you’ll have to wait until you find a Chemistry Station. Given that there’s one right in Sanctuary, though, you won’t be waiting long.

I’m at a Chemistry Station. What do I do to get the new stuff?

It’s simple! Just go to the “Utility” section of the recipes, pick out the perk/trait you want, and make the corresponding item. Each item costs one (1) Steel to make and you construct them just like you would any other item. After you’ve made it, go to your inventory. Under the “Aid” section, go to the bottom, where the new item should be waiting. Then use it on your character and voila! The perk/trait is yours, and you can find it in your Perks menu. Note that Perks will be listed normally, while Traits will have “[Trait]” listed before them in the Perks menu to differentiate them.

I used a Perk item but I didn’t get the corresponding Perk! What gives?

Your character didn’t meet the requirements. Look closely at the description of the Perk when you’re at the Chemistry Station (or in this Readme) – just like in vanilla, Perks have requirements that you have to meet. If you don’t meet the requirements of the Perk, nothing will happen when you use the item.

Can I remove a Trait/Perk after I’ve added it?

Yep! Just go to a Chemistry Station again, look under the “Utility” recipes, and find the item listed as “[Remove All Perks]” or “[Remove All Traits]”, depending on which you want to get rid of. Make the item, then look under the “Aid” section in your Pip-Boy. Use the [Remove All Whichever] item, depending on what you need, and all perks and/or traits in question will be removed from your character. Because the items that give your character the perks/traits only cost 1 Steel to make, you can easily re-add what you did like and leave out what you didn’t.

The item “[Remove All Perks]” doesn’t really remove ALL perks, right?

Of course not! The [Remove All Perks] item WILL ONLY REMOVE THE CUSTOM PERKS ADDED BY THIS MOD. ALL VANILLA PERKS FROM THE REGULAR GAME WILL BE TOTALLY UNAFFECTED.

Is there any limit on how many Traits I can have at once?

Nope! Previous Fallout titles had a limit of two Traits at once for a character, but with this mod, you can have as many Traits active at once as you want. Possessing certain Traits with contradicting effects (e.g., having both the Gifted and Fear the Reaper Traits) will result in those effects limiting or even cancelling each other out (using the previous example, having both Gifted and Fear the Reaper would increase all of your stats by 2 in exchange for making you more vulnerable to weapons and so on). Also, be mindful that adding certain Traits together won’t do you much good – for instance, there’s not much point in taking Determined with Fast Metabolism, for obvious reasons.

Can you put all the Traits and Perks this mod adds in a comprehensive list for easy review?
Traits

Determined
Nothing can stop you when you put your mind to something. You gain a permanent bonus of 25 to your Damage, Energy, and Rad Resistances and your limbs are twice as hard to cripple, but all chems (including Stimpaks!) have absolutely no effect on you.

Fast Metabolism
Stimpaks and RadAway work twice as quickly, but your rapid metabolism makes you doubly susceptible to poison and radiation.

Fear the Reaper
Live hard and fast, that’s always been your plan. You gain experience at twice the normal rate, but take double damage from all weapons and recover less health from all healing sources.

Finesse
You’re not one to attack mindlessly. Ever the thoughtful combatant, you have a flat 10% chance to score a critical hit at any time, but your normal damage is 30% lower.

Gifted
You were born talented. However, because you were so gifted, you never got used to learning new things. You gain a +2 bonus to every S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat, but the rate at which you gain experience is halved.

Good Natured
You spent your youth learning ways to help people, not hurt them. People are easier to persuade, vendor prices are better, and medicine is more effective, but your overall damage is reduced by 20%.

Heavy Handed
Those misshaped lumps of flesh you call hands aren’t much for artistry, but they sure do leave a bruise. Your melee and unarmed damage is 20% lower, but all attacks have a 5% chance of knocking your opponent flat on their face.

Small Frame
Being the shortest kid in class may not have done much for your self-esteem, but it sure does make you a smaller target. You gain +1 to your Agility score, but your limbs are 25% more easy to cripple.

Tactical Bombing
Relying on splash damage is for amateurs – a skilled individual will always destroy the right target at the right time. All of your explosives do twice as much damage, but the radius of your explosions is halved.
Perks

Adrenaline Junkie
(REQURES: Level 28, PER 6)
Nothing like ending some poor bastard’s life to get the blood pumping. You regain 10 Action Points whenever you kill something in V.A.T.S.

Cautious Nature
(REQURES: Level 14)
When your blood gets pumping and your heart starts pounding, your senses become almost super-human. You gain three points of Perception while you’re in combat.

Personal Space
(REQURES: Level 18, AGI 4)
Nothing like a round of buckshot to teach people that you like your space. While using ranged weapons, you have a chance of scoring a critical hit against enemies that are within spitting distance of you. This bonus does not apply to sneak attacks.

Preemptive Strike
(REQURES: Level 20)
When in doubt, kill everything in sight. You can never be sure about who’s going to hurt you, after all. Your critical chance and weapon damage are significantly increased when attacking someone who isn’t actively hostile towards you.

Seems like there’s way more Traits than there are Perks. What gives?

You caught me! Yeah, if it wasn’t obvious, the Traits got the majority of the attention, design-wise. The Perks that are present are more of a proof-of-concept than they are meant to be a comprehensive suite of new Perks. I considered delaying the release of the mod until I had more Perks to show off, but decided to let people play around with the mod as-it-is in the meantime. More Perks can always be patched in with later versions, after all. Speaking of which…

Installation

If you’re installing manually, extract “CCOFO4 – Traits and More Perks.esp” to your Fallout 4\Data folder, then enable it in the mod manager of your choice. I’d put it relatively late in the load order.

Uninstallation

These are the same steps you’ll have to follow to update to a new version of the mod if/when I release one, so take note.

1. Load up the game WITHOUT removing the mod.
2. Go to a Chemistry Station and make the “[Remove All Perks]” and “[Remove All Traits]” items.
3. Use both the “[Remove All Perks]” and “[Remove All Traits]” items on your character.
4. AFTER you’ve used the removal items, THEN save your game.
5. Exit the game and disable “CCOFO4 – Traits and More Perks.esp” in your mod manager.

Will you translate this mod into other languages?

I sure will! The actual plugin itself can get a little, uh, labyrinthine, so hit me up in the comments or via PM and I’ll provide you the text that needs to be translated, and then I’ll edit the plugin accordingly and release the translated file on the mod’s page. Any and all translators will receive credit in the respective readme and on the mod’s page.

Credits and Final Remarks

Thanks to ElminsterAU, Hlp, Zilav and Sharlikran for FO4Edit, the tool this mod was made with.
Thanks to Bethesda Softworks for Fallout 4.
Thanks to Will, Sam, Jon, and Jordin. They know why.

N.B. This is a beta and while I have playtested everything to ensure it works properly, there’s always a chance something isn’t working as it should. Let me know immediately if you find a suspected bug.

Have fun!
– Ciro

My Fallout 4 mods:
Full Dialogue Interface

My Fallout: New Vegas mods:
Ulysses Companion Mod
Cirosan’s Classic Overhaul