Fallout: New Vegas Walkthrough -> Characteristics (SPECIAL)
Strength – tells you how easily a cowboy can haul a saddle or big guns; it also tells you how useful he’ll be in a saloon brawl. It affects the Melee and Unarmed skills, maximum equipment weight, damage, and weapon effectiveness.
Bonuses: +10 carry weight; +0.5 melee damage; +2 Melee Weapons. Many weapons (especially heavy ones) also require a high Strength stat.
Perception – A perceptive cowboy always knows if someone has lit a stick of dynamite nearby… or if some creature is crawling toward him. Affects the Explosives, Lockpicking, Energy Weapons skills, accuracy, and compass range.
Bonuses: +2 Energy Weapons; +2 Explosives; +2 Lockpicking.
Endurance – You can’t knock a good cowboy out of the saddle for long—if he’s resilient, of course… and if he’s armed with a hefty six-shooter. Affects the Unarmed skill, health, resistance, and the Survival skill.
Bonuses: +20 Health; +2 Survival; +2 Unarmed.
Charisma – Some cowboys have such sweet voices that it’s as if they were angels playing a trumpet. Affects barter, speech, companions, and fortitude.
Bonuses: +5 to companion defense and damage; +2 to Barter; +2 to Speech.
Intelligence – A smart cowboy can do almost anything: suck rattlesnake venom out of a wound or fix a broken wagon axle. Affects the Science, Repair, and Medicine skills, as well as skill points.
Bonuses: +0.5 skill points per level (min 10, max 15); +2 Medicine; +2 Repair; +2 Science.
Agility – If a guy in a shootout pumps six bullets into another guy before he even recovers, it’s because he’s agile. Affects the Weapons and Stealth skills, speed, and action point regeneration.
Bonuses: +3 action points in VATS mode; +2 Weapons; +2 Stealth.
Luck – Some guys say they don’t believe in luck, but somehow, when they lose, you always hear them say, “You’re lucky, you son of a pike!” Affects all skills, critical hits, and enemy errors.
Bonuses: +1% critical hit chance; for every 2 points of luck, all skills are +1.
See also:
Fallout: New Vegas – Player Companions (Part 2)