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That's helpful stuff; thanks, guys. So, the pistol I start with isn't supposed to be able to kill a raider, necessarily? My problem is mainly that my weapons and stats suck?
I did, indeed, do a little restart as Dave mentions, though I did it a lot earlier, thank goodness. Initially I tried to emphasize whatever traits I was better or worse out in real life. But I read around a bit and it was suggested that Charisma and Luck, for example, aren't terribly useful, so I went back and emphasized Intelligence and Perception for the most part. I think I went 10 and 9 on them, respectively. I'll check that video out, K; looks very useful.
The second system produces some really tough decisions; I'm leaning towards hacking and melee weapons, I guess, but would I be correct in saying that, though you shouldn't spread out your SPECIAL points, it's not as bad to do so with the secondary skill points?
I'm also wondering how many of my choices in the beginning matter much going forward. So far I've responded to everything exactly as I would in real life, but I'm not yet clear on how this stuff builds. From the sound of things, it all matters, which is difficult to contemplate on this scale.