POV Rio
Once I was sure the Minutemen were okay, I decided to distribute the level-up points I had gathered from the battle. First was the Skill Points.
Skills:
Cracking: 75 ---> 100
Barter: 1
Energy Guns: 1
Explosives: 1
Guns: 1
Magic: 50 ---> 100
Medicine: 16 ---> 91
Melee Weapons: 1
Science: 100
Sneak: 100
Survival: 40 ---> 100
Unarmed: 16
I had maxed out the Survival skill as it gave me plenty of useful boosts. It gave me resistance to most forms of damage. Some of the boosts weren't that massive, but it did allow me to breathe underwater and not take any radiation from water.
The next skill I maxed out was the Cracking skill. I chose to do so as I figured it might give me something more than just not being able to fail to break into a lock or terminal. And I was right. I can now bypass any barrier, lock, terminal, or other forms of blocking measures. It also allowed me to make unbreakable locks and digital defenses. It meant there was no door I could get past. No matter how difficult it is to get past something, I will eventually get past it.
After that, I put the skill points into the Magic skill. It was a really good decision. I feel a little bit dumb for not maxing it out earlier. Casting magic is now far easier, and I can understand almost any magic I see or study. My magic is also far more efficient and powerful. It also gave me knowledge on magic that I hadn't even studied yet. For instance, before I couldn't cast Healing Magic, but now I can.
Which led me to the reason I put points into Medicine. I had noticed a pattern of knowledge-based skills. They would make learning things related to that skill easier, but more importantly, they would give you knowledge on that subject. Which led me to what I have gained so far from the skill. It made all healing items far more effective. It also taught me how to heal people and about various diseases and viruses. It also helped that I had already obtained the Medicine Bobblehead.
Speaking of the Bobbleheads, I wondered if there were Bobbleheads for Magic and Survival. Also, what would happen when I find the Sneak, Science, or Lockpicking Bobbleheads? Would I go over 100? Or perhaps I would get a unique perk. Or maybe nothing would happen. I didn't even know if the Lockpicking Bobblehead would increase the Cracking skill since they aren't the same skill. There was also the question of what a Bobblehead for a skill that I didn't have would do, such as the Repair Bobblehead.
Next was the Perk Points.
Idiot Savant Rank 3
Quick Hands Rank 3
Forest Sovereign Rank 4
Griffon's Eye Rank 4
Siren's Voice
Your voice bends minds. Your song draws crowds. And you can sound like anyone.
Rank 1: Your voice is powerful: You can change your voice at will, and it increases the effectiveness of disguises by 50%. You can perfectly replicate any voice you have heard before.
Rank 2 (Level 5): You no longer need instruments: When singing, the perfect music matching the song will automatically start playing. You can now also speak and understand all languages.
Rank 3 (Level 10): Singing can charm those around you, making them unwilling to harm you, and will also increase the odds of them paying/rewarding the user for singing. Singing can also now be used to end fights with enemies.
Rank 4 (Level 15): You are the perfect musician: You cannot fail or mess up during performances, and you always know the perfect pitch and tone needed when singing. You will gain reputation with a faction if you perform in their territory. Your voice can now enthrall others. (X)
Hive Mind
You feed off emotion, but it's strategy, not hunger, that makes you a predator.
Rank 1 (Level 5): When near allies, gain +10% damage and AP regen.
Rank 2 (Level 15): Enemies affected by charm or confusion take +30% damage from all sources.
Rank 3 (Level 25): You can now clone yourself briefly: a green illusion attacks for 10 seconds.
Rank 4 (Level 35): Once per day, activate Changeling Shift: change your appearance/form to any known person/creature, gain a unique buff, and confuse enemies. (Lasts for 4 hours) (X)
The first perk choices were just to max out the ranks of Idiot Savant for the slight increase in capabilities, and the same case for Quick Hands. Then I maxed out the ranks of Forest Sovereign and Griffon's Eye. The once-per-day life-saving ability that Forest Sovereign gives could be very helpful if I get into such a situation. The last rank of Griffon's Eye improved the summoned mercs and would reveal a hidden cache of materials and loot once per week.
Now for the brand new perks. The first choice was the Siren's Voice. At first, it was for the increase to disguise effectiveness and the ability to change my voice at will, but that changed later on. Rank 2 wasn't that useful, but the languages were nice, and Rank 3 was a bit situational, but Rank 4 was perfect for increasing my reputation with factions, and it gave me a very useful ability to get others to do what I want. I tested it on a few raiders and even our Gunner captive, and by singing, I can get them to answer any of my questions honestly, and if they are especially weak-minded, I can control them to attack others or allies. To the point where I can turn them into thralls that lose some intelligence and thinking power, but will mindlessly follow my orders. Of course, I would only ever use this on my enemies, and I have to use mana to do so, but it still gives me more options.
The next perk is Hive Mind. The perk was taken because of its last two ranks. Rank 1 is just a minor buff, which is fine, and the second rank is situational. But Rank 3 can allow me to have more survival, as when I tested the ability out, I found that despite it glowing green, it caused most enemies to focus on it instead of me. The illusion can't harm anyone, but it is a great distraction. But Rank 4 was incredibly useful. The disguise costs no Mana. I physically transform as well, so it is nearly impossible to discern that the transformation is fake, especially with the other buffs I have to disguise. And the best part is that I don't technically need to see the being I want to turn into. The only downside is that it can't replicate the power completely, and I don't gain the knowledge on how to act. So I couldn't transform into Naruto Uzumaki and gain all his power, but I could gain an ability of his and his physical form.
The other downsides were the short transformation time and size limit. I could transform into, say, a Deathclaw, but a Super Mutant Behemoth would push me to my limits. It would also exhaust me mentally and physically, depending on what I transformed into. Something that only changes my size by a small amount, like a humanoid, would cause very little exhaustion, but a non-humanoid or something that is much larger than I would greatly exhaust me. I would at least gain some instincts from what I turn into if it is non-humanoid. I would also become an ally of that creature's faction while I was transformed. Like when I turned into a Deathclaw, I was able to approach a Deathclaw, and we could then communicate. Not in depth, mind you, but we could still communicate in our own way.
Once I had distributed the points where they needed to go, I decided to prepare for my next goal. I needed more companions, and I knew where I could find some. The only issue was their locations. They were mostly located in Boston proper. The issue is that the area was not conducive to aerial transportation. The AHO could traverse the narrow streets to some extent, but it would be quite difficult to find a proper landing zone. With one exception. Boston Common was a large park that had ample room for landing. The only issue was the massive Super Mutant Behemoth named Swan that lived there. It also didn't help that Swan was somewhat intelligent. This caused the entire area to be mostly abandoned. Even normal Super Mutants avoided the Commons.
The Vertibird I designed is stealthier than the standard model, but it was still not nearly as stealthy as I would like to try and land it anywhere near the pond where Swan sleeps most of the time. Which meant I had to think outside the box. My plan would also mean I had to do so alone, as I wouldn't ask Curie or Dogmeat to jump out of the AHO at high altitude with no parachute.
You might wonder why I wouldn't just give them a parachute or even a jetpack or other device. The simple answer is that I don't have the materials to make a jetpack customized to their sizes and body types, and using a parachute would be very difficult for both of them. Dogemat because he has no thumbs, and Curie because she is fairly heavy and would require a much larger and customized parachute. I could do the jump easily as I am immune to fall damage, and I can fly for no cost now. Which means I can also exfiltrate out of the area if it comes to it. And I might be able to lift the rescued companions with my magic. Or if that isn't possible, I could at least sneak over to a nearby settlement, like Goodneighbor or Diamond City.
I also thought of bringing Dogmeat by strapping him to me and jumping, but then I would lose the ability to fly for free. The drain isn't too much, but it would also make exfiltration more difficult. So my plan was settled. I would jump out of the AHO from high altitude and then take out the enemy on the outside before entering the building where my first target is.
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Authors Note:
Lots of updated info. The side chapter with all his stats and perks will be pushed to level 50 as I think it's a better number given that is when some really powerful perks are unlocked and it is the max level for a few of the other games and lastly it can kind of give a number for what can be considered end game in Fallout 4. The next chapter will have my favourite Companion joining the party. Until next time, Ciao.