We worked out the SPECIAL scores and perks of the Fallout TV show’s main characters because why not

We’ve sat down and worked out the SPECIAL scores of the Fallout TV show characters… because you’ve got to do something while waiting for the apocalypse. 

War. War never changes; so goes the chilling introduction to the Fallout games. Yet armed conflict isn’t the only thing that stays the same in the world of Fallout. Yes, despite glossier graphics, a move to real-time combat, and swapping gameplay to the first person, the Fallout games are known for some constants.

There are always monsters (both human and literal), survivors banding together for good and ill, and every game’s had fun poking rampant consumerism in the eye. Still, arguably the most consistent part of the Fallout games is the SPECIAL system, which gives your player character their stats and lets you unlock certain perks. 

The SPECIAL system has been tweaked and refined over the years, but for the most part, it has stayed the same and remains integral to the games. So integral, in fact, that with the release of the Prime Video Fallout TV show (check out our Fallout review here), we thought it would be fun to take the three main characters, Lucy, Maximus, and The Ghoul, and work out exactly how they’d spread their stats and which perks they’d invest in. 

Now, some housekeeping. We’re using the Fallout 4 SPECIAL system for this because it streamlines things and helps keep things simple. We should note as well — before you get out your super sledges and hunt us down like a feral ghoul — the show’s writers definitely didn’t constrain themselves to the rules of the game when writing these characters, so neither are we when working out their stats.

Lucy

Prime Video

• STR 3
• PER 3
• END 2
• CHR 8
• INT 8
• AGI 5
• LCK 6

As the show’s resident Vault Dweller, Lucy’s far more likely to try and talk her way out of trouble than pull a weapon. For that reason, we’ve pumped the majority of her special stats into Charisma and Intelligence.

There are several occasions during the show’s run where Lucy’s motor mouth manages to de-escalate a situation, and she’s able to motivate her companions, which lines up nicely with the “Inspirational” perk you get for a charisma score of 8. We also see her modify a robot on the fly, so we think it’s only fair to give her the “Robotics Expert” perk you get for having an 8 in Intellect.

Unfortunately, this is where Lucy’s stats start to drop off. She doesn’t have any real Strength feats, so we scored her a three because we do see her modify her jumpsuit, which suggests she has the “Armorer” perk. Similarly, her Endurance seems quite low, although she manages to gulp down some irradiated water without immediately dying, so we’ve given her the “Lead Belly” ability you unlock at Endurance level 2. 

Finally, while Lucy’s Perception seems markedly average (we gave her a 3), she does make some impressive trick shots, and she can move like the devil when she’s being chased, so we thought the “Action Girl” perk you get with an Agility score of 5 would suit her — and to represent her habit of one-shotting enemies, the “Better Criticals” perk you unlock with a Luck score of 6. 

Maximus

Prime Video

• STR 10
• PER 4
• END 7
• CHR 1 
• INT 6
• AGI 5
• LCK 2

Maximus — or is it Knight Titus? — is a member of the Brotherhood of Steel and is a clear stand-in for players who eschew stealth or diplomacy and make a beeline for the closest suit of Power Armor. Working out Max’s SPECIAL scores is probably the most difficult of the main Fallout characters as he’s a bit of a fraud, to be honest, but it’s clear he’s dumped his stats in Strength and Endurance.

Max has earned an impressive STR 10 to demonstrate his skill with Power Armor and his preference for fighting with melee weapons. We’ve given him a 7 in Endurance, which seems fair because we see poor Max get shot in the arm, and he manages to motor on (for a bit, anyway), so we’re presuming he took the “Adamantium Skeleton” perk, which reduces limb damage. 

Max seems bright enough. He manages to scavenge parts for his armor, but he can’t fix it himself, so he’s got a 6 in Intelligence to unlock the “Scrapper” perk and to demonstrate his familiarity with advanced tech. 

Sadly, the rest of Max’s stats are a little underwhelming. While not as perceptive as The Ghoul, Max spots things Lucy misses (like the Fiends on the bridge), so a 4 in Perception seems about right. Max is also quite spry, so we gave him the “Action Boy” perk you get for an Agility of 5. Max also suffers most of all the main characters, so we only gave him a 2 in Luck, but Charisma is easily Max’s Achilles heel. We know he manages to trick the Brotherhood of Steel, but when Lucy propositions him, Max’s awkward fumbling is so tragic that we can’t give him any more than a 1 in Charisma. 

The Ghoul/Cooper Howard

Prime Video

• STR 7
• PER 9
• END 9
• CHR 4
• INT 2
• AGI 8
• LCK 3

The Ghoul, aka Copper Howard, is a monster. Not literally, we mean in terms of SPECIAL. Well, sort of literally, actually… the Wasteland does strange things to people. Anyway, of all the main characters, The Ghoul is clearly the most experienced, and if you met him in the game, he’d be a high-level boss. Coop’s most impressive feats all come down to gunplay and incredible accuracy, so we’ve scored him very highly in Agility and Perception, but as you’ll see, The Ghoul’s the most rounded of the three main characters. 

While The Ghoul prefers to shoot first and throw fists later, his incredible quick draw accuracy means he’s probably got the Steady Aim perk that unlocks at Strength level 7. As we said, he’s got a deadly aim and was capable of easily taking down fully armored Brotherhood of Steel knights. For that reason, we’ve given him the “Penetrator” perk, which unlocks when you have a Perception of 9.

His incredibly quick draw abilities demonstrate a high level of agility, reloading on the fly without missing a beat. For that reason, we suspect Coop’s unlocked the “Quick Hands” perk, which lets you reload faster, which would give him a minimum Agility score of 8. There may be an argument to be made that he’s actually got the “Gun-Fu” perk as well (which would give him an AGI of 10), but we’re trying to keep things slightly realistic.

Things get a little tricky when discussing The Ghoul’s Endurance. Ghouls, by their very nature, have high endurance, and you’ve never been able to play as a Ghoul in any of the Fallout games. For that reason, we’ve given Coop an Endurance of 9 mainly because he seems pretty indomitable (as long as he’s got his chems), and a nine would unlock the “Ghoulish” perk, which seems fitting. 

Still as impressive as Coop is, he’s not without his weaknesses. While he demonstrates a wiliness, he’s clearly not book smart and relies more on his unique physiology to survive than any medical skill. For that reason, we’ve given him an Intelligence of 2. Similarly, while he can turn people’s heads into human salsa with a single shot — implying he unlocked the “Bloody Mess” perk you get with a Luck score of 3 — he consistently finds himself in hot water, so we’re not scoring him any higher than that. 

Finally while more charismatic than Max, The Ghoul has put his acting days behind him and relies more on intimidation than charm. So we can’t give him any higher than a 4 in Charisma, which would give him the “Attack Dog” perk, which works nicely considering his bond with Dog Meat.

Final thoughts

Interestingly, these scores would give Lucy and Max a total special of 35 each and The Ghoul a score of 42 (Yes, we know these stats are impossible in the game). That kind of makes sense when you think about the internal logic of the Fallout games. Both Max and Lucy would be at a lower level, considering one’s a vault dweller and the other’s a low-ranking squire in the Brotherhood. 

The Ghoul, who’s spent 200 years in The Wasteland, would likely be at a higher level, represented here by his higher-than-average SPECIAL stats. What do you think? Have we made a bloody mess of things, or did we hit the sweet spot?

If you loved Fallout, we’ve got an article explaining how you can watch the first episode for free, and we’ve put together a list of all the oldies from the Fallout soundtrack. If that’s not enough, we’ve put together a list of all the burning questions we need Fallout season 2 to answer and have been through the Vault-Tec logs to bring you the most fiendish vault experiments in the history of Fallout.

If you’re feeling a bit burned out by Fallout (we recommend Rad-Away) and want a break from the end of the world, why not check out our guide breaking down the best new shows on streaming this month?