Overview

As you progress through the adventures in Fallen Earth, your character will be able to learn and improve essential skills and unique abilities, such as how to use a weapon, treat an injury, develop special powers, or dodge an attack. These skills and abilities fall into four categories: Attributes, Active Skills, Mutations, and Tradeskills.

STATS, which are a way of measuring abilities, come in twelve major categories, which relate to physical endurance, mental dexterity, social magnetism, creative intelligence, technical ingenuity, and an aptitude for using extra-sensory abilities.

In Fallen Earth, stats represent an individual’s basic attributes. The stats for every attribute determine the base values for all Active Skills and Mutation Paths, in addition to limiting the maximum possible values for Tradeskills. Special abilities and equipment can raise or lower stats; for instance, wearing heavy armor temporarily reduces the Coordination attribute or goggles that increase Perception.

ACTIVE SKILLS include a number of special abilities you use to gain certain temporary powers. Using a special ability consumes stamina, which is slowly deducted from your character’s Stamina Pool over time (rather than in one large chunk on initial activation). All special abilities have a minimum level, so as your character levels up and improves skills, he or she can learn new special abilities.

Most special abilities are useful in combat, but they won’t replace your primary combat style. For example, Lingering Wound is a melee attack that causes damage over time. It’s just enough to give you an edge, but you’ll still have to pound your target with other attacks. Other, less combat-specific items—like the Athletics’ Dash (which gives a temporary speed boost) and First Aid’s Stanch Wounds (which restores hit points)—can round-out a character’s skills and abilities.

MUTATIONS may have been caused by the Shiva Virus, or radiation exposure, or maybe they are the result of deliberate genetic manipulation. Most likely, it was some combination of all these factors that created the different Mutation Paths available to the denizens of the Grand Canyon Province. Each Mutation Path falls into one of three fundamental types: Augmentation, Restoration, and Destruction. Activating Mutations costs Gamma, a representation of your character’s mental fatigue.

Everyone begins with mutations in the Alpha Path (the “GlobalTech Standard Clone Upgrade Package”), which provides Healing and Stamina Regeneration, in addition to some attacks. The Alpha Mutation Path is always equal to twice the player’s Willpower. However, mutations augment your primary combat style—they don’t replace it. You won’t be able to wander the wasteland fighting your battles purely with mutations.

TRADESKILLS represent a character’s aptitude for crafting and fixing everything from rifles to computers; Tradeskills even include things like cooking stews and brewing up poisons. The better your Tradeskills, the better items you’ll be able to craft.

Remember that Tradeskills only allow you to construct an item—they don’t determine whether you know how to use it or not. As a master craftsman, you could very well build a great pistol, but you might not be able to use it because your Pistol Skill is too low. Likewise, medical items require proficiency in the First Aid Skill, armor items require the Armor Use Skill, and so on. To improve a Tradeskill, use it. To enhance other attributes such as stats and Mutation Paths, you must spend AP. To better your Active Skills and skills based on mutations, you must purchase better skillbooks.