Are default characters viable?

[Taiwan Number One]

Not opposed to creating a custom Vault Dweller, but I'm tempted to try one of the presets. Are they decent and noob friendly, or are they somewhat rubbish and require a veteran player?

[Revolucas]

They are garbage. Max Stone has the two worst traits and atrociously low AP. Albert has skilled which is another horrible trait that gives you less perks. Natalia is okay but if you insist on premade you should consider at least modifying her to change the tag skills and take away a point for AG and put it into some other attribute since it's possible to get +1 in all the stats through paid operations in the BoS bunker.

[Vassago Rain]

No.
Big no.

They're all trash.

[obamafish]

They're fine and their bios add some nice little flavor to the game, just keep in mind they're not minmaxed munchkin builds that would let you breeze through the whole game at maximum difficulty.
If I recall correctly, my first playthrough (as a preteen, with no access to game forums or wikis!) was with Natalia and I never had issues with her stats despite never using unarmed combat or sneaking she was most proficient with. Same should hold for the other two characters as well.
Once you get a grasp of the gameplay mechanics and realize what kind of play style suits you the most, you may want to start a game with a new character picking the perks and stats you will actually want to use though.

[The Burning One]

I always went with custom none of the characters fit my build style also I hate low intelligence funny dialogue but you get very little points to put into your skills when you level up

[Taiwan Number One]

Thanks for the information, everyone. I ultimately went with a custom character, though I still have the urge to try with one of the preset characters on my next run assuming my current one works out. Quick question, is the perk that grants a bonus 5% XP on all XP gains worth it? Doesn't seem so to me, but I'm not sure how plentiful experience is in Fallout.

For those that are curious about the build I went with:

ST 6
PE 8
EN 5
CH 6
IN 8
AG 9
LK 6
Gifted
Small frame

[Hat8]

You can basically beat the game as anything but specialization is always better.

You should always pick gifted and should probably try to max agility if you're going to do alot of combat.

[obamafish]

Originally posted by Yeeman:

is the perk that grants a bonus 5% XP on all XP gains worth it?

Swift Learner counts against your level cap (which is 21), so it will likely do you more harm than good assuming you do enough exploration and side quests to have reached it by the end of the game. Even if you don't reach the level cap, the gain from it will be marginal as the XP gain grows nearly exponentially as the game progresses, like in most other RPGs.

ST 6 PE 8 EN 5 CH 6 IN 8 AG 9 LK 6
Gifted
Small frame

Sounds like a nice build for a canny gunslinger if you played your tag skills right.

[Revolucas]

Originally posted by 4240876367:

You can basically beat the game as anything but specialization is always better.

You should always pick gifted and should probably try to max agility if you're going to do alot of combat.

Depends on the build and playstyle. If you don't take Gifted then there is no reason to have high intelligence or Charisma to make up for the penalty to Speech. 6 Int gives an equilevant amount of skill points per level as someone with 9 Int and Gifted. Considering Charisma is a dump stat in Fallout 1, you can easily achieve reasonably high Agility and Perception with 6 Strength without taking Gifted. A Finesse and One-hander build is generally better for an aimed-shot build that plans to use one-handed weapons (spiked knuckles, ripper, pistols). All the existing guides for these games were made before people have discovered how certain calculations work. Finesse is one of the most underrated traits because people don't realize that the damage reduction doesn't apply to critical hits that bypass armor (eye shots) nor realize that aimed shots give a bonus to critical hit chance based on accuracy. Good Natured is also a good alternative because it allows you to rush later areas in the game much earlier and successfully pass skill checks.

[Hat8]

You can beat the game as an ugly person with extreme mental disabilities that is really good at punching.

You got alot of freedom. An optimized build is obviously better but you can basically go passive (charisma/intelligence + sneak and others) or violent.