As Bethesda’s first new IP in over two decades, Starfield is in a strange position. On the one hand, Bethesda established such an iconic first-person open-world formula across the Elder Scrolls games and the Fallout franchise since Fallout 3 that the studio may be tentative to move too far away from those roots. On the other, the new title has the potential to help Bethesda break free from those very expectations going forward.
So far, Bethesda has appeared keener to compare Starfield to Skyrim rather than its more recent Fallout games. The Fallout franchise’s image was hurt by the disappointing reception of Fallout 76, so trying to link the new IP to what likely remains Bethesda’s most iconic game makes sense. However, there is one underrated feature from Fallout that Starfield should take.
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Elder Scrolls Versus Fallout Character Creation
When creating a character in The Elder Scrolls, the main factor is race. Although the specifics of the racial buffs and debuffs have changed over the years, the broad strokes have generally stayed the same. Orcs and Nords can be trusted to fair better with two-handed weapons that Bosmer and Bretons. Dunmer are good for spell-sword playthroughs, while Argonians can breathe underwater and have an increased resistance to poison. Altmer are strong magic-wielders, and the cosmopolitan Imperials unsurprisingly tend to be jacks of all trades, masters of none.
Player character stats in The Elder Scrolls used to be affected by gender in earlier games as well, though this is no longer the case. Until Skyrim, players would also pick a class for their character, which would have an affect on their starting stats as well. The fact that Fallout characters have always been limited to humans, however, led to a more interesting system.
In Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4, the player character’s race and gender have no effect on their stats. Instead, the player can choose to take on several different traits. While The Elder Scrolls’ system is far more general, the Fallout trait system makes each character feel very unique, adding to the game’s replay value with a system more conducive to roleplaying as an individual rather than simply a member of a race.
Traits And Perks
For example, Fallout: New Vegas’ Courier might take two traits, Four Eyes, and Claustrophobia. The Four Eyes trait gives the character a +1 boost to their perception while wearing glasses and takes away a perception point when they aren’t wearing glasses. The Claustrophobia trait, added in a later DLC, has an even more extensive effect on the player. They gain +1 to all SPECIAL attributes while outside, but a -1 to all SPECIAL attributes while indoors.
There are plenty of Fallout traits which aren’t as interesting or character driven as these. Many of them are just different flavors of attack bonuses with varying disadvantages attached. When the trait system is at its best, however, it imposes limits on the player that can be extremely immersive.
The same can be said of the Fallout perks which, in New Vegas in particular, add a massive amount of additional dialogue options to the game and say something about the player character’s personality. Black Widow unlocks unique dialogue for female characters – in one of the best examples, it lets the player sleep with and then murder Benny, the man who shoots the Courier at the start of the game. Other examples include Confirmed Batchelor, Sneering Imperialist, Terrifying Presence, and Cannibal.
Each of these perks come with more generally applicable stat boosts – Black Widow increases damage done against male enemies, for example. Overall, Fallout’s trait and perk system does a far better job at making its characters like the Courier, Sole Survivor, and Lone Wanderer feel like individuals, with their own specific limits, skills, and personality traits.
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Starfield's Protagonist
Elder Scrolls players can start Skyrim again as a Wood Elf and enjoy their skill with a bow and arrow, but there’s nothing individual about that. If anything, it's generalizing. New Vegas’ player character suddenly slowing down when they enter a dark cave because their Claustrophobia perk has knocked down their Strength enough to make them over-encumbered gives that character individual personality and adds another immersive factor for players to consider when setting out into the Mojave Wasteland. The idea that a player is more skilled with a sword because they’re a Redguard doesn’t feel personal at all. The idea that they’re desparately scouring an abandoned Vault for a pair of glasses Velma-style absolutely does.
The Fallout system was unfortunately drawn back in Fallout 4, particularly unique dialogue options. At its best, however, it’s a system even The Elder Scrolls 6 could learn from. While it would add a lot to The Elder Scrolls, it’s something Starfield could particularly benefit from. Starfield is very unlikely to have multiple playable races. The trailers released so far have hinted that players may be seeking other intelligent life. It mentions “life’s greatest mystery” – presumable whether or not humans are alone in the cosmos.
Just as Starfield is unlikely to have multiple playable races, it seems very unlikely to have the player’s stats based on gender or ethnicity, which would be ill-advised to say the least. Adding a system which takes after Fallout’s traits and perks, allowing players to impose immersive disadvantages and advantages for their character, would go along way to making Starfield’s protagonist feel like an individual, not just a blank slate where the player has to imagine everything about the character.
This in turn could give the game the same replay value as previous open-world Bethesda titles, making each new player character the player creates feel tangibly individual, rather than their individual traits having to exist entirely in the mind of the player while affecting gameplay in no way at all. As in Fallout, players who find the limits of traits like Four Eyes and Claustrophobia frustrating could simply not pick them. Starfield is clearly hoping to recapture Skyrim’s success – it’s even releasing exactly eleven years after The Elder Scrolls 5's 11-11-11 release date. It is the Fallout trait and perk system, however, which could truly bring its hero to life.
Starfield releases November 11, 2022 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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