This is a sort of a challenge build idea: beating Dominating with it may prove difficult, or tedious, or both. Yet it also brings much novelty for experienced players, by having certain "usually essential" skills at zero.
The main idea of this build - is simple: obtain as many (effective!) skill points as humanly possible. No matter what. Interestingly, this simple goal produces both generally viable, yet in the same time unusual, build. So, here goes.
Base abilities
Str 8
Dex 3
Agi 3
Con 3
Per 10
Will 3
Int 10 (gets to 18 hard-pt with levelling)
Skills
Guns, Hacking, Mechanics, Electronics, Tailoring, Biology, Chemistry, Mercantile - max hard point investment every level. Other skills: 0 hard point everywhere else; 80% of effective Guns skill in Melee and Crossbows with Versatile feat with full specialization.
Here's why.
Max Int: there are seven Intelligence-based skills, while 2nd-best in this regard base ability - Will - powers up only 6 skills. This means, we must max out these 7 Int-based skills, at every level - no matter whether desired or useful, just gotta do it. Meaning, we'll have hard-pt skill points enough to max out only ONE other skill.
Per 10: And, of all the possibilities for the "8th skill", Guns are a natural choice. Two reasons: 1st, it gotta be either Guns, Crossbows or Melee, because we must get and fully specialize Versatility feat, which gives a crapton more effective skill points. It's a must-have for this build, naturally. And 2nd reason, out of these 3 possible skills, Guns is the best because we are going nuts with hit Int: with High-Technicalities feat (which requres hard points in Guns skill to get!) and its specialization (5 specialization points), we'll be doing +10% damage with energy weapons for every 1 Int point above 5. Which is, by level 26, 13 such points - for a whopping +130% energy pistol damage, applied multiplicatively. And we'll get this feat by level 4 - very early in the game - at which point it will already be providing +48% damage to energy pistols. With 10 Perception from the start and always-maxed Guns skill, our chance to hit will be excellent, too. Further, high Perception allows to detect hidden enemies much better. Further still, since we're not putting a single point into Traps skill, we'll want high Perception to spot traps and mines. Not being able to see 'em is really irritating, yep. Last and the least, but still good - high perception allows to spot all the hidden passages, cashes and mini areas, which, given our zero Lockpicking, is especially useful.
Str 8: since we're not going to put a _single_ hard skill point into any agility-based, dexterity-based nor will-based skills (as we need all our skill points for the above) - we're going to be once stealthless character with no psi skills, who can't even use a multi-tool nor huxkey to open any air vents, since we have 0 hard-pt Lockpicking! But comes Strength, which: allows to break air vents with a crowbar; allows to effectively wear our finely-crafted user-made heavy armors (Metal Armor requires exactly 8 Str) to protect us in places where usually we'd sneak or quickly run-in-combat through; increases our carry capacity; and should we want it, allows to use Melee weapons with good chance to hit and damage once we get Versatility feat. The only remotely as useful alternative is to go 8 Agi (with 3 Str), for high movement points plus Sprint and Hit and Run feats, yet the price of having no option to properly use heavy armor and being unable to go through air vents - is too harsh. Heck, can't even complete Black Eels quest line without going through air vents. So yeah, Str 8 it is. Besides, one usual obstacle to using heavy armors being that high armor penalty nearly nulifies Stealth skill - does not matter for this build, since there ain't no Stealth to be nulified to begin with.
And a few factors which, together, would provide above mentioned novelty and replaying value. These are:
- no psi whatsoever. This, i feel, is unusual: lots of great builds use at least some psi abilities to complement weaknesses and increase overall firepower and survivalability;
- no lockpicking whatsoever is probably quite rare, and will force the player to do lots of areas a different way. And we'll never run out of lockpicks. Yet maxed out Hacking will still provide good amount of bonus loot from electronically locked containers, and still allow certain easier routes in many areas / quests;
- all crafting skills always maxed out, at every level, allowing to fully use all sorts of crafting as early as possible: on top of highly unusual, this also completely removes any need to plan-ahead for which values of which crafting skills one would want to get at any given level, hence simplifying one of most complex systems in the game;
- available "combat" feats are limited due to minimum Dex, Agi, Con and Willpower, thus freeing feat points for usually skipped crafting feats, which can shine earliest and fullest due to all crafting skills being maxed out at all times;
- no hard-points in Persuasion nor Intimidation means nearly no quests solvable by using these skills, thus overall making a playthrough harder yet also being a novelty for players who usually prefer to have at least some points in one of both;
- no Stealth, no Evasion and no Psi abilities combined means this build lacks defenses / panic buttons badly, and minimum Constitution means it's a glass cannon. Yet crafted heavy armors and no health penalty from getting Psi Empathy feat - allows to survive surprisingly well, especially when using an appropriate armor for any given battle. Further still, maxed out Biology allows to craft and use all kinds of powerful drugs, further customizing and increasing survivalability whenever and however needed.
So, again, each above factor alone is not oh too rare on its own, but combining them into a single character - i think is really unusual way to play the game.
P.S. This build is, overall, a sort of "fragile egghead in a shell" sorta tank. High-tech weaponry - energy pistols - fits this kind of a character, too. Funny how this all came outta a simple idea of just maxing out effective skill points. It almost feels like this is meant to be so... Is it, Styg?
P.P.S. If my math is correct, total amount of effective skill points this build will have at level 30 - is 2450 + 241 + 386 = 3077. This is with fully specced Versatility, and without any skill bonuses from gear, consumables nor locations like skill benches in Your House. Considering we have only 40x30 = 1200 hard skill points, this build's skill point multiplier equals 3077 / 1200 * 100% = 256%, rounded down. 256.41(6), if to be exact. And 256, as a number - equals 2^8, which, in a word, is known as "byte". Which is "a unit of digital information", which whole IT and electronics industry and built on. Another mighty inspiring coincedence... Or is it fate? Welp. A mystery!
