SPECIAL is an acronym standing for the seven primary statistics of any Fallout's character, that will, depending on their value, greatly change the character.

The acronym "S.P.E.C.I.A.L." stands for : Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck.

Strength

Raw physical strength. Modifies: Hit Points, Healing Rate, Melee Damage, Carry Weight, Throwing range, Bleed Resistance and resistance to knockouts and weapon drops.

Strength modifies:

• Base HP (50%)
• Healing Rate (25%)
• Str requirement for all weapons
• Bleed resistance (20%)
• Weapon drop resistance
• Knockout resistance
• Melee damage
• Carry weight
• Throwing range
• Skill bonuses: SG (1/6), BG (3/6), EW (1/6), Close Combat (1/6), Throwing (2/6)

Perception

The ability to see, hear, taste and notice unusual things. Modifies: Sight Range, Aimed shots, Hit chance modifiers and resistance to disorient and blinded.

Perception modifies:

• Sight Range
• Hit Chance penalty if Perception < 5 (only when shooting above weapon effective range)
• Hit chance modifier for aimed shots
• Hit chance modifier for Armor Class (for single shots vs moving targets only)
• Eye cripple resistance
• Disorient resistance
• Skill bonuses: SG (2/6), EW (1/6), Throwing (2/6), First Aid (2/6), Doctor (1/6), Sneak (2/6), Traps (3/6)

Endurance

Stamina and physical toughness. Modifies: Hit Points, Healing Rate, Bleed resistance, Knockout duration and resistance to winded and arm and leg cripples.

Endurance modifies:

• Base Hit Points (50%)
• HP per level (100%)
• Healing Rate (50%)
• Knockout duration
• Arm/leg cripple resistance
• Winded resistance
• Bleed resistance (20%)
• Skill bonuses: Unarmed (1/6), Melee (2/6)

Charisma

A combination of appearance and discipline. Charisma affects your ability to lead others, but also the extent to which you benefit from being led. Modifies: leadership boosts.

Intelligence

Knowledge, wisdom and the ability to think quickly. A high Intelligence is important for any character. Modifies: skill points per level and Base critical chance.

Intelligence is a much more general stat than in other fallout games, as it affects your base Engineering and Science skills; which are important if you want to craft your own equipment.

Intelligence modifies:

• Skill Points per level
• Crit chance bonus from aimed shots
• Base Critical Chance (33%)
• Skill bonuses: EW (1/6), First Aid (3/6), Doctor (3/6), Leadership (1/6)

Agility

Coordination and the ability to move well. Modifies: AP regeneration, Armor Class, Bleed Resistance, Healing Rate and resistance to knockdowns and armor bypass.

Agility modifies:

• AP regeneration
• Armor Class (67%)
• Healing Rate (25%)
• Bleed Resistance (10%)
• Resistance against knockdowns
• Resistance against partial armor bypasses.
• Skill bonuses: SG (2/6), BG (2/6), EW (2/6), Unarmed (1/6), Melee (2/6), Throwing (1/6), Doctor (1/6), Sneak (3/6), Traps (2/6)

Luck

'Fate. Karma. Modifies Base crit chance, aimed crit chance, bleed resistance, armor bypass severity, armor class, weapon misfires and critical resistance.

Luck modifies:

• Base Critical Chance (67%)
• Crit chance bonus from aimed shots
• Crit strength
• Critical resistance (chance to avoid a crit)
• Partial Armor Bypass severity (defensive)
• Bleed resistance (50%)
• Armor Class (33%)
• Weapon misfires
• Bonus to skills: All (1/6)