"One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind that mask. What dreams of chronic and sustained cruelty?"
Based on the Pyro class of Team Fortress 2, this build is made mainly for burning anything that moves. The recommend DLCs are the Gunrunner's Arsenal, Old World Blues, and Lonesome Roads.
Story: Raised in a small town from the mid-west, born from parents who were both chem addicted, you were born mentally . . . 'different' from the other children. Like other children, you played with your pre-war toys, a unicorn being you prized toy above all. But during one winter, when you were around 11, having fewer caps for firewood because they were spent on drugs, your parents decided to use anything in the house to start a warm fire, one of them being your unicorn.
While growing up, you put up with your parents' abuse, whether it was verbal or physical. But after seeing your unicorn burn, years of bottled rage surfaced.
One day when your parents were both passed out from buffet use, you tied them to the bed. Your parents would have slept throughout the night had they not woken up drenched and smelling of oil, watching helplessly as you toss a piece of burning wood at them from across the room. The next day, you were adopted by one of the town's more caring family, no one believing that you caused the fire and your parents' death - it wasn't a secret that they were chem junkies, so it seemed obvious that they started a fire in one of their drugged-up states. Being raised by love and protection was strange to you compared to the abuse you were born into, but you accepted it and your new family loved you regardless of your bizarre behavior.
A decade later, you left home to go west to find a new one. From one small job to another, you traveled until you found work for the Mojave Express, simple even for you . . . until you were shot and left for dead in Good Springs. While you were in a comma, you dreamed of the strange shirt-wearing man who shot you. How he looked at you as if you were some small bug he would step on and not give a second thought. The same look your parents gave you when you were a child. When you finally woke up, you yearned to find the man who shot you and do the same thing to him what you did to your parents.
SPECIAL: Strength 7, Perception 10, Endurance 9, Charisma 1, Intelligence 2, Agility 8, Luck 3
Traits: Skilled, Kamikaze, and/or Wild Wasteland
Tag Skills: Guns, Explosives, Energy Weapons
Major Skills: Guns, Explosives, Energy Weapons
Minor Skills: Repair, Melee Weapons, Medicine
Perks: Heave Ho!, Toughness in both ranks, Shotgun Surgeon, Super Slam!, Stonewall, Pyromaniac, Solar Powered, Hit the Deck (if you too close to your bombs), Tag (You will be low on skill points thanks to your low Intelligence, so this perk will help more than once).
DLC Perks: Light Touch and And Stay Back
Equipment:
A flamer for up close and an incinerator for long-range if you want. The Lonesome Road's arc welder is a good alternative, it's effective against robots and power armor, except NCR salvaged power armor.
A flare gun if you have Lonesome Road.
A shotgun. I like to use a riot with dragon's breath rounds <3
For melee, the shishkebad and thermic lance are ideal choices. Knock-Knock is a must if you want an ax. The Gunrunners Arsenal's Nuka Breaker is a good choice for those who enjoy the Neon Annihilator in TF2.
Any raider armor with the blastmaster helmet or any helmet that covers your whole face. The gecko-backed armor is fitting because of their fire resistance. If you want power armor, the Lonesome Road's Scorched Sierra power armor is a good choice.
For thrown weapons, there are firebombs and incendiary grenades.
Implants: Sub-Dermal Armor, Endurance, Strength, Agility, Luck for skills, Monocyte Breeder, and Intelligence also for the sake of skills.
Companions: You like to be with those that are as strange or (if possible) stranger than you; Lily, Raul, Rex, and ED-E.
Faction: The Pyro will most likely side with the Legion after seeing their handy work in Nipton.
Recommended Quest: Wheel of Fortune (whether you decide to help Logan or kill him when you meet him is up to you, but you still get the key to open the fire station to get Knock-Knock), Legion Questline and side quests, Three-Card Bounty (There's only room for one pyromaniac in the Mojave, and it's not Cook-Cook!), ED-E My Love, Crazy Crazy Crazy, Guess Who I Saw Today, Nothin' But a Hound Dog, plenty of weird quests.
Old World Blues is good if you want to ante up the weirdness in your playthrough. Lonesome Road is good if you want to be serious and more importantly, get the arc welder, flare gun, and watching the 'fireworks'.
Gameplay: The flamer is best used when fighting multiple enemies bunched together. The shotgun can be used when conserving flamer fuel. Using the riot shotgun with dragon's breath rounds is beauty in action! For ranged enemies, use the incinerator if you have it, or try to zigzag your way to them. And if you want to conserve ammo in general and when dealing with weaker enemies, whip out your melee weapon. Also, feel free to burn any NPCs you don't like.
Replies
I decided to cut some perks, including Finesse and Better Criticals and lower Luck considering the flamer has a low crit chance multiplier and cirt damage.
*sighs* Confession: I didn't play-test most of these builds. Feel free to judge me.