Psychopomp (Pompy) Build

"I will not allow any more secrets to be kept from me." -Pompy


Pompy is a mentally unstable individual who believes her entire life has been a lie while in the process creating exceedingly extreme conspiracy theories to uncover what she believes to be the truth. She was initially convinced that everyone around her has hidden their "special powers." To uncover the truth, she created the "Machine that Lets Me Read People's Minds When I Want To," AKA Psychopomp. However, once she puts on the helmet, she discovers a world hidden in plain sight, where there are complex catacombs under every home and government building teeming with dark secrets. With her newfound Psychopomp and an unrelenting desire to never be kept out from a secret again, Pompy enters the Mojave to discover the catacombs under the desert by any means necessary.

"Every building, from hospitals to homes, contains a room that acts as the heart of the building, delivering blood and nutrients to the building's extremities. Try to find your house's heart!"

Name: Pompy

• Hair: Bedraggled
  
  
  
• Combat Helmet OR Combat Helmet, Reinforced Mark II
  
  
  
  
• Option A: Merc Grunt Outfit OR Option B: Wasteland Doctor Fatigues
  Note: Up to your personal choice given that Pompy wears a tank top and pants, the Merc Grunt Outfit gives you a +3 melee bonus perfect for this character, while the Wasteland Doctor Fatigues achieves a similar look without the melee bonus, it instead provides an added aesthetic of blood-splatter for your crazed pleasure.
  
  
  ^(Option A)
  
  
  ^(Option B)
  
  

• Weapon of Choice: The Humble Cudgel
  Given that it is the closest thing we have to Pompy's hammer and since it falls under the blunt weapon category with decent bonuses of extra damage, less AP usage, longer weapon lifespan, etc., this will act as her weapon of choice when acquired.
  

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  Alternative Weapons: Other blunt weapons are also solid choices for this run. However, I won't tell those pesky government agents if you decide to equip Pompy with something more appealing such as, oh, let's say.... a chainsaw, perhaps? ;)

*Disclaimer: These SPECIAL stats are based around my personal interpretation of Pompy as well as catered towards the melee-based build this guide is intended for. If you would like, feel free to tweak it and see what works better for you!

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Strength: 8 (Circus Strongman)

"It's not hard to enter a public building. The buffoon who invented locks and windows has never heard of a hammer." -Pompy
• Don't let her looks deceive you! On the Bloody Earth, Pompy could turn many monsters into a bloody mist with a few swings of her hammer (see above), not to mention breaking down entire walls with nothing but her determination and trusty hammer!

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Perception: 6 (Alert Coyote)

• While her eyes aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, as she often needed a flashlight to aid her along her journeys in the catacombs, they at least do their basic job by spotting interesting-looking government buildings or any monsters that might get in her way. Mainly useful for some later perks.

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Endurance: 8 (Flame Retardant)

• While on her journey, Pompey displayed remarkable endurance as she went to various locations without pause and obtained multiple Eggs of the Earth. If that's not enough, this gal even ventured into the Center of the Earth solo; talk about exercise!
  

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Charisma: 1 (Misanthrope)

• Besides already having trust issues with people since they kept their alleged powers a secret from her, Pompy often has difficulty communicating with people. Multiple Thraits have already filed restraining orders against her for unnecessary face pokes and hair ruffling.
  

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Intelligence: 2 (Vegetable)

• More often than not, Pompy tends to let her hammer do the thinking but she can still wander successfully around various catacombs and reach her objective.
  

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Agility: 5 (Under Control)

• Mainly useful for the increased action points, won't be used for many perks.

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Luck: 10 (Two-Headed Coin Flip)

• To ensure Pompy can continue making quick work of those pesky monsters, a 10 in luck will give her all the bonuses to critical hits she will need, as well as help her find some neat loot while in the catacombs of the Mojave.

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• Melee

'Nuff said.

• Repair
  
  Pompy in her insanity gained some skill in tinkering and repair when building the Psychopomp.

• Science
  
  Pompy displays an in-depth understanding of science as she not only put together the Psychopomp but also decked it out by creating a built-in Head's Up Display within the Psychopomp, complete with a system for monitoring her health in read and stamina in blue, as well as a functional compass for navigation.

• Medicine
  
  When things get bad, Pompy can find and correctly use the necessary medical syringes needed to restore health while in the catacombs. This will also help with the chem usage discussed later.

• Optional: Unarmed
  Gives you more freedom for weapon choices if you wish to do a non-blunt weapon run.

• Hot Blooded
  
  Pompy is aggressive in the pursuit of secrets, going so far as to kill eternal nurses in the hospital so that she could grab the keycards off their corpses in one incident.

• Wild Wasteland
  
  Given all the insane things Pompy has seen in her life ever since putting on the Psychopomp (see above for her encounter with the Queen of the Sewage Treatment Plant for example), it is only natural that Pompy would find more strange things in the Mojave.

-Bloody Mess [REQ: Lvl 6]
It is absolutely necessary to help Pompy turn more people into red mist with her hammer; plus, who doesn't like a 5% damage bonus?
-Toughness [REQ: Lvl 6 | Endurance 5]
Why not take advantage of our high endurance and increase our DT, helps survive the early game.
-Stonewall [REQ: Lvl 8 | Strength 6, Endurance 6]
Pompy has faced more than her share of hand-to-hand battles against creatures twice her size, never once backing down nor being defeated.
-Finesse [REQ: Lvl 10]
More critical hits = more bonk power
-Fast Metabolism [REQ: Lvl 12]
Considering Pompy's lack of armor and frequent usage of syringes, this will help her survivability in battle.
-*Piercing Strike [REQ: Lvl 12] *Viable if using unarmed weapons as mentioned in the optional unarmed trait note.
-Unstoppable Force [REQ: Lvl 12 | Strength 7, Melee Weapons 90]
Even the most vile monsters fell in just a few of Pompy's blows, wastelanders stand no chance.
-Purifier [REQ: Lvl 14]
Deathclaws? Supermutants? Huh, clearly they've never heard of a hammer to the head before.
-Chemist [REQ: Lvl 14 | Medicine 60]
The Psychopomp is constantly doping Pompy up with dopamine; once she gets her hands on some of the Mojave's chems, I'm sure she'll think of... creative ways to use them to her advantage while keeping her on that insane high.
-Better Criticals [REQ: Lvl 16 | Perception 5, Luck 6]
This is where the strange use of perception shines, as does Pompy's high luck. We will be relying on crits to make the monsters (and government agents) go away.
-Jury Rigging [REQ: Lvl 14 | Repair 90]
Obtain when you have enough spare points to put into this secondary skill, goes well with Pompy's tinkering abilities and saves you a headache when repairing most of your gear
-Chem Resistant [REQ: Lvl 16 | Medicine 60]
Despite being on so much dopamine 24/7, Pompy is largely impartial to her addiction of insanity.
-Ain't Like That Now [Req: Lvl 50 | Evil or Very Evil Karma]
Pompy will be doing a lot of breaking and entering to get to the catacombs, and as mentioned she will stop anything that will get in her way. With this in mind, we should have evil karma by the time we reach Lonesome Road, so make use of this and get this perk when you finish. (We will still be committing crimes after this, don't worry about the karma reset)
-OPTIONAL: Ninja [Req: Lvl 20 | Melee Weapons 80, Sneak 80]
This build traditionally does not rely on sneak, but if you're in the late game and have too many skill points to spare, you can consider investing them in sneak to get the increased crit chances, building off of better criticals from earlier.

-Day Tripper [REQ: Use 25 addictive chems]
-Melee Hacker [REQ: First kill 125 enemies with melee weapons. For one rank, deal 10,000 damage with one-handed melee weapons. For another, deal 10,000 damage with two-handed melee weapons.]

Pompy is, above all else, mentally insane and is drawn with an inhumane compulsion to explore what she believes are tunnels hidden underneath the Earth, kept as a secret from her by the government and the rest of society. Due to this ambition, she would be relentless in finding the supposed "hearts" of each building so she may go down into the tunnels; this exploratory behavior would naturally lead her to conflict with several of the wasteland's inhabitants, who would not appreciate Pompy encroaching on their territory. 99% of the time these conflicts will be solved by simply bonking the inhabitants of the Mojave as well as other creatures who stand in her way.

Gameplay-wise, it would be best to stick with melee weapons with little use of VATS. Rely on your absurd perks to counter your lack of armor (and to counter the downsides of only using blunt weapons if you're on an orthodox playthrough) as well as the euphoria you gain from your Psychopomp's dopamine mixed in with the chems you scrounge up. As Pompy, it would be in your best interest to find the supposed "catacombs" and tunnels underneath all buildings that have been hidden from you in the wastes. For example, locations that would interest Pompy include The Fortification Hill Bunker, Hoover Dam's complex tunnels, the numerous Vaults, The Thorn, Brotherhood Bunkers, etc.


^Credit to DeltaDoes for this pic: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3277835902


Pompy has no known friendships and evidently has difficulty communicating with others in a "normal" manner, thus making her more suitable to exploring the Mojave alone. Most characters would not even put up with her antics; those favoring certain factions, such as Boone or Veronica, would not approve of Pompy making her way into their respective factions' buildings, especially if violence is used. One exception is ED-E given Pompy's tinkering nature and its lack of human emotions. Pompy could find it to be a useful piece of equipment who looks the other way as she turns NCR & Legion agents into red mist.



In the politics and chaos gripping the Mojave, Pompy would have no interest in the upcoming NCR-Legion war nor would she side with either of them. After all, they surely must be hiding some of the tunnels underneath their buildings... right? As for the deal with the Platinum Chip, Pompy would most likely only deliver it to Mr. House if it meant she got a chance to lurk into the heart of the Lucky 38; if he got in her way by any means, he would simply just become another obstacle to be taken care of. If by chance Pompy meets Yes Man, he would be the individual she would most likely not destroy, given that he cannot say "no" to her antics.



In the pursuit of what she believes to be the truth, Pompy would travel through the Mojave in search of more catacombs to find her way deeper into the Earth. She would not tie herself to any faction unless it meant she could bring herself closer to her goal; those who would oppose this insane quest could be mistaken as monstrosities by her in her delusions, bringing them to a quick end.

If met, Yes Man would become a valuable tool of Pompy's as she discovers the bunker underneath Fortification Hill. As she activates the securitrons from their slumber, her ear-to-ear smile seemingly splits even further as she considers the endless possibilities of places to explore using these robots. Without considering the consequences, New Vegas would be left in ruins as the NCR and Legion buckle against the onslaught of machines, all while Mr. House's corpse grows ever colder. What care does Pompy have for what happens on the surface? Besides her hammer, she has many newfound toys to help her find the last secrets this Earth holds beneath its skin.


Thanks for reading my character guide! This is the first time I have written any such thing and I hope you enjoyed it, I will be correcting any mistakes made in updates.

Also, why not check out the game where this character originates? just look up "Psychopomp" on Steam! It's free,and a great short experience to enjoy. The creator certainly deserves attention for their game. Honestly not sure why I wanted to write a guide for this specific character, it just came to my mind while I was out-and-about and for whatever reason I got fixated on it.

If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to leave them below! :)