Shawn Spencer Build (Psych!)

"I'm Good At What I Do And What I Do Is Good. Isn't It?" - Shawn Spencer



Shawn Spencer, a psychic detective and freelance consultant for the Santa Barbara PD, is known for his superb observational skills and photographic memory. He uses his special set of skills to solve high-profile murders and foil the plots of criminals, saving more than a few lives in the process.

Shawn's looks don't exactly translate well into New Vegas, but hey, most character's don't also.

Reference:


He, uh, aged a lil'.

Hair: Smooth wave (or pompadour, if you wish)

Beard: Rough Beard

Since the game makes your character so wrinkly, you will have to be satisfied with old Shawn, unless you just make the character better than me, which is fully possible.

Strength - 4 - Lightweight

Shawn is presumably not very strong, as he is nearly never seen working out, excluding the one-off from the episode "Shawn Gets the Yips." However, that was involuntary, and he probably never touched the elliptical machine again after that experience. He can handle himself in a fight, like the one he has with Tom Fong.


“It's a gift that I bust out on rare occasions and almost all the time.”

Perception - 9 - Sniper Hawk

Shawn is extremely perceptive, with amazing vision (his being able to read entire lists from halfway across the room while looking at it upside down) and being able to detect small stains that give him new leads.


“Injury-free since June, when Gus broke his finger flipping the injury countdown calendar.”

Endurance - 5 - Stain Resistant

Shawn gets into a few fights, and doesn't get severely roughed up, despite taking some pretty hard hits. He also manages to survive a gunshot without succumbing to shock, much to the surprise of one of the kidnappers. Also, he persisted in working the aforementioned elliptical machine for a very long time, as he believed that there was a bomb in it.

Charisma - 6 - Cheery Salesman

Shawn is charismatic and endearing throughout the series. He's also a real lady killer.


“Major General Felts: I assume you realize this kind of idiocy will not be tolerated on my base!

Shawn: Is there another type of idiocy you would be more comfortable with?”

Intelligence - 7 - Smartypants

Shawn has an eidetic memory, making him very intelligent. However, he does hide his intelligence. He also admits to having scored a 100 on the detective's test at 15, though he may have been lying.


“Lassiter: Are you in my apartment?

Shawn: Please. I haven't snuck into your apartment for weeks. Which reminds me, you're all out of peanut butter.”

Agility - 5 - Under Control

Correct me if I'm wrong, but he isn't very agile. However, he does heavily rely on stealth to move around and escape confrontations with suspects.

Luck - 4 - Spilled Salt

Shawn has to rely on his skills during missions, most especially his perception. He does sometimes suffer loss, like whenMary dies (rip).

Shawn's skills are mostly related to crime-solving (not really that useful in the wasteland), so sneak and speech are necessary. (speech is necessary for quite a few crime-related encounters (i.e. convincing one of the Omerta bosses to turn on the other.

Speech

Shawn has an amazing way with words, and is able to present his cases to the PD (often in public) in a way that the person is typically immediately taken into custody by police.

Sneak

Shawn is able to sneak around occasionally, which allows him to eavesdrop and gain beneficial info on cases. During the mission "I Put a Spell On You" you can sneak into the tower and eavesdrop, similar to Shawn's, making a nice parallel.

Lockpick

Lockpick kind of follows naturally from stealth. Shawn might be able to pick locks, but there is no way to confirm this.

OR

Science

Shawn may not be that much of a science guy, but it's likely that he would be (given his eidetic memory) able to learn, say, launch protocols for a rocket (i.e. the ones in "Come Fly With Me").


Repair

Shawn could have learned some tips and tricks from Lassie.

Barter

Shawn should probably be able to barter well, as it might naturally exude from his skill in speech.

Unarmed

Shawn gets into a few fights over the course of the show, but is clearly not very skilled. However, he IS able to hold off against a corrupt special agent/terrorist in hand-to-hand combat.

Good Natured

Shawn is a good guy who likes to help his friends. He also seems to enjoy helping others via Psych.

(Optional Debuff)

Logan's Loophole

Shawn can be shortsighted, like how he stole a car in his teen years, and after being caught his father said he could "Kiss being a cop goodbye". Shawn doesn't seem like the type to do chems (at least not on purpose), and since that is the only thing that this trait offers to the player, this is a debuff if the player decides to take it and not do chems.

Lady Killer

Shawn is very charismatic.

Swift Learner

Shawn has a great memory.

Comprehension

See above.

Educated

Shawn is smart, but just hides it.

Travel Light

This perk will be useful since you won't be using armor.

Night Person

Shawn sometimes operates at night.

Ferocious Loyalty

Shawn's friends occasionally risk their lives in order to save him from ne'er-do-wells, like when he gets shot and kidnapped.

Intense Training

(to get agility to 6 for next perk)

Light Step

Shawn has high perception, and it naturally follows that he would be able to detect traps and mines.

Tag!

Shawn would learn a few things in the wasteland.

After this point continue to take Intense training to mold the SPECIAL to how you may see fit (be sure to get agility to 8 for tunnel runner) (or take more swift learner) until you can get

Alertness

Shawn sometimes has to carefully analyze rooms upon not seeing anything obvious at first glance.

Tunnel Runner
Shawn can sneak decently fast.

Nothing really fits the bill for modern casual wear in FNV, so just use some pre-war clothes, unless you want to go for the cowboy look he dons from the episode "High Noon-ish".


Clothes: Pre-war casual, cowboy/settler attire

Accessories: Sunglasses or Cowboy hat (optional)

Caesar's Legion

Shawn, like any regular person, presumably dislikes brutal dictatorships that use slave labor.

New California Republic

Shawn would view the NCR as a respectful organization, and appreciate their enforcement of law. He would see them as a parallel to the US government, and like them for that reason.

Boomers

He would likely help them with their problems in order to get them to join the NCR, as killing them would be viewed as barbaric (and somewhat infeasible due to their high explosives.)

Followers of the Apocalypse

Shawn would appreciate their selflessness, but would probably be suspicious of their true intentions, since he does seem to be somewhat cynical.

Great Khans

It's likely that he would not like the great Khans due to their drug peddling nature, as he does come from a police family. He also helps to bust some drugs throughout the series.

Brotherhood of Steel

Shawn wouldn't care about the Brotherhood that much (of course, he wouldn't appreciate having a collar put onto him, but he has been able to keep his cool in stressful situations, e.g. getting along with the guy who shot him winkwinknudgenudge), and would try to secure an alliance between them and the NCR.





After helping the NCR at Hoover Dam and talking to Legate Lanius, Shawn opens up a detective agency in Freeside after the NCR takes control over the neighborhood. He receives a constant amount of business from the NCR and the locals, and is able to stay in the Strip's finest hotels.

That's the end of this guide. If you enjoyed it or have any suggestions, comment below!

Post-publication note: I didn't expect this guide to get all of this attention. Thanks to everyone who gave Steam awards, commented, favorited, etc.