Description

This mod changes the way skill books provide benefits when used by the player. In Fallout 3 whenever you read a book it will provide a permanent +1 skill point to the corresponding skill (+2 with the Comprehension perk), which translates into approximately +323 free skill points (+646 with the perk)! You already get enough skill points with perks, bonuses, items, bobbleheads, and by leveling up to max out all skill points if you want, so what's the point in finding all the skill books? Moreover, in the vanilla game you don't even need to raise any skills above level 40, because all the free skill points you get from reading books (+50 for each skill) and finding bobbleheads (+10 for each skill) will max out all skills for you, so gaining new skill points with each level ends up being pointless.

Well, now you can get new and different benefits for each skill, by collecting all skill books. This mod removes skill bonuses from books, and instead awards the player with perks after reading some of them. There are 5 ranks for each Book Perk (7 with the Comprehension perk), and each perk has a minimum skill level requirement, which you will need to meet in order to read books and get the perks (see below for a detailed description of each Book Perk and skill level requirements). There is also a minimum Reading Level for skill books before you can begin to understand the information in the books and how to put it to good use.

How it works:
First your character needs to have level 40 in the skill you want to read about. If you try to read a skill book when your skill is too low, you will get a message saying you need to raise your skill.

When you have raised the skill to 40, you can read 4 books (3 if you have the Comprehension perk, so it will cost you less skill books) to get the first Rank of the associated Book Perk.

After that, you won't be able to read any more skill books of that particular skill until you raise it to level 50. Then you can read the next 4 (or 3) skill books for the next Rank of the perk and so on. Every 10 increments in a given skill will allow you to read more skill books.

Without the Comprehension perk, you can gain a total of 5 Ranks on a particular skill perk and you will need 20 skill books (4 books per Rank for a total of 5 Ranks) in order to achieve that. If you do have the Comprehension perk, you can get a total of 7 Ranks on a particular skill perk and you will need 21 skill books (3 books per Rank for a total of 7 Ranks) in order to achieve that. Note that you will need to get the Comprehension perk before starting to learn from skill books, or at least before obtaining Rank 2, after that you may not find enough skill books of that particular skill to get to Rank 7, so it is adviced to get the Comprehension perk as soon as possible.

After you read a book, it will be consumed or added as a Misc item in your inventory (this is optional, you can select it when installing the mod).

Reading Level requirements:

• Lower than 40 in skill = you aren't skilled enough to understand what the book has to offer, a message will display saying: 
  "You tried reading this book but found it too complex. You failed to learn anything. Your skill: 30. Minimum skill: 40" (for example)
• Higher than or equal to 40 in skill = you can understand what the book is about, but your knowledge isn't enough yet to learn from it, a message will display saying: 
  "You aren't skilled enough to put anything in this book to use. Your skill: 55. Required skill: 60" (for example)

Book Perk requirements:

• Rank 1 (Novice) > level 40 in skill
• Rank 2 (Beginner) > level 50 in skill
• Rank 3 (Competent) > level 60 in skill
• Rank 4 (Proficient) > level 70 in skill
• Rank 5 (Expert) > level 80 in skill
• Rank 6 (Master) > level 90 in skill (only obtainable if you get Comprehension perk before gaining Rank 2 in skill)
• Rank 7 (Legend) > level 100 in skill (only obtainable if you get Comprehension perk before gaining Rank 2 in skill)
  

These requirements are implemented to balance perks, but also to reflect your character's interest and progression in the different fields: he either isn't interested or he hasn't acquired enough knowledge to fully understand the information in books for which he hasn't invested points into their respective skills.

Book Perks:

Jerky Vendor (Barter)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

"Junktown Jerky is made of people!"
With each rank of this perk, the price of every item you buy from a vendor is reduced by 2%.


U.S. Army Specialist (Big Guns)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

You've learned how to pack heavy weapons efficiently and now you can carry more equipment.
With each rank of this perk, your carry weight is increased by 10 pounds.


Teleforce Hardwiring (Energy Weapons)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

You've learned some tricks from Nikola Tesla and you've been exceptionally interested in his work with Death Rays.
With each rank of this perk, all of your energy weapons do an additional 3% damage.


Fire in the Hole! (Explosives)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

"What to do if surprised by a Nuclear Explosion?" Easy! Run, hide, and pray!
With each rank of this perk, all of your explosives do an additional 5% damage.


Master Locksmith (Lockpick)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

Your skill with bobby pins has made you a natural at tickling the tumblers.
With each rank of this perk, you get a +13% chance to force locks, and you also have a small chance to recover any broken bobby pins!

Force Lock success chance (percentage is the absolute value):

• Without any ranks: 9% chance to force locks
• Rank 1: 22%
• Rank 2: 35%
• Rank 3: 48%
• Rank 4: 61%
• Rank 5: 74%
• Rank 6: 87%
• Rank 7: 100% (all locks can be forced open!)
  

Note: Uses FOSE to modify gamesettings.


Living Anatomy (Medicine)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

You have a better understanding of living creatures and their strengths and weaknesses.
You do additional 1% damage to all living creatures with each rank of this perk.


Grognak's Rage (Melee Weapons)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

Maybe you should show a few things to those who still say comics are nothing but a waste of time.
With each rank of this perk, all of your melee weapons do an additional +1 damage, and you also gain 5 Hit Points!


Expert Electronics (Repair)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

You have a better understanding of internal mechanisms and moving parts.
With each rank of this perk, you gain 1% more condition per repair and 5% more health from used item.

Note: Uses FOSE to modify gamesettings.


Vault-Tec Engineer (Science)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

You've gained knowledge about a variety of hi-technology skills, such as cryptology, algorithm analysis, and statistical computing.
With each rank of this perk, you can automatically unlock increasingly harder terminals with just a few keystrokes.


Lock and Load! (Small Guns)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

You've learned how to use and maintain your small guns and ammo more efficiently.
With each rank of this perk, all your small guns do an additional 3% damage.


More Criticals (Sneak)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

Through intense study and training, you've learned how to aim at vital spots with deadly accuracy.
With each rank of this perk, you gain +1 to your critical chance while sneaking.


Presence (Speech)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

You've read and learned the ways of politicians, you now have a knack for lying and disguising the truth.
With each rank of this perk, the initial disposition of every person you meet is improved, thus making speech checks easier.

Note: Uses FOSE to modify NPC's disposition towards player (getcrosshairref).


Bonus HtH Damage (Unarmed)
5 Ranks (7 with Comprehension)

You've learned the secrets of martial arts.
With each rank of this perk, all your hand-to-hand attacks do an additional +1 damage, and you also gain 5 Hit Points!

Additional Features:

This mod includes a couple of additional features:


Comprehension Perk

As stated above, this perk was changed in order to accomodate for the new Book Perks system. The level and requirements for the perk remain the same, the description is as follows:

With the Comprehension perk, you pay closer attention to small details when reading. You are able to learn more from books and you also learn faster. You only need to read three books (instead of four) to gain a new benefit. (see screenshot)


Barter Balance

You can select wheter you want this or not in the installer. This was an optional small Barter Balance fix Kelenius added on his mod, and I have incorporated it into the 'main' plugin to save space in the load order. Basicaly it makes barter more relevant:

• Sell Value (vanilla): 0.45 + 0.45 x (Barter Skill / 100)
  So maximum sell price is: 90% of item's value.
• Sell Value (new): changed to 0.35 + 0.65 (Barter Skill / 100)
  So maximum sell price is: 100% of item's value.

• Buy Value (vanilla): 1.55 - 0.45 (Barter Skill / 100)
  So minimum buy price is: 110% of item's value (100% with the Master Trader perk)
• Buy Value (new): changed to 2.20 - 0.65 (Barter Skill / 100)
  So minimum buy price is: 155% of item's value (100% with the Master Trader and Book Perks)

Conflicting Skill Book Placements

• D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine: One of the Medicine skill books was repositioned in a safer (nearby) place, since the vanilla location can cause some issues, check here for reference, and see screenshot for new location.
• Dean's Electronics: One of the Repair skill books was repositioned in a safer (nearby) place, since the vanilla location can cause some issues, check here for reference, and see screenshot for new location.
• Tumblers Today: One of the Lockpick skill books was repositioned in a safer (nearby) place, since the vanilla location can cause some issues, check here and here for reference, and see screenshot for new location.
  

Requirements

Requires:

• Fallout 3
• FOSE
  

Compatibilities / Incompatibilities

This mod is not compatible with any other mod that changes skill books (texture mods are fine) and the Comprehension perk.

FWE Users:

This mod is not compatible with FWE, I made a quick test with both mods (loading Book Perks Improved after FWE), and I saw more than a couple of incompatibilities. FWE includes Kelenius mod already, so the scripts that run in both mods (this mod and in FWE's implementation of Kelenius mod) don't seem to get along nicely, they both try to run at the same time and end up 'fighting' for control. There are also some redundancies (terminal's hacks for example), so if you are going to use FWE I suggest you stick to their implementation of Kelenius mod.

Known Issues

- If you choose the version that gives you a non-readable book back instead of consuming it, the item won't appear in your inventory until you exit and re-open the PipBoy again (this a game limitation).

Installation

Before installing, read the Uninstallation and FAQ sections below!!!

Two alternatives, choose one:

1st. Click the DOWNLOAD WITH MANAGER button. Then activate with the NMM and follow the installer's instructions. Enjoy. :)

or

2nd. Manual installation:

1) Download manually.
2) Unzip with winrar or 7zip, and you will find two folders: No Used Book, and Return Used Copy. The first one contains the two versions (one with the Barter Balance) that will consume skill books once they are read. The second folder contains the two versions (one with the Barter Balance) that will give you a misc copy of the book for you to store in your home. Copy the chosen .esp file to your \Fallout 3\Data folder.
3) Activate the .esp file using the NMM of FOMM.
4) Enjoy :)

Uninstallation

This mod is intended to be used from start to finish, I've playtested it for more than 2 years and I haven't found any real problems with it, so it shouldn't give you any troubles, but do know that if you uninstall this mod the Book Perks will dissappear from your player, and the spent skill books will not give you your skill points back. The nature of this mod is to be played for an extended period of time, collecting all skill books in order to get all Book Perks, it's a long-term compromise you'll need to take, so think about it before installing or uninstalling this mod. Also, read the FAQ section below.

FAQ:

Can I use this mod in my existing save?

Hmm... no... well, it depends: this mod is intended to be used in a new game, or in an already started game in which you haven't read ANY skill books yet. I don't advice you to use it if you have already started reading skill books, you will only manage to make this mod half-working, and I will not answer to problems or issues caused by not following this advice.


After reading some books, I changed my mind, I prefer the 'Return Used Copy' version instead of the 'No Used Books', can I switch it?

No, once you choose a version, stick to it till the end, if you switch versions after you have started reading skill books you will break how to mod works. You have been warned.

Credits / Thanks

• Kelenius: For creating the original Book Perks mod and allowing me to release my improvement of it.
• Keevanski: For allowing me to use her Travel Kit image for this mod.
• Duoae: For allowing me to use his Fallout 3 - Revisted image for this mod.
  

My other mods

• Book Perks Improved
• Chems and Meds Re-Texture Pack
• Disable Save Hotkeys
• Less SPECIAL
• Nightvision Goggles Counter
• Nuka Cola Quantum Re-Textures
• Wastelander Leveled Lists