Fallout [#7] - Step Away From The Garbage Heap 

Most important skills are: - Small guns: it's the widest class of weapons and suffice through early and middle game, ammo is plentiful - Speech: it gives you better rewards and sometimes alternative solutions of quests - Lockpick: allow you to loot valuable items from locked containers - Repair: several quests require succesfull repair test and it also save you lives in end-game - Energy/Big weapons: for the end-game, when you need better damage than small guns does - Science: when properly used, can give usefull extra information You can invest into Barter or Gambling to be able buy interesting stuff, but most items you can buy you will find for free a bit later. Outdoorsman helps you to avoid random encounters but it also means avoiding exps. And you will need them to be able survive final encounter. Small Guns, First Aid, Repair, Science and Outdoorsman can be learn from books till 91%

I'm disappointed you didn't ask the guard guy about his "supplies". ;) So you're collecting rocks as a hobby now? That's cool.

It sucks when a bug costs so much time