Radiation (Fallout: New Vegas)

Radiation is an environmental hazard in Fallout: New Vegas. At max level, it will cause instant death. Radiation only applies to the player: Any non-player characters do not gain rads.

Overview
Fallout: New Vegas uses the same radiation mechanics as Fallout 3, and retains several of its perks, such as Lead Belly, Rad Resistance and Rad Absorption. It also adds a new perk, Rad Child. As such, radiation is accumulated from a variety of sources, including exposure to its sources, micronuclear explosions (such as Fat Man detonations or cars), swimming in irradiated water, and eating and drinking contaminated food. While radiation never directly affects the current hit point level, the player will receive progressive penalties to SPECIAl, until they reach a total of 1000 rads and die.

There are five major stages of radiation poisoning at 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 rads. The game helpfully displays the current irradiation at the status screen and on the Pip-Boy 3000's dosimeter in the upper right on the HUD and on the Pip-Boy itself when the player accesses it.

The player can moderate radiation exposure by increasing radiation resistance with Rad-X (effectiveness scales with Medicine) and radiation suits. The Lead Belly perk also reduces exposure to radiation by halving the amount of rads obtained while drinking. The Rad Resistance perk also provides an increase to radiation resistance. The accumulated radiation can be removed in a variety of ways:
 * Most doctors will flush the rads for 100 caps.
 * RadAway will reduce irradiation. Its effectiveness depends on the player's medicine skill.
 * Rad Absorption confers a constant radiation removal effect.
 * The auto-doc in Big Mt's Sink completely clears rads.
 * The Irradiated Beauty perk in Lonesome Road removes rads while sleeping.

Radiation can be resisted by equipping certain types of apparel, such as radiation suits or power armor. A dose of the chem Rad-X also grants the player a radiation resistance based on his or her Medicine skill, but the effects do not stack. This resistance is applied to all sources of radiation, from the external environment to irradiated consumables.

High radiation areas

 * Dry Wells: Ground zero, up to 102 rads/second.
 * Camp Searchlight: As much as 28 rads per second in the town center.
 * Old nuclear test site: Around 20 rads/second.
 * Jack Rabbit springs: Crawling with centaurs and hot springs, peaks at 10 rads per second when swimming.
 * Cottonwood Crater: South of Cottonwood Cove, the crater peaks at 7 rads per second.
 * Crescent Canyon East/Crescent Canyon West: Up to 5-6 rads per second.
 * Vault 34: Constant background radiation (+1), up to +5 in the lower levels and +13 at the barrels near the entrance.
 * The Devil's Throat: 6+ near the barrels and water
 * Black Mountain: +4 near the crater and falling off from the center.
 * Cottonwood Cove: Becomes irradiated if the player dumps the barrels into the base.
 * Mesquite Mountains Crater