Brotherhood of Steel

	For the location titled "Brotherhood" in Fallout, see Lost Hills. For the game, see Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.

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The Brotherhood of Steel (commonly abbreviated to BoS) is a post-War technology-focused paramilitary order with chapters operating across the territory of the former United States of America. It was founded by rogue U.S. Army officer Captain Roger Maxson shortly after the Great War.

The Brotherhood's core purpose is to preserve advanced technology and regulate its usage.^[6][7] This is because they believe humanity cannot be trusted with the means to destroy itself, and they acquire technology to prevent another apocalypse.^[8] Although they tend to be relatively isolationist, the Brotherhood has proved to be one of the most important organizations in the history of the wasteland, though their exact levels of power and influence have varied over time and by chapter.

The Brotherhood has been featured in every game and other entry in the Fallout series, in one form or another. This article focuses on an overview of the Brotherhood as it appears throughout the series, detailing the evolution of its doctrine and policies.

For information on specific Brotherhood chapters, see Brotherhood of Steel chapters.

Background[]

The Mariposa Rebellion[]

In 2076, the NBC division of West Tek achieved breakthrough results in the Pan-Immunity Virion Project. The United States Defense Department, fearing international espionage, moved a military team under the command of Colonel Robert Spindel and Captain Roger Maxson onto the site to secure and oversee the project, now dubbed the FEV (Forced Evolutionary Virus) project.^[9] On January 7, 2077, all FEV research was moved to the newly constructed Mariposa Military Base to commence testing of the virus on human subjects.^[10][11] The security team was transferred to the newly constructed base as well, to provide protection for the research going on within the facility. They were not informed of the nature of the research.^[2]

The situation unraveled shortly before October 10, 2077. The soldiers stationed at Mariposa discovered the fact that the scientists under their care were performing experiments with the Forced Evolutionary Virus on military prisoners. The revelation prompted a nervous breakdown in Colonel Spindel, who locked himself in his office. Captain Maxson was the only officer left to handle the deteriorating situation. Soldiers were screaming for blood and the whole situation was at risk of devolving into a bloodbath. On October 12, when Maxson had to step in to prevent one of his subordinates from killing a member of the science team, he ordered interrogations of the science team under his authority as acting commander. He hoped to prevent a full mutiny by offering his troops a semblance of justice.^[2]

The first scientist was brought before Maxson a day later, on October 13. Chief Researcher Robert Anderson explained that human experiments at the facility were sanctioned by the government. He outlined the program to the captain, emphasizing the fact that it was the government that ordered it. When Maxson refused to believe him, the scientist lost his nerve and started screaming how he was just following orders and that he was a military man just like Maxson. The captain shot him in response. He rationalized it as trying to prevent a full-scale mutiny, but even he did not believe it.^[2]

The killing of Robert Anderson effectively established Maxson as the leader of the rebellion. His position was further reinforced just two days later on October 15, when he attempted to speak to Colonel Spindel through the door of his office. It soon became clear that the colonel had lost touch with reality, so Maxson and several of his men broke down the door just in time to hear the colonel apologize and shoot himself. Subsequent scientist interrogations invariably ended in executions. Erin Shellman held out the longest by October 18, finally convincing the captain that the experiments were really ordered by the government with her detailed account.^[2] On October 20, 2077, Captain Maxson declared his unit in full secession from the United States over the radio, attempting to force the government to respond to the situation at Mariposa. No response came. A day later, he ordered the families of soldiers under his command to take shelter within the facility.^[2]

On October 23, 2077, the Great War struck. As Maxson was halfway through prying the story from Head Researcher Leon Von Felden, the facility lost contact with the outside world as nuclear weapons started to drop. Spared the nuclear devastation, Mariposa protected the inhabitants from nuclear fallout flooding the wasteland. Fearing that China would soon make up for the oversight, on October 24, Maxson ordered his soldiers and their families to prepare to vacate the base the next day.^[12]

On October 25, Sergeant Platner volunteered to take atmospheric readings outside the base. Reporting no significant amounts of radiation in the atmosphere, final preparations for the Exodus were undertaken. On October 26, Maxson ordered the remains of the scientists to be buried in the wastes outside the base. A day later, on October 27, former US servicemen and their families left the base under the lead of Captain Roger Maxson, heading for the Lost Hills government bunker in the south.^[2]

The Exodus[]

In November, a few weeks later, war refugees arrived at the bunker. The people suffered casualties along the way, as while the soldiers were protected by T-51 power armor, their families had no armor to speak of. Marauders that attacked the caravan quickly learned to target the unprotected civilians. Though the attackers paid with two lives for every one they took, many were lost, including Roger Maxson's wife but not his teenage son.^{[Non-game 1][13]}

Several soldiers broke off during the Exodus as well, led by Sergeant Dennis Allen.^[14] Ignoring warnings from Captain Maxson and defying the group's will, Allen's faction separated from the convoy in order to excavate the remains of the West Tek Research Facility using their power armor. They were never heard from again.^[13] Around 2151, the Brotherhood sent out knights to seek out Allen's group or its remains. All they found were desolate ruins.^{[Non-game 2][15]}

The Exodus survivors claimed the Lost Hills bunker as their own. The refugees expanded and adapted it to fit their own needs, becoming a bastion of technology in a world that has lost centuries of technological development overnight.^[13]

Foundation of the Brotherhood and expansion in Appalachia (Fallout 76)[]

Using surviving satellite connections, Maxson reached out across the continent, broadcasting a request for contact.^[16] By chance, Maxson found an old friend in Appalachia, Lieutenant Elizabeth Taggerdy of the US Army Rangers. Although initially hesitant to trust him, due to the public declaration of secession, she gambled and left the channel open.^[17] As Maxson revealed the depth of atrocities perpetrated by the United States government, Taggerdy's faith in the system was shaken, then dismantled. Following the winter spent at Camp Venture, she joined Maxson's banner.^[18]

Witnessing how people around him slowly succumbed to depression, Captain Maxson formulated a new ideology for the survivors. It took him years to create it, replacing the tarnished Stars and Stripes with new symbols, new ranks, and new ideas to replace the ones scorched in nuclear fire. They would provide meaning for people before they became lost in the depths of despair after losing their friends, family, and their entire world. Although some under his command, particularly Lieutenant Taggerdy, were skeptical of his plans, Maxson believed that the way forward lay in new traditions and a new mythology, free of the burden of the past. He also believed that it would prevent any surviving politicians from exercising their authority over former American soldiers, especially those with an agenda that involved burning Americans on the funeral pyre of the regime.^[19][20][21] By June 20, 2082, all members under his command switched over to using Brotherhood ranks and practices.^[3][22]

The Brotherhood kept growing in New California, welcoming into its ranks a National Guard unit that was formerly stationed near Mariposa.^[23] They acquired several bunkers^[24] and sent expeditions as far as the Mojave Wasteland, gathering intelligence and new recruits.^[25] As the Brotherhood in New California developed, so did its sister organization in Appalachia under Paladin Taggerdy. Although she showed a bias towards candidates with a military background while building up the ranks, she eventually understood Roger Maxson's vision and continued to expand and develop the organization using Camp Venture as a training outpost. Despite initial resistance to the new rank system by the rest in her outfit, the new ideas offered by Maxson eventually took root and were accepted.

In Appalachia, the Brotherhood's insistence on acquiring munitions for their fighting against mutants led to ruffled feathers, especially with the Responders prior to the Christmas Flood in December 2082. However, they eventually found a common tongue, standing together during the Battle of Huntersville against super mutants in May 2086. Although the Brotherhood sustained losses, it prevailed. This coincided with the announcement of a new mandate by Roger Maxson at Lost Hills: to gather, record, and save the collective knowledge of mankind for future generations, to act as a catalyst for the rebirth of civilization in time.^[26] Some in Appalachia responded to this new policy with enthusiasm, others with grudging acceptance, and yet others, like Hank Madigan, left the Brotherhood to join the Responders.

The new mission quickly took a backseat, however, as the Appalachian Brotherhood encountered the scorchbeasts and the Scorched in the Cranberry Bog. Conferring with Maxson's ace researcher at Lost Hills, Scribe Hailey Takano, the Brotherhood in Appalachia quickly calculated that the scorchbeasts represented a potential extinction event for humanity. Lost Hills supplied a number of designs and weapon schematics to help stem the tide, including a sonic generator and an automated research program. Taggerdy pleaded with Maxson to grant her team permission to use nuclear weapons against the scorchbeasts but was forbidden by him because he found the concept of using nuclear weapons, even to help fight the scorchbeasts, to be too morally abhorrent after their world was destroyed by nukes.

By the 2090s, communication between Lost Hills and Appalachia was on steady decline due to failing Old World communication infrastructure. Before being cut off, Maxson ordered Taggerdy to hold the tide, and proscribed the use of nuclear weapons.^[27][21] Eventually, the communications failed entirely, separating Lost Hills from Appalachia. The chapter in Appalachia fought on, trying to destroy the scorchbeasts through attrition, but by 2093, their numbers dwindled to the point where they were forced to close down Camp Venture, their first base, and focus their remaining forces at Fort Defiance and Thunder Mountain Power Plant. Declining support from the Responders and the constant fighting just to stem the tide of the Scorched and their masters took their toll, preventing the Brotherhood from completing the automated research program at Vault-Tec University, supplied to them by Takano.

Eventually, the Brotherhood launched Operation Touchdown. This last ditch effort was launched in January 2095 and briefly stemmed the tide at the cost of the entire strike force, which included Knight Moreno and Paladin Taggerdy. Ultimately, the Brotherhood in Appalachia was wiped out in their last stand at Fort Defiance and Thunder Mountain on August 18-19, 2095, marking the end of the original Brotherhood in Appalachia with Vernon Dodge as the only survivor.^[21]

Reinforcements arrive in Appalachia (Fallout 76)[]

However, by 2103, a small group of reinforcements arrived on their way from Lost Hills to examine various centers of technology across the country, expand the Brotherhood across the East Coast, and find out what happened to Taggerdy. Known as the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force, they were led by Leila Rahmani and Daniel Shin and were to set up base in Fort Atlas in Appalachia. The team also had a scribe named Odessa Valdez. While Maxson's motive was sincere, wishing to find out what happened to his friend Taggerdy, Rahmani became certain the Council of Elders had an ulterior motive: to remove her influence and meddling as she would often argue over their ways.

Along their hike across the country, the expedition found a town under threat by raiders. Wanting to assist them, Rahmani and Shin agreed to providing the townsfolk with weapons to help defend them. Unfortunately, the raiders were able to steal the guns and kill the townsfolk. During the assault, the Brotherhood lost one of their valued members, Alan Connors, and obtained two young refugee siblings who lost their parents, Marcia and Maximo Leone. This incident would set off a division between Rahmani and Shin, with Shin wanting himself and Rahmani to stand trial with the Council of Elders.

Upon arriving in Appalachia, the group was dismayed to discover that Taggerdy's Brotherhood was wiped out by the scorchbeasts, with Vernon Dodge being the only known survivor. Rahmani decided that in order to establish the Brotherhood's presence in the region, the organization needed to cooperate with Appalachia's other factions, particularly the settlement of Foundation. Shin became skeptical of Rahmani's choices, particularly her desire to delay the re-establishment of contact with the elders in Lost Hills. Rahmani and Shin dealt with numerous conflicts including trying to assist the Retreat from a cruel woman named Dagger, negotiating with Meg Groberg's raiders, trying to reclaim property taken by Foundation, and investigating a missing caravan.

During a mission to explore an Enclave research facility, Rahmani, feeling that the elders from Lost Hills were a hindrance in her ideals of establishing the Brotherhood as a peacekeeping force, destroyed the radio transmitter, which infuriated Shin. As a result, there is no confirmation of the Brotherhood in Appalachia re-establishing contact with the Brotherhood in California, as well as their status post-2105. Despite the internal conflict between Rahmani and Shin, the Brotherhood was able to repel an uprise of super mutants. They also stopped a plan to infect the water cycle with FEV orchestrated by a driven scientist. However, it is also unclear if Rahmani remained the Appalachian Brotherhood's leader or if Shin usurped her.

The Brotherhood kept a degree of expansion and surveillance over the years, with members tightly patrolling Appalachia in order to ensure safety. For example, Nicole Gaines would investigate and erect Forward Station Tango. A mechanic working for Valdez, Del Lawson, worked to supply equipment for any Brotherhood field operations.

Conflict with the Vipers[]

In 2135, Roger Maxson died of cancer. Already a legendary figure to the Brotherhood, he was essentially deified as the Founder and Deliverer. His son, Maxson II, replaced him as the high elder, while his grandson, John Maxson, joined the paladin caste, showing great promise.^{[Non-game 3][13]} Around 2141, the Brotherhood ceased admitting new members from the outside, relying solely on their natural growth for increasing their numbers.^[28]

The Brotherhood was a major power in the region at this point, firmly exercising their control on the lands surrounding their bunker and forming trade relations with the neighboring towns, especially the Hub. However, the focus on hard sciences gave in to the detriment of humanities, history in particular. This decline in soft sciences eventually led to some initiates of the youngest generations having no idea who Roger Maxson was.^[29] In 2150, they clashed with the newly reformed Vipers.^{[Non-game 4]} The battles intensified in subsequent years, culminating in the death of High Elder Maxson II in 2155. John Maxson's father expected the raiders to break formation and flee when faced with Brotherhood warriors clad in powered armor, but did not account for their religious ferocity. A poisoned arrow nicked him when his helmet was off, and he died within hours.^{[Non-game 5]} John Maxson was promoted to the elder council, while Rhombus was tasked with conducting a campaign of extermination against the Vipers. The paladins tracked down and wiped out almost all of their members within the span of a month. A handful of Vipers were able to flee north and east into the mountain range; while small groups continued to exist and raid in New California, they never regained their full power. Both Rhombus and John Maxson would eventually ascend to leadership roles, with John Maxson becoming the high elder in 2159 and promoting Rhombus to the role of head paladin.^{[Non-game 4]}

During the campaign, the Brotherhood sent a few scouts and emissaries to the Hub to track down Vipers members, and from these beginnings, the Hub and the Brotherhood began full trade relations. Caravans had delivered to the Brotherhood before, but not long after the destruction of the Vipers, caravan trains ran directly from the Hub to the Brotherhood on a regular basis.^{[Non-game 4]} While the situation remained peaceful and prosperous, issues would develop between the Hub and the Brotherhood from time to time. In the late 2150s, the water merchants of the Hub attempted to barter a large quantity of water for a weapons stockpile. Although the Brotherhood turned down the offer, the merchants attempted to take the weapons regardless. The thieves were caught, but the Brotherhood elders voted down a retaliatory expedition.^[30]

The emergence of the Unity (Fallout)[]

In 2161, the Brotherhood discovered the presence of a new enemy. In October, a group of knights on a patrol in the badlands discovered a dead super mutant. After examining the creature, Head Scribe Vree determined that it was sterile, but also notes that there must have been a central location that created these mutants.^{[Non-game 6][31]} The elder council, fearing a potential invasion, enacted several security decrees, including a moratorium on training new recruits until the threat passed.^[32]

The elders also sent out several scouts north and east into the badlands. Only one returned from the east, reporting an encounter with twenty super mutants,^[33] and none at all returned from the north. The council could not reach an agreement on how to act. Even as Hub merchant caravans started disappearing in the northern wastes, the elders refused to act until they were fully certain that there was an army massing in the northern mountains.^[34]

The impasse was broken by the arrival of the Vault Dweller. Having rescued a Brotherhood initiate from bandits in the Hub,^[35] the Vault Dweller visited the Brotherhood and accepted the mission to the Glow, to recover the disk belonging to Sergeant Dennis Allen to learn the fate of the splinter faction from the Mariposa Rebellion. The Vault Dweller surprised everyone by surviving and returning with the artifact. They became the first outsider to join the Brotherhood in nearly twenty years.^[28][36]

The Brotherhood shared what knowledge they had and some of their advanced technology with the Vault Dweller, allowing them to seek out the Master and destroy him in the Boneyard.^[36] Following the death of the super mutant leader, the Brotherhood further aided the Vault Dweller's quest, sending a team of crack assault paladins to storm Mariposa.^[37]

Apex of power, stagnation, and recovery (Fallout 2)[]

Following the destruction of the Unity, the Brotherhood aided other human settlements to drive the mutants away with minimal loss of life on both sides of the conflict. The Brotherhood remained out of the power structure for a time, becoming a major research and development house by reintroducing advanced technology into New California at a slow pace. The wise guidance of Rhombus arguably brought the Brotherhood to the zenith of its power.^[38] The Brotherhood had good relations with the developing New California Republic, to the point that one of the states of the federation was named after the founder of the Brotherhood: Maxson. However, Lost Hills was never incorporated into the NCR.^{[Non-game 7]}

Over the years, the Brotherhood grew confident in its status as the sole source of advanced technology left to mankind, and allowed its prominence and influence to wane, growing stagnant.^[39] This stagnancy made them unable to deal with the technologically superior Enclave, when the Brotherhood learned of their existence circa 2240.^[40][41] In order to learn more about them, the Brotherhood reactivated a network of outposts in Northern California to observe Enclave activity. Thanks to their low profile, they achieved practical anonymity, even in the populous San Francisco.^[42]

The Brotherhood heads East (Fallout 3)[]

Once the Enclave was apparently destroyed by the Chosen One, the Brotherhood was without a foe to face. In an effort to end the stagnation, the Brotherhood expanded eastward (including the formation of the Mojave chapter under Elder Elijah) and sent out expeditions to recover technology, going as far as the Capital Wasteland in 2255, with the expedition under Senior Paladin Owyn Lyons.^[43][44] A secondary goal was to re-establish contact with other wayward Brotherhood chapters. One of John Maxson's descendants, Arthur Maxson, was sent on this expedition both to protect him from internal conflict in the Western Brotherhood and as a means of receiving training from Lyons, who was then in favor with the Western elders.^[45]

Brotherhood conflict with the Enclave in the West[]

The Brotherhood of Steel first entered into conflict with the Enclave on the West Coast during the year 2241. As the Enclave began to reveal its presence to the post-nuclear world, the Brotherhood of Steel reopened several observation outposts in New California to monitor their activity and learn their motives.^[46] During this time period, the Brotherhood of Steel tasks the Chosen One with infiltrating Navarro Air Base and retrieving schematics for the Enclave's modified vertibird's.^[47] There are implications that clashes occurred between the two during the NCR-Brotherhood War. Following the events of Navarro's destruction at the hands of the NCR sometime after 2246, the Brotherhood of Steel openly began to hunt down and annihilate remnants of the Enclave on the West Coast.^[48]

Capital Wasteland (Fallout 3)[]

The Brotherhood's presence in the east suffered a further setback when Elder Owyn Lyons, head of the Capital Wasteland division, refused a direct order from the Lost Hills elder council, confirming their suspicions that he had gone rogue and was no longer pursuing the original mission. In response, the Brotherhood completely shut off communications to Lyons' division and denied them any reinforcements.^[49]

By 2277, the Brotherhood was well-established in the Capital Wasteland, with their headquarters at the Citadel in Washington D.C. under the leadership of Owyn Lyons. The Enclave, however, wanted to control Project Purity for themselves, leading to a conflict between the Brotherhood and the Enclave, culminating in the Battle of Project Purity. The Brotherhood were able to prevent the Enclave's assault using a giant fighting robot called Liberty Prime. Although this was a short-term boon for the East Coast Brotherhood, changes were on the horizon for the restorationists under Lyons.^[50]

Interim (between Fallout 3 and 4)[]

The key blow to the organization came with the death of Owyn Lyons circa 2278 and the loss of now-Elder Sarah Lyons later that same year. With the seat of power emptied, the remaining Brotherhood members elected multiple ineffectual leaders. Meanwhile, the adolescent Squire Arthur Maxson matured into a capable warrior and tactician, eventually defeating Shepherd, the new warboss of the Capital Wasteland super mutants, in 2282. This feat earned him a provisional leadership position. In fact, this position was bestowed by the West Coast elders, who revealed that they still monitored their errant brethren.^[4]

Maxson's position solidified in 2283 when he negotiated a treaty with the Brotherhood Outcasts, bringing them back into the fold and reforming the entire organization, abandoning Lyons' doctrine. Lyons' Brotherhood became a distant memory as Maxson restored the original mission of the Brotherhood of Steel.^[4] While a few members found this distasteful and left,^[51] a majority still remained, proud to serve a refocused Brotherhood. Maxson became leader of the Brotherhood's Eastern branch, setting it on a new, more authoritarian path.^[52] Around this same time, the Brotherhood began constructing a massive airship known as the Prydwen at the conquered former Enclave facility of Adams Air Force Base; the ship began full operation in 2282.^[53][54]

Mojave chapter and NCR Brotherhood War (New Vegas)[]

In California, the rampant expansionism of the New California Republic would eventually lead to a collision course with the Brotherhood. As the NCR's power grew, the Brotherhood adopted a policy of reclaiming technology from people outside the order, energy weapons most of all.^{[Non-game 8]} The disagreements over the way technology should be handled eventually resulted in a full-out war with the New California Republic. The Brotherhood was eventually forced into a retreat.^[55] At least six Brotherhood bunkers were lost to the NCR, four of them destroyed by the Brotherhood themselves in a last-ditch attempt to deny them to the enemy.^[56]

One major confrontation occurred during the NCR's Operation: Sunburst in the Mojave Wasteland in 2276. Under Elder Elijah's leadership, the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel was operating out of the solar power plant of HELIOS One when the NCR launched an attack. The NCR's numerical superiority over the Brotherhood, coupled with Elder Elijah's immense reluctance to leave HELIOS, allowed the NCR to overwhelm the defenders, leading to the loss of over half the chapter.^[57] The NCR subsequently considered the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood to be effectively neutralized.^{[Non-game 9]} The survivors of the Mojave chapter retreated to the Hidden Valley bunker, going under lockdown to prevent detection and bide time to recover.^{[Non-game 10]}

Despite gaining the upper hand over Brotherhood, the war had costed the NCR dearly. Apart from losses in manpower and materiel, the greatest victim of the war was the NCR economy. The NCR's gold reserves were raided heavily by the Brotherhood, causing a major shortage: new gold coins could not be minted and paper money could not be properly backed with gold. NCR citizens panicked and rushed to reclaim the listed face value of currency from the NCR's remaining gold reserves. Since the NCR was unable to realize these withdrawals, particularly towards the frontier, faith in their currency considerably dropped. To protect against an actual economic collapse, the NCR government abandoned the gold standard and established fiat currency, not payable in specie. Since then, many wastelanders lost faith in it as a medium of worth, both as a result of it not being backed by anything but the government's word and the inevitable inflation. In response to the loss of faith, merchant consortiums of the Hub established their own currency, the veritable bottle cap, backing it with a standardized measure of water.^{[Non-game 11][Non-game 12][Non-game 13][Non-game 14]}

By 2281, the lockdown continued in response to the NCR increasing its presence in the Mojave Wasteland five-fold since 2276. The Mojave chapter, according to Elder McNamara, had time to fully recuperate from their losses suffered during the Battle of HELIOS One, although the isolation meant a portion of their new knights and paladins were not experienced in combat outside of a virtual training simulators. Some of their first scouting missions revealed that the NCR's presence in the region had only increased in their absence, so the lockdown was extended. The Brotherhood used the time in lockdown to re-strategize when it came to facing the NCR.^[58] However in 2281, reports from reconnaissance scouts revealed that the NCR's control over the region had faltered significantly due to the NCR-Legion War.^[59] Following this, the Brotherhood can, with the help of the Courier, install a remote signal transmitter in one of Black Mountain's consoles. It would allow them to access the radar and other detection systems. This would all done to gather intelligence in preparation for the Brotherhood's return to activity on the surface in the Mojave.^[60]

Despite many within the NCR writing them off as a spent force, Colonel Cassandra Moore still considered the Brotherhood to be a dangerous threat. In 2281, she stated that multiple NCR scouts had gone missing West of HELIOS One to presumed Brotherhood activity.^[61] The Brotherhood had also taken offensive actions against Mr. House in the years since the retreat from HELIOS One. A large amount of Securitrons had been destroyed as they entered the area in and around Hidden Valley.^[62][63] Similarly other factions within the Mojave Wasteland still saw the Brotherhood as their biggest subsequent threat. Despite their seclusion from the outside world and previous losses, the Brotherhood was still regarded as a powerful faction in the region, with some competing factions considered them to be a bigger threat than the NCR or Caesar's Legion. This is shown in Mr. House's calculations as they analyzed that a future Brotherhood insurgency would be the greatest threat to his reign of the Mojave Wasteland in the long-term.^[64] Yes Man's calculations also came to a similar conclusion that the Brotherhood would be the biggest enemy to anyone attempting to form a Independent New Vegas.^[65]

Conflict with the Institute (Fallout 4)[]

Hearing rumors of increased super mutant activity in the Boston area, the Brotherhood would send a recon mission for the first time.^[66] Following this, they returned in search of advanced technology in the Commonwealth, the Eastern Brotherhood sent three successive recon teams to the region. The first was extremely successful, finding hordes of pre-War documents and advanced technology. The second, Artemis, was a failure, being attacked by raiders not long after insertion, forced to scuttle their power-armor and then subsequently hounded by ghouls and super-mutant with the lone survivor, Paladin Brandis, going into hiding. The third recon team, Gladius, suffered poor luck. They made their base at Cambridge Police Station, but their numbers were whittled down to three by feral ghouls. Surviving, they tried to carry out their mission as best as possible with their foothold in the Commonwealth and re-establish communication with the Citadel.^[67]

In 2287, the greater East Coast Brotherhood in the Capital Wasteland received Recon Squad Gladius' findings of mysterious energy readings in the Commonwealth. Analysis by Archivist Knox concluded that these readings were being produced by the Institute and were associated with some type of extremely advanced technology. Concerned that this technology would have devastating consequences for humanity, Elder Maxson immediately ordered for an expeditionary force to be sent to the Commonwealth to gauge the situation -- and deal with the threat.^[68] The Prydwen was prepared for departure on very short notice; while enough time was taken to organize a full expedition (combat force, logistics team, research team, and more), some of the changes made to the Prydwen were not fully tested,^[69] and very few of the personnel were even told where their destination would be.^[70]

Battle for Boston Airport[]

The Prydwen traveled to the Commonwealth with a sizable combat force. Boston Airport was selected by the Brotherhood as the headquarters for their operations in the region; combat was initiated to secure the airport from the feral ghouls infesting it since the time of the Great War. The Prydwen deployed its full vertibird escort on approaching the airport. The troops laid down a torrent of fire on their approach, then advanced on foot, slaughtering most of the ghouls and securing the airport.^[71] However, straggling feral ghouls continued to infest the airport's subterranean ruins, undetected by most of the Brotherhood soldiers and posing a risk to anyone who attempted to investigate.^[72]

The Brotherhood fully established its new headquarters in the Commonwealth at Boston Airport, where they moored the Prydwen. The vessel serves multiple roles for the Brotherhood, including those of aircraft carrier, command center, clinic, barracks, supply base, maintenance bay, and research facility.^[73][74] Cambridge Police Station, the unofficial field camp of Recon Squad Gladius, was also made a Brotherhood outpost and a staging zone for travel to and from the Prydwen.

War with the Institute[]

After establishing themselves in Boston, the elder calls a meeting and declares war on the Institute and its synths, which is the reason for their arrival to the Commonwealth. However, before any further action, the Brotherhood's first priority after setting up at Boston Airport is to secure its perimeter. The nearby Fort Strong is a strategic location, being an experimental weapons testing and research facility with a large arsenal of mini nukes,^{[Non-game 15]} but it is occupied by super mutants, posing a significant threat to the Brotherhood's position. Clearing Fort Strong would allow the Brotherhood to gain those mini nukes for their own arsenal and also use the fort as a strategic defense point for the eastern flank of Boston Airport.^[75][76]

First priority aside, the Brotherhood's main plan for dealing with the Institute is to rebuild and use Liberty Prime, the military super-robot which was destroyed by the Enclave in the Battle of Rockland in 2277, which they brought to the Commonwealth in secret. Liberty Prime is the most advanced robot the Brotherhood has ever had, and they believe having it operational would ensure their victory over the Institute in any scenario, especially since the Prydwen itself is not suited for combat. However, with Liberty Prime destroyed, the main task of the Brotherhood is to restore it to working condition. This is no small task, as it has taken Proctor Ingram and her scribes years just to restore Liberty Prime's mechanical frame.^[77] The deeper problems involve its power systems and limb actuators, as well as the need to replenish its own stock of Mark 28 nuclear warhead munitions. The final problem is to find a way to restore its fusion reactor, since it is currently maintained only by siphoning power from the Prydwen.^[78] The Brotherhood hopes to find all of the necessary personnel and parts needed for this from within the Commonwealth.

The other problem is actually finding the Institute. Brotherhood records indicate the Institute was founded by survivors from the Commonwealth Institute of Technology, but there is no sign of its presence at the C.I.T. ruins. This was the only lead to the Institute's location, and the trail has gone cold.^[79] The Sole Survivor of Vault 111 ultimately manages to discover the Institute's location by killing a courser and tracking down ex-Institute scientist Brian Virgil, but what they choose to do with this information is left determinant. If they so choose, they can become the Brotherhood's top source as an insider. Otherwise, the Brotherhood still casts a wide net, with constant aerial and ground patrols and scribes monitoring radio traffic and attempting to decrypt their radio frequency.^[80]

Another possible problem for the Brotherhood is the existence of the Railroad, an organization which seeks to liberate the synths from their servitude under the Institute. Although the factions are mutually opposed to the Institute, their differing ideology towards synths makes them enemies. The Brotherhood's leaders believe that the Railroad's capability to hamper their operations and help synths escape from the Commonwealth makes it too much of a problem to ignore.^[81]

Other operations and continued presence[]

After their arrival, the Brotherhood also began to deploy regular vertibird missions and ground troops patrolling around the Commonwealth. The main goals of these patrols are either to clear out hostiles as part of the campaign to cleanse the wastes or to collect any valuable technology or documents for safekeeping. Some other regular operations include training the squires and securing a stable food supply.

One special mission, undertaken by a lone paladin named Hudson, involves an expedition to investigate increasing super mutant activity near the Commonwealth, which the Brotherhood considers to be disturbing.^[82]

Dependent on their victory, the Brotherhood's plans for the Commonwealth don't end with the Institute's destruction. Elder Maxson and Lancer-Captain Kells believe it necessary for the Brotherhood to stay in the Commonwealth long-term to ensure its people's safety and to wipe out any remaining hostiles.^[83][84]

Defeat of the NCR in Los Angeles (Fallout TV series)[]

The Brotherhood is still active on the West Coast around the year 2296. Residing at an airbase, this group is led by Elder Cleric Quintus, who is also assisted by various clerics and support personnel, such as Cleric Felix and Petty Officer Shortsight. Quintus believes the Brotherhood has lost its way, and his personal philosophy is that power is taken rather than given. He wishes to reform and create a new Brotherhood.

The Prydwen (often mistakenly referred to as the Caswennan) traveled to the Los Angeles region and played a pivotal role in the Brotherhood's mission there. By this point, the Commonwealth chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel appears to maintain some degree of primacy over other chapters, as their clerics have tasked the chapter on the West Coast with tracking down an Enclave defector: Siggi Wilzig.^[85] Knight Titus and Squire Maximus were among those charged with leading this manhunt, assigned to search the area around Filly, Los Angeles. After Titus' death, Thaddeus joined the search.

Despite the manhunt, Lee Moldaver ended up obtaining Wilzig's artifact first: a cold fusion reactor and thus limitless energy, as a result of Lucy MacLean obtaining and giving Wilzig's head over to Moldaver. However, the Brotherhood subsequently stormed the NCR headquarters complex at Griffith Observatory, killing all of the defenders and allowing the Brotherhood to very possibly gain control over Los Angeles.^{[Non-game 16]} After the battle at the observatory, the Brotherhood was able to gain control over the cold fusion reactor.

Society[]

Brotherhood banners

The Brotherhood is a military order with a strictly enforced hierarchy and chain of command. At the foundation of the hierarchy lies the Chain That Binds, a doctrine that mandates obedience to one's superiors and forbids circumventing ranks when giving orders. Superiors may only give orders to their direct subordinates, but not their subordinate's subordinates. Although intended to ensure the cohesion of command, the doctrine has been generally interpreted as a simple mandate of obedience within the order, with the order flow requirements ignored, abandoned, or altered in practice. However, it does provide a technicality that can be invoked to relieve members of their rank, up to and including elders.^[86][87] When it comes to the individual member of the Brotherhood, loyalty to and defense of the organization is the top priority, a priority that the Brotherhood considers sacred. Secondly comes dedication and loyalty to the Brotherhood's mission. Thirdly is dedication and loyalty to one's superior officer. Brotherhood members are expected to follow each of these rules in the given order. If one's superior should act against the interests of the organization or mission, the third rule is superseded by the second or first rule.^{[Non-game 17]}

Roger Maxson's goals in inventing a new tradition and mythology for the Brotherhood were twofold. First, they would ensure that members of the Brotherhood would be stripped of their ties to the pre-War military and government, ensuring that any surviving general or politician would not be able to invoke their oaths and use them to unleash nuclear devastation on the world again (as was the case with Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Eckhart in Appalachia). Second, it would give the survivors an idea to believe in, something they could dedicate themselves to, and find meaning in their lives after the nuclear war. The inspiration came from the fall of the western Roman Empire when the knights and scribes kept the fire of civilization going after the empire imploded.^[88]

Education system[]

Whether someone is born into the Brotherhood, chooses to join, or are taken in as a refugee, they receive a general education. With the Brotherhood being one of the few post-war factions to provide an official education, though it is up to the individual member to retain the information provided. In the Brotherhood, education begins at a very young age, they are taught to read, write and speak English. The organization's children attend school and are taught a variety of subjects, ranging from the Brotherhood's history and culture, to lesson's in warfare, combat tactics, to nuclear fusion, physics, chemistry and many other principles of science.^[89] Brotherhood Scribe's are responsible for educating these younger members. In some chapters children are capable of attaining the rank of squire and they receive training in preparation for their future in the Brotherhood. Squires are occasionally taken out as observers on missions led by high-ranking members of the Brotherhood as a further part of their education. They are not take part in combat and are merely there to observe and study these combat techniques in person.^[90]

For those of older age or outsiders who join the Brotherhood, they begin their basic training and also continue to receive a more advanced education. This includes further indoctrination of the Brotherhood's rules and regulations to better prepare members for their future specialties. By 2296, the education of aspirants, initiates and squires was also presided over by clerics on the West Coast. They are responsible for instilling the quasi-religious beliefs of the organization along with expanding the knowledge of members in terms of technology and philosophy. Each individual member is responsible for retaining the knowledge they are taught. The schooling is militaristic in nature, and disciplinary action is common for those who don't pay attention or disrupt.^[91] Following this phase, many become active officers, so much of their future teaching and training resides in the hands of their superior officer or sponsor.^[92]

Judiciary system[]

The Brotherhood of Steel is a disciplined militaristic organization that possesses a variety of laws and regulations. These laws were recorded with the creation of the Brotherhood Codex, which was laid out by the organizations founder, High Elder Maxson. All members of the Brotherhood are subject to the same body of laws. Even elders have been dismissed for violating the Brotherhood's charter or laws, such as destroying valuable technological devices without cause, violating the Chain That Binds doctrine, or murdering a fellow brother. Due to the requirement for elders and other high-ranking members to set an example, they may also be stripped of their position if allowing them to retain it would compromise the morale or integrity of a given chapter.^[93] The Brotherhood will conduct necessary investigations into individuals or incidents of interest. Evidence of guilt is required before action can be taken or a sentence given.^[94] The organization will even interrogate the accused to determine their motives and level of guilt.^[95] Regardless, until proven guilty or innocent, every member of the Brotherhood is entitled to fair trial before the elder of a given chapter.^[96]

Penalties for minor offenses, such as theft or insubordination, could result in disciplinary actions like latrine duty,^[97][98] demotion or imprisonment for more significant incidents.^[99] For more serious offenses against the organization, such as harming another member, punishment can range from exile or banishment to execution.^[100] Justice is often dispatched by one's superior officer. In some rarer cases, disciplinary action may be dispensed by a lower ranking member should a higher ranking member violate the Chain That Binds doctrine^[101], the Codex or the organization's oath taken by each member.^[102][103]

Actions that betray the organization or harm fellow members are viewed with the highest level of severity. Those guilty of treason or those who pose a certain security risk can face execution for their actions against the Brotherhood. Again even in this case, a member of the organization accused of treason has the right to a fair trial.^[104] If a situation is deemed critical, it may require the involvement of the Circle of Steel, a section within the Brotherhood dedicated to the organizations internal affairs. It will task its agents with hunting down and eliminating the guilty party. This was seen when ex-Elder Elijah of the Mojave chapter was marked for death by the Circle of Steel following his failure and desertion at Helios One.^[105]

Other acts that are seen as an executable offenses by Brotherhood are crimes against humanity and experimentation on human beings.^[106][107] This utter disdain of FEV and similar experimentation can be traced back to the foundation of the organization. In October, 2077, men under command of Brotherhood of Steel founder, Roger Maxson mutinied and executed scientist at the Mariposa military base. This was perpetrated after it was discovered that the United States government had been experimenting on prisoners of War with the Forced Evolutionary Virus.^[108] In 2104, members of the Appalachian chapter of the Brotherhood were forced to put a stop to Dr. Blackburn's inhumane FEV experiments. The organization's doctrine displays that members are willing to destroy vital technology or data should it be deemed dangerous to the survival of the human race.^[109]

Additionally, an action that is deemed forbidden by the organization, even to those within it, was the post-war use of large-scale nuclear weapons. Even as last resort, this was seen as an unacceptable by the Brotherhood's founder, Roger Maxson, who stated, "The death, the destruction, the end of the World. That came from the nukes. There will always be a reason to use a weapon. Always. But nukes? Never again!" He would even lament that he wished he could erase the technology from mankind's future knowledge. Thus to the Brotherhood, using these weapons was seen as extremely hypocritical to their tenants and regressive to humanity's salvation.^[110]

Eden[]

Eden refers to a prophesied future created by the Brotherhood of Steel. It was first indirectly spoken about by the organization's founder, High Elder Roger Maxson. His vision for the organization's future would eventually see them use the vast stockpiles of technology they had collected to reclaim and reestablish civilization on the American continent. Maxson saw the Brotherhood's preservation and safeguarding of technology they would need to rebuild the world as crucial. He described the Brotherhood as acting like a hard shell around a precious seed, but would also state that, "one day, when the time is right, that seed will grow. And a new civilization will be born."^[111][112] During 2277, members of the Brotherhood in the Capital Wasteland can be heard shouting the slogan "For Eden!"^[113] By 2296, the entire Brotherhood on both the East and West Coasts, had finally embraced its nation-building role. The term "Eden" is spoken about by some aspirants of the organization, though their knowledge of what the Brotherhood deems as paradise may be limited.^[114]

Property and trade[]

Internal[]

As a rule, most Brotherhood chapters do not have an internal economy and allocate resources based on need, including weapons, armor, and even augmentations. Outside recruits are a special case: While they will receive basic equipment (such as Brotherhood armor and weekly allotments of ammunition),^[115] and an allotment of rations to maintain their health,^[116] they must serve for ten years before the Brotherhood will provide its most advanced services without charge.^[117] Higher-ranking members may bypass this requirement and allocate equipment at their discretion, for example, to reward services rendered to the Brotherhood^[118] or provide tools necessary for a mission.^[119] All equipment beyond personal items is issued by the Brotherhood and carefully tracked by serial number, especially weapons.^[120] Equipment, such as rations, may be used for bets,^[116] and some chapters have implemented limited internal trade, keeping superior gear in reserve for higher ranks to purchase.^[121] Some chapters of the Brotherhood have even implemented a currency (Brotherhood scrip) for internal trade.^{[Non-game 18]} The West Coast Brotherhood in particular was presumably very monetarily rich after the Brotherhood stole large amounts of gold following raids on NCR treasury's during the NCR-Brotherhood War.^{[Non-game 19]}

In the 2280s, as the Brotherhood on the East Coast began to grow and expand - new regulations for internal trade were introduced. The organization saw external trade relations gain more prominence. In order to increase the Brotherhoods level of trade and ability to purchase external goods for supply and manufacturing, Proctor Teagen would institute changes. Previously little internal trade existed within Brotherhood society, as most everything was provided. But as external trade increased, the Brotherhood introduced caps as an internal currency to boost their economy and purchasing power. Brotherhood quartermasters, sell items to members for their missions and personal use, this allowed the Brotherhood to have a constant stream of caps to trade externally.^[122] They will also purchase items and technology recovered by members with caps, this allows said Brotherhood members to establish a financial base of their own.^[123] This occurs because of the Brotherhood's retrieval compensation policy, in which it compensates its members for the recovery of valuable tech or items.^[124]

However, when it came to the average member, standard equipment and ammunition for crucial missions, along with all other necessities were still provided free of charge by the Brotherhood. Members were expected to return this equipment to the quartermaster upon the missions completion. Due to the Brotherhood providing the necessities, theft was considered a rare occurrence.^[125] Knights and other higher ranking officers similarly received their power armor and other equipment upon achieving their rank and thus did not need to pay for said equipment, but they must either pay for upgrades or modify it themselves.^[126] The Brotherhood also has a surplus of certain munitions, thus members can get them for free.^[127] Members are also able to request leave for extracurricular activities or visiting family, if for some reason they are unable to have their leave, they will be compensated by the Brotherhood at the earliest opportunity.^[128] While on long-term missions, members of the Brotherhood are allowed to regularly contact their relatives unless they are involved in sensitive operations.^[129]

External[]

Appalachia[]

In the 2080s, the Brotherhood entered into open trade with the Responders and the Free States. The Responders access to food, medicine, and other essential supplies was the foundation of their relationship with the Brotherhood, with caravans crossing through the Savage Divide regularly. The Brotherhood would even send one of their protectron vendor's to sell their goods at the Whitespring Resort's mall, a central location for trade that involved most of the factions in Appalachia at the time.^[130] Unfortunately for all parties, these relations would deteriorate as the scorched crisis intensified.^[131] As the Brotherhood spread across Appalachia, they established an outpost located at Big Bend Tunnel East sometime after late 2085. The Brotherhood contingent stationed there was under the command of Knight Melissa Reische. In 2088, she came into contact with Carol Sweeney, the leader of an ex-raider group that settled on the opposite side of the tunnel and established trade with them. For the next several years, through the fall of 2093, Knight Reische's unit actively traded with Sweeney's group. The Brotherhood would provide them shipments of supplies while the former raiders would provide them any scavenged materials of technological or military value, a deal that Sweeney considered to be one-sidedly beneficial for her settlers. Reische's Brotherhood group was very generous, with the stated goal of working to ensure the community on the other side of the tunnel was taken care of.^[132]

In 2103, the First Expeditionary Force, under the command of Paladin Leila Rahmani, established itself at the ATLAS Observatory. They dubbed their new headquarters "Fort Atlas", and their presence soon attracted a number of local petitioners, who came to the Brotherhood for a variety of personal reason.^[133] Art Knapp wanted to trade a portion of his crops in exchange for Brotherhood's protection from raiders.^[134] Tally Lang desired to purchase powerful weapons from the Brotherhood, claiming that she needed it to protect her community of "orphans",^[135][136] while actually being a member of the Blood Eagles.^[137] Edgar Blackburn was interested in acquiring the Brotherhood's technology and equipment for the purposes of his research, that was aimed at developing a way for humanity to deal with the long-term ramifications of living in an environment polluted by radiation and deceases that arose in the wake of the Great War.^[138]

Knight Danial Shin, Rahmani's second-in-command, adamantly refused to acquiesce to requests from Art Knapp, as he believed that getting entangled in local conflicts by helping him would shift their chapter's focus away from their primary objective,^[139][140] and Tally Lang, since he was already suspicious of her and would not sell her weapons regardless of circumstances,^[141][142] because the Brotherhood were not trading weapons during that time period.^[143][144] However, his response to Blackburn's proposition was not as absolute. Shin had no interest in assisting Blackburn in his research, stating that funding private projects was not part of the Brotherhood's mission, unless Blackburn agreed to work under their supervision and provide the results of his research to the Brotherhood exclusively.^[145] Shin further clarified, that the Brotherhood would take a pointed interest in Blackburn's research in case it proved to be dangerous.^[146] Additionally, he was pleasantly surprised by Blackburn's display of commendable discipline, that was showcased in his willingness to let other petitioners be seen first, and pointed out that Scribe Valdez could potentially be interested in his research, should he ever visit Fort Atlas again.^[147] In the end, Shin stated that he would merely provide his personal recommendations to Paladin Rahmani in regards to the requests made by these petitioners, since, as the commanding officer, she would be the one to make the final decision.^[148]

As part of her strategy to establish close ties with local factions, Paladin Rahmani sought to form a trade agreement with the Settlers of Foundation as a way to both establish a strong relationship with a like-minded community and allow the Brotherhood to avoid having to allocate time and resources to gathering food themselves.^[149] While Rahmani believed that establishing the trade deal would be very beneficial to her chapter's long-term prosperity in Appalachia,^[150] she acknowledged that the Brotherhood didn't need it to survive.^[149] Knight Shin, on the other hand, believed that the Brotherhood should grow stronger from being completely self-sufficient, instead of relying on trade deals, but also trusted in Rahmani's judgement on the situation, noting that ''chain of command supercedes personal opinions''.^{[151](Note 1)}

Knight Shin is accepting of the trade deal if the Initiate from Vault 76 returns with the weapons and favorable terms for the organization. The Settlers of Foundation relinquished the rocket launchers to the Brotherhood and agreed to the trade deal. They also agreed to update the organization on locations of other weaponry that might be of interest. In exchange the Brotherhood agreed to train Foundation's security force and advise them on defensive tactics. Shin will state that this agreement is mutually beneficial for both factions, with the added advantage of keeping the raiders of Crater in check due to their alliance.^[152] While Paladin Rahmani agreed, she was concerned about the Brotherhood's actions creating a imbalance in the region. The paladin would also mention that she preferred that the settlers that wished to learn how to fight to join the organization instead of making the settlement militarily capable.^[153] Shin saw this as hypocritical on Rahmani's part, lamenting that it sounded more like a recruiting drive then an effort to help others.^[154]

Paladin Rahmani had also made several unsuccessful attempts to establish trade relations with the Blue Ridge Caravan Company, as each time, her requests were turned down.^[155] Joanna Mayfield, the head of the company, later explained that she refused to establish any form of contact between their groups, as she believed that the Brotherhood would attempt to exert control over Blue Ridge's operations and take a cut of their profits.^[156] Nevertheless, Minerva, one of Blue Ridge's traders, makes occasional stops at Fort Atlas to sell her stockpile of various plans and schematics.^[157][158]

In 2105, a raider group called the Rust Eagles set up their base of operations at the Metal Dome in close proximity to Fort Atlas. The group was a splinter faction of the notorious Blood Eagles, but had separated due to their fascination with technology, combat robots in particular. With the Brotherhood of Steel's headquarters being in such close proximity, a tech recovery team under command of Initiate Pappas was dispatched by Scribe Valdez to investigate. After making contact, Pappas and his team realized that the Rust Eagles could be negotiated with. An agreement was made between the two factions, in which the Rust Eagles would have a chance to test their robots capabilities in combat, while the Brotherhood team under Pappas was dubbed the Gladiators of Steel and would compete against them in the Metal Dome's coliseum.^[159] The Brotherhood would use this opportunity as a chance to recover technology and gather data on both their rivals and their robots. This arrangement created a extremely contentious, albeit respectful atmosphere of competition. The group's methods were viewed as unorthodox and controversial by the most of the Appalachian chapter, but they received all the support they needed from Scribe Valdez.^[160][161]

New California[]

By 2161, the Brotherhood of Steel had formed trade relations with the the Hub through regular exchange of weapons for food and other supplies from the Far Go Traders and the Crimson Caravan Company.^{[162][163][164]} By this period, the Brotherhood had become the largest distributor of weapons in the region. High Elder John Maxson even mentions that the Brotherhood is responsible for creating or distributing most of the weapons seen in the civilized Wasteland.^[165]The Water Merchants had also attempted to establish official trade relations with the Brotherhood by offering a large volume of water in exchange for a huge stockpile of the Brotherhood's weapons. When the Brotherhood declined the offer, the Merchants sent a group to try and steal them. They were caught by the Brotherhood, but the Elders voted against a reprisal action.^[166] The Brotherhood will use currency like bottle caps for external trade, but also trade technologies and other equipment. However, some chapters have more restrictions than others.

In 2189, the Hub would be absorbed by the expanding New California Republic following a vote. This saw the beginning of trade between the Brotherhood of Steel, who were allied with the merchants of the Hub, and the NCR who now controlled the settlement. This included standard trade and barter, but also the exchange of some more advanced technologies, as the two factions were on moderate terms during this period. This would last until the 2250s, when conflict would erupt between the two groups over policies relating to advanced technology.^[167]

In 2296, members of the the Brotherhood in New California can be seen trading or bartering with locals for goods and services when needed, but they are expected to pay in caps. This is seen when Squire Maximus visits the town of Filly, he utilizes several local businesses to repair a vital piece of his power armor.^[168]

Capital Wasteland[]

Sometime following 2272, the Brotherhood was approached with a offer by Three Dog, the host of Galaxy News Radio. He was seeking protection from the multiple hazards of the Capital Wasteland, in exchange for said protection he would allow the Brotherhood of Steel to establish an outpost at the GNR building plaza.^[169] This was seen as beneficial to the Brotherhood, as not only did they gain a strategic location to use as a base, but their new ally operated one of the only working radio stations in the region.^[170] They dispatched a unit commanded by Knight Sergeant Wilks to defend GNR Plaza. While another unit, led by Paladin Berrings, known as the 2nd Monument Defense Detachment was sent to the Mall, where they occupied the Washington Monument. The monument's spire contained equipment used to relay the GNR signal.^[171] In exchange for his defense and keeping GNR on the air, Three Dog would also fill the airways with positive news about the Brotherhood of Steel's endeavors in the area.^[172] This increased public opinion of the Brotherhood and undoubtedly boosted recruitment and support for the organization. Following the emergence of the Enclave and the start of their war with the Brotherhood in 2277, Three Dog saw it as his duty to counter the propaganda spouted by the Enclave on their radio station with Brotherhood propaganda of his own.^{[173][174][175]}

In 2277, the Capital Wasteland chapter's quartermaster, Knight-Captain Durga, was forbidden from trading with outsiders under direct orders from Elder Owyn Lyons,^[176][177] although exceptions could be made with the personal permission from the elder.^[178][179] By 2278, following the defeat of the Enclave at Project Purity, the Brotherhood had begun to trade with some settlements in the Capital Wasteland, Rivet City in particular gained prominence as the Brotherhood of Steel's first and largest trading partner in the region. The two groups had also begun to work closely with one another in order to distribute shipments of Aqua Pura to various settlements across the Capital Wasteland. The Brotherhood provided caps and advanced technology retrieved from the Enclave to the town's security force in exchange for their assistance in protecting water caravans from raiders, super mutants and Talon Company mercenaries. The Brotherhood simply could not protect them all by themselves as the war with the Enclave had consumed large amounts of resources and manpower.^{[180][181][182]} This deal started out very beneficial for both parties. However, as time went on turned out to be less then ideal due to the increased intensity of the attacks, which made Rivet City question the logic behind the Brotherhood's insistence on distributing the water for free instead of selling it and letting the merchants use the markup to pay for their own protection, without having to rely on Rivet City.^[183][184]

Although the deliveries of Aqua Pura did not officially extend to the ghouls of Underworld, Scribe Bigsley had nonetheless began to secretly sell water to Griffon in exchange for caps and technology as a way to subsidize other water caravans, despite Elder Lyons' explicit order to distribute the water for free.^[185][186] Unbeknownst to Bigsley, Griffon was re-selling Aqua Pura to raiders, slavers and the Outcasts, who otherwise did not receive water from the Brotherhood,^[187][188] while selling bottles of irradiated water to the blissfully unaware ghouls. This would continue until his misdeeds were discovered by a Brotherhood knight, the Lone Wanderer, with the possibility of the Bigsley being informed of his actions.^[189] Regardless, following the establishment of the Water Distribution Network, the Brotherhood would also cooperate with local scavengers and merchants. Their knowledge of the landscape proved invaluable in guiding water caravans across the Capital Wasteland.^[190][191]

The Outcasts at Fort Independence, led by Protector Henry Casdin, were interested in hiring skilled wastelanders to find and deliver all manner of technology to them, from scrap metal to advanced power armor and even alien weaponry, in exchange for ammunition and medicine.^{[192][193][194][195]} The Outcasts, however, would refuse to pay for the retrieval of their own power armor.^[196] Should such "scavenger-for-hire"^[197] prove their worth by delivering a significant amount of technology, they would be considered a friend of the Outcasts, allowed to enter Fort Independence and keep the Outcast power armor for themselves, instead of it being confiscated.^[198][199]

At some point before 2287, the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel in the Capital Wasteland had successfully employed a strategy proposed by Proctor Teagan, which involved utilizing their vertibirds to track caravans and provide assistance in case they get attacked, in order to earn their trust and gain favorable prices and values for trading in return.^[200]

Mojave Wasteland[]

The Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood, led by Elder Nolan McNamara, found itself in a state of lockdown after suffering a significant defeat at the hands of the New California Republic during Operation: Sunburst, that saw atleast half the chapters knights and paladins wiped out, this included some of its most experienced members.^[201] These circumstances forced the chapter to trade with outsiders in secrecy, by sending undercover procurement specialists, such as Veronica Santangelo, to the surface to trade Brotherhood's weapons in exchange for food and other supplies from traveling merchants,^[202] since the Brotherhood lacked the ability to feed itself and refused to make the necessary reforms to begin adopting technology that would allow them to start producing food, as it didn't align with their focus on military technology.^[203] The chapter's quartermaster, Knight Torres, had strict orders not to trade with outsiders without the elder's permission.^[204]

Commonwealth[]

By 2287, the Commonwealth Brotherhood, operating out of the Cambridge Police Station was offering compensation to wastelanders in return for valued technology. The Brotherhood believes in the compensation of others for goods or services, and according to Paladin Danse will always see a debt paid one way or another.^[205][206]

Shortly after the Brotherhood of Steel reinforcements arrived in the Commonwealth, Proctor Teagan sent a request to Lancer-Captain Kells and proposed establishing trade relations with local caravans by employing the same strategy that he had previously used in the Capital Wasteland to great success, by providing protection to travelling merchants in case of an attack in order to gain favorable prices. According to Teagan, this tactic would prove to be even more successful in the Commonwealth, where people lived in constant fear of the Institute.^[207] Teagan had also planned to sell surplus medical supplies to outsiders in exchange for ammunition that the Brotherhood was running low on.^[208]

Should the Brotherhood emerge victorious, they will establish trade relations with Diamond City, by regularly sending a few of their members on a supply run into the city's market.^[209] These supply runners are welcomed in the city, as long as the Brotherhood agrees to keep "heavy artillery" outside of the city's walls.^[210] The residents of the city will note that the Brotherhood spends a lot of money while trading.^[211] The supply runners themselves will speculate that their assignment might not be strictly pragmatical and that it doubles as a good will effort.^[212]

Confiscations[]

In extreme circumstances, such as war, or if it is deemed absolutely crucial, the Brotherhood is known to engage in forceful requisitioning of supplies or technology from civilian settlements and other groups. Though diplomatic options are usually pursued first.^{(Note 1)}

The original Appalachian Brotherhood chapter was known to be somewhat isolationist, largely due to the chapter leader Elizabeth Taggerdy's unwillingness to trust civilians, furthered by incidents such as the theft of supplies and desertion of civilian recruit E. Fisher.^[213] The Brotherhood did initially trade and cooperate with other factions like the Responders for operations like the Battle of Huntersville and,^[214] facing the Scorched Plague in Appalachia, also frequently requisitioned/demanded supplies from other factions up through January 2094, to the point of exhausting all goodwill they had. They were also known to use force to take materiel, such as using a show of firepower to claim Thunder Mountain Power Plant from the Free States, or even holding the Responders' leader Maria Chavez at gunpoint to demand the sensor tech developed by Amy Kerry.^[215] Though it is worth mentioning that the Brotherhood was facing the threat of the Scorched Plague, the confiscations in material and locations were partially done with the preservation of those individuals in mind. As the Brotherhood was fighting to destroy the threat as a whole for all parties in Appalachia, as the situation at the time was deemed critical.^[216]

In 2103, Shawn Hockman arrived at Fort Atlas to launch a complaint. He claimed that at some point, he was robbed at gunpoint by a group of men claiming to be from the Brotherhood of Steel. When this information is relayed to Knight Shin, he denies any possibility of the Brotherhood's involvement in the incident. But also notes that he finds the news of individuals using the Brotherhood's name for their own personal gain disturbing.^[217] Shawn remained frustrated that the Brotherhood would let people get away with this, especially in their name.^[218] Regardless it was never confirmed if the Brotherhood was responsible for this incident. However, a group of bandit's that could be responsible are found roaming around Appalachia impersonating the Brotherhood of Steel. The group is in possession of power armor and weapons, while they attempt to rob travelers of their bottle caps under the guise of donations.^[219]

However, during the same year, the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force was forced to requisition Hellstorm missile launchers from several factions in Appalachia. This included Foundation Settlers, the Blood Eagles and the Crater Raiders. These powerful munitions had initially belonged to the Brotherhood, but following their theft at the hands of a raider group in the Midwest, they began to be used against civilians. They're misuse had even caused the deaths of several members of the Foundation security force during a range incident.^[220] The Brotherhood saw it as their responsibility to reacquire their property and prevent further uses of these dangerous weapons.^[221]

Sometime during the 2250s or 2260s, the Brotherhood adopted a reactionary policy towards the New California Republic. They attempted to seize advanced pre-War technology, mostly energy based weapons, limiting and controlling the access to such technologies throughout the region. This would eventually result in the NCR-Brotherhood War.^{[Non-game 20]}

By 2281, the Gun Runners refused to deal in energy weapons, this began due to every caravan that carried these weapons being wiped out or ambushed. The Gun Runners believed it was the Brotherhood of Steel, though these claims were never confirmed. Regardless they decided rather than deal with the constant losses they would disassociate with the technology. They abandoned the market to the Van Graffs entirely.^[222] Other groups would use the Brotherhoods reputation with technology to their own benefit. Groups like the Van Graffs and the Crimson Caravan had made deals to destroy their opposition and maximize profits. Part of the covert agreement was the raiding of competing caravan outfits, like Durable Dunn's or Cassidy Caravans, staging them as Brotherhood attacks.^[223]

During the War with the Institute in 2287, the Brotherhood in the Commonwealth was known to be capable of engaging in forceful requisition of supplies, such as food from civilian settlements if necessary. Should the settlements inhabitants not want to freely donate or accept payment for the crops, intimidation may be employed and the settlement may be seized. Even wiping out the original settlers is considered acceptable to complete the mission, since, in the words of Proctor Teagan, "if [they] aren't with us, [they]'re against us." Though this is only seen as a last resort should negotiations fail.^[224][225]

In 2296, the West Coast Brotherhood receives orders from the East Coast leadership to track down and retrieve a vital piece of technology from a Enclave deserter, Siggi Wilzig. The search for this artifact would once again reignite open hostilities between the Brotherhood of Steel and remnants of the New California Republic in the Boneyard led by Lee Moldaver, as the NCR forces under her command were also looking to acquire the artifact. When the artifact made its way into the NCR remnants possession, the Brotherhood was forced to take action.^[226][227] They attacked the Griffith Observatory, which acted as the NCR's headquarters in the area. After a vicious battle the Brotherhood was able to secure the observatory and the Cold fusion reactor. This was seen as a absolutely necessity, so much so that the East Coast had even gone out of their way to make sure that it was secured. The cold fusion technology was described by the Brotherhood as being crucial, "an object… of profound potential… to harm our nation or to save it."^[228][229]

Social structure[]

The Brotherhood has several distinct classes that define a member's standing in the Brotherhood social structure, with a strict hierarchy distinguishing each member's position.

The Brotherhood is egalitarian in nature, with male and female members both being able to rise up to any rank. At the Brotherhood's foundation, however, the women of the Brotherhood were also called "Brothers" instead of "Sisters,"^[230] which would not carry over to the East Coast chapters.^[231] Additionally, while homosexual relationships are generally tolerated, thanks to isolationist tactics and policies of not recruiting amongst outsiders (depending on the chapter and period of time) they are pressured to instead seek relationships that will result in 'repopulation'.^[232]

Initially the Brotherhood recruited from all walks of human life and took a direct hand in the defense of civilians, it was only following the death of Roger Maxson that the Brotherhood truly began it's isolationist policies. And thus for a period of time, joining the Brotherhood of Steel as an outsider was extremely rare, with the exception being those who showed great promise. Chapters that did recruit from wastelanders had seen varying results over time, members who were born into the Brotherhood tend to view them as reckless, creating something of a class difference. Due to the aggressive, undisciplined and trigger-happy attitudes among wasteland recruits in the Capital Wasteland, wastelanders were viewed as lacking when compared to longtime members. However those who managed to rise through the ranks tended to overcome this stigma. But by 2287, this seems to have changed, with average wastelanders being able to attain high ranks and respect within the organization as equals.

In regards to outsiders, in general they are seen as a necessity to the Brotherhood (whether it be for trade or recruitment), however some members do maintain a patronizing view of outsiders and can have difficulty trusting them. Regardless from the early days of the Brotherhood, it's founder, Roger Maxson, established the organizations rules and objectives recorded in the Codex. The preservation and safeguarding of dangerous or crucial technologies was implemented to prevent humanity from making the same mistakes as their corrupt predecessors. Maxson would even state that the Brotherhood needed the rest of the Wasteland, the organizations entire plan had been made for them.^[233] He also prophesied that one day when the time was right that the Brotherhood would utilize the technology they had collected to bring about the revival of civilization on the American continent.^[234] The Brotherhood has described primitive factions as being simple-minded citizens, mostly incapable of understanding and properly utilizing technology that the Brotherhood does. The Brotherhood will greet other factions with hostility if they deem themselves to be a threat to the Wasteland or the organization itself. Despite this, on occasion the Brotherhood is willing to work alongside other Wasteland factions, even if this cooperation is sometimes coerced.

Belief system[]

Origins (Traditionalists)[]

The traditional beliefs of the Brotherhood were shaped by the experiences of Roger Maxson and his men at Mariposa Military Base and in the aftermath of the Great War. At first, the Brotherhood focused on aiding survivors to the best of its ability, acting as an armed fighting force, rather than the military order it would become. The change came with the realization that the collective knowledge of humanity was in danger of being lost for generations to come. To keep the secrets of the past alive, Maxson decided to dedicate the Brotherhood to the preservation of technology and human knowledge, collecting it in order that the Brotherhood might become the catalyst for humanity's rebirth. As the guardians of civilization, the Brotherhood would focus on the big picture, with direct aid considered a secondary concern.^[235]

While scribes were originally considered second-rate members, tools to protect the knights and maintain the Brotherhood's bases, this change in priorities placed them on equal footing with soldiers of the Brotherhood, tasked with preserving and developing technologies recovered from the field by the knights.^[235] Maxson's ultimate intention was to establish the Brotherhood as an organization that works closely with people outside of the Brotherhood, as guardians of civilizations, not its gatekeepers. His idea of an open Brotherhood put him at odds with isolationist members of the Brotherhood, including his own son, Maxson II, and Paladin Elizabeth Taggerdy, head of the Appalachian chapter. Although nobody confronted him openly on the issue, out of respect for his role as founder, Roger Maxson, along with the traditionalists seemed to be in the minority by the 2100s.^[236]

Preservationists[]

In 2135, Roger Maxson died of cancer. Although referred to as the Founder and Deliverer, the Brotherhood changed under his son, Maxson II. The most noticeable effect of the change in leadership was the cessation of outside recruitment by 2141, relying solely on natural growth. The Brotherhood creatively interpreted Maxson's words and its role as a steward of humanity and its salvation. Their power armor would remain a symbol of hope, the harbinger of restoration, but the Brotherhood would quietly wait for the right moment to restore the battered Earth to humanity, rather than actively collaborate with outside people.^[237] Until then, it would preserve knowledge and control it, so that it could not destroy humanity again^[238] by preserving knowledge and its practical applications for future generations, as Maxson intended. While the mandate was to recover, restore, and record whatever the Brotherhood could find, it emphasized hard sciences and the tangible, resulting in a tacit disregard for non-technical, softer fields of knowledge, such as history or sociology. By the late 23rd century, many Brotherhood initiates did not know who Roger Maxson was or what he had done for the order,^[239] and scribes captured by the Legion could not account for the group's origins a few centuries after its foundation.^[240]

The Brotherhood continued to research theoretical and practical aspects of science, including biology, physics, and chemistry. Practical applications were particularly emphasized, as weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, and so on were exported in exchange for food, water, and other necessities.^[241] Exports were limited to conventional technologies, with restricted, advanced items strictly controlled and only provided to those deemed responsible enough to use them.

Regardless of its disregard for soft sciences, the Brotherhood's policies allowed it to reach a position of influence. Its stockpiles of technology and combined knowledge allowed it to emerge as a major research and development house in New California, slowly reintroducing advanced technologies while wisely remaining outside the power structure. Its advantageous position would ultimately lead it to its downfall, as the Brotherhood grew confident in its unchallenged role as quasi-technology police, stagnating.

Reactionaries[]

The refusal to adapt and evolve led to a decline in the Brotherhood's standing and influence, as the New California Republic emerged as a major power player in the wasteland. Facing a changed wasteland with no plan in place, corruption of the Brotherhood's lofty ideals was a matter of time.^[242] The increasingly strict adherence to the organization's principles evolved into religious dogmatism. This mindset eventually dominated its leadership. The Codex became sacred,^[243][244] with Roger Maxson effectively deified.^[245] Religious influences trickled into everyday expressions, with "By Steel" becoming an intensifier and an oath, invoking an undefined higher entity.^[246]

The definition of technology became very selective. The Brotherhood started to focus almost exclusively on combat technologies, such as energy weapons or power armor, zealously restricting its use to its own ranks. Basic, useful technologies like genetic modification of crops or civil engineering were largely ignored, as irrelevant to the pursuit of narrowly-understood power.^{[Non-game 10]} Sharing of Brotherhood secrets, even for a greater purpose, is seen as treason warranting summary execution.^[247]

The drive to protect the people from the ravages of technology was replaced by hoarding. The Brotherhood became aggressive in their efforts to control technology. No outsiders were permitted to join their ranks. Rather than restoring the Earth, the Brotherhood wanted to outlive and inherit the Earth after other rivals have died out.^[248] The Codex itself was either rewritten or reinterpreted to emphasize the world view.^[249][250]

Not all Brotherhood chapters were dedicated to this reactionary policy. Lyons' Brotherhood of Steel diverged when Elder Owyn Lyons turned his chapter into a purely charitable organization in 2276, aiding the wasteland without compensation and opening its ranks to outside recruitment. His insistence on charity, rather than equitable exchange, led to a steady decline and loss of territory over a period of twenty years of their presence in the Capital Wasteland. The Purifier Conflict with the remnants of the Enclave provided an influx of new technologies and resources, but Lyons' leadership remained a problem. Particularly severe was the fact that Lost Hills completely shut off communications with Lyons' chapter and denied them any reinforcements.^[49][251]

Restorers[]

Major changes were introduced under Elder Arthur Maxson in the 2280s. Like the Brotherhood of the 22nd century, the Eastern division rededicated itself to the advancement of humanity. Beyond taking an active role in wasteland politics, the Brotherhood embraced some of its traditionalist roots along with Elder Lyons' policies of eradicating abominations, combining them with a new approach to controlling technology. Abominations of nature brought about by mankind's meddling are viewed as a scourge that needs to be destroyed in order for humanity to prosper. The list typically involves super mutants and feral ghouls, although the Brotherhood also eliminates raiders and other threats as a matter of course.^[252][253]

Control of technology is seen as a means to an end. While the crumbling western Brotherhood attempted to control technology in an attempt to stave off its destruction, Maxson's Brotherhood returned to the original mission of containment: Protecting mankind from technologies that cannot be fully controlled and thus represent a threat to its long-term welfare and even survival. As a result, the Brotherhood seeks to understand the nature of technology, its power and meaning to humans, and fights those who would abuse said power for their own ends, endangering mankind in the process.^[254] The most noticeable way in which this policy is implemented is the collection of technology from pre-War sites, to prevent its abuse.^[255]

The Brotherhood rejects technological development for the sake of technological development, drawing on the lessons of the Great War. The Brotherhood holds that it was a result of technological progress outpacing man's restraint and moral progress. Consumerism and greed became the driving forces of progress, new technologies exploited by mega-corporations for their own gain, pocketing the cash and ignoring the collateral damage to society and the environment.^[256] Though miracle advancements in medicine and welfare were made, the unchecked development spurred by the war with China led to widespread abuse of technology's potential. Bio-engineered plagues, FEV, and ever more destructive nuclear weapons were but a handful of horrors created by pre-War mankind.^[257] The Great War was a natural result of putting the implements of Apocalypse in the hands of madmen.^[258]

Gen 3 synths, which are indistinguishable from humans, are a perfect example of science run amok, a technology that cannot be fully controlled by humans.^[259] The combination of their superior physique and the capacity to think for themselves renders them a threat to mankind,^[260] while the way in which they are created, assembled in a laboratory and programmed like a robot, is anathema to the Brotherhood, which holds human life to be sacred.^{[258][261][262]}

While the Brotherhood's new rhetoric has religious overtones, Elder Maxson rejects the notion of being worshiped as divine. The eradication of Maxson cults in the Western Brotherhood is consistent with his desire to be nothing more and nothing less than human: aided and perfected by technology, but not controlled or enslaved by it.^[4]

Nation builders[]

Elder Maxson's reforms had wide-reaching implications. The Brotherhood finally embraced its nation-building role, which was already taken for granted on the East Coast, with Initiates fighting and dying in the name of the Brotherhood, seen no longer as just an order, but as a country.^[263] Out West, the emergence of a new caste of clerics, imbuing the Brotherhood's mission with religious overtone has also contributed to the evolution of the Brotherhood: From an elite order of warrior monks into a mass movement, relying not on a handful of troops in power armor, but massed forces of aspirants and initiates accompanying these troops to overcome any conceivable enemy.^[264]

This resulted in the introduction of mass outside recruitment, previously practiced by Elder Owyn Lyons and Arthur Maxson, emulating the practices of the New California Republic, crippled after the Fall of Shady Sands.^[1] Drawing from every walk of life, these aspirants would become the sledgehammer of the Brotherhood, ready to cut the shape of the future with their swords on orders from the clerics.^[265] While the newfound religious reverence for pre-War artifacts and the stiffening of command hierarchies resulted in some disillusionment among certain veterans,^[266] those who have never known life outside the Brotherhood followed them with near fanatical zeal as a chance to improve their standing - even if they were orders to kill and reclaim pre-War tech no matter the cost.^[267][268] Though it is also stated that violence is a tool only to be used as a last resort .^[269]

An offshoot of this new interpretation of the ideology was that aspirants and squires became more expendable, and were expected to serve on the front lines. Normally assigned to knights to slowly train and become new knights. They had always been expected to be willing to die in the line of duty, but with their now increasing numbers the Brotherhood sought to utilize them, as well as provide them with combat experience.^[270] A whole ceremony was invented including branding them on the skin^[265] Squires actually looked forward to the ceremony, believing they were not true squires until their flesh carried the mark of a knight.^[271]

Iconography[]

The iconography of the Brotherhood of Steel is built around its emblem: gears, sword and wings. It is used widely to decorate their facilities, tag armor and equipment, and as part of markers and flags identifying their territory. The order marks virtually every piece of equipment it possesses with its sigil.

The Brotherhood insignia has evolved throughout the years. While it has retained its general appearance, the number of cogs on the gears, their facing, and basic color scheme have varied between iterations. Other modifications have also been implemented, such as replacing the gears with a lion rampant, altering the number of teeth on the elements, or changing coloration.

The insignia is usually the only major difference between pre-War military uniforms and Brotherhood outfits. The West Coast Brotherhood chapters (as well as Lyons' chapter) typically use recon armor for their soldiers inside and out of combat, while post-War robes are worn by the scribes and elders. The scribes later Eastern Brotherhood, as well as the earlier Appalachian chapter, instead use engineering-oriented coats with a leather vest with many pouches, with whatever additional gear as suits their purposes. They also use a more specialized, practical outfit for scribes who are assigned to operate in the field consisting of a sweater and a similar leather vest with numerous pouches. Some chapters make occasional use of combat armor, but the Brotherhood are most identified with their heavy use of power armor, which is often seen as emblematic of the Brotherhood.

The type of power armor most commonly used depends largely on the availability of a specific model to a given chapter. The Lost Hills and Mojave chapters primarily use the T-51b, while the Eastern Brotherhood was forced to adopt the inferior T-45d following their expedition to D.C. as it was the best they had on hand (both the Lyons Brotherhood and the Outcasts). However, the T-60 became their dominant model of power armor by 2287. Despite having fought two wars against the Enclave and pillaging their technology, they have not been seen incorporating Enclave models of power armor, but do study them.

The Brotherhood has, on occasion, repurposed old U.S. military propaganda to promote themselves.

Divisions and locations[]

Founding chapter[]

The headquarters of the Brotherhood and its first chapter is the Lost Hills bunker in California, the seat of the Brotherhood's high elder, and its ruling council, and the place where the organization was founded. It is also the center of their research and military activities. However, by 2242, the Brotherhood was spread across the wastes of California in small bunkers and installations hidden from the eyes of common folk, and finding them all and wiping them out would be a difficult and dangerous task.

Their installations include small observation bunkers (for example, in the Den, San Francisco, and Shady Sands), as well as major outposts and subterranean facilities, like Hidden Valley. Apart from Hidden Valley, at least six other larger bunkers are confirmed to exist, though four of them were destroyed by the Brotherhood and two fell to the NCR. All Brotherhood outposts are formally subject to the Lost Hills' ruling council's authority, even if they sometimes tend to act independently, especially if they are located far from California, and contact with the headquarters is rare. The Lost Hills bunker is surrounded by the state of Maxson, which, while named after the founder of the Brotherhood, is officially outside Brotherhood rule and is a state of the New California Republic.

The later conflict between the Republic and the Brotherhood resulted in the destruction of six of the Brotherhood's bunkers in New California. However, despite being on the losing end of the war, the destruction of Shady Sands and subsequent regional decline of NCR power gave the founding chapter of the Brotherhood much needed breathing room, and they would continue to hold locations such as a former Air Force base. With reinforcements coming from the East Coast Brotherhood, the two chapters managed to consolidate control over the L.A. Boneyard by 2297, routing the NCR remnants from Griffith Observatory, which left them in charge of a newly-completed cold fusion reactor that was powering the entire region.

Appalachia[]

The Appalachian branch of the Brotherhood of Steel was founded when Roger Maxson contacted Lt. Elizabeth Taggerdy via satellite. The chance meeting led to the earliest branch of the Brotherhood being established in the remote region. Based out of Camp Venture and later Fort Defiance, the chapter focused on recovery and aiding the local population in its early years, before focusing entirely on the destruction of the scorchbeasts and the Scorched as an existential threat to humanity. The chapter failed in its attempt to contain the threat, becoming extinct in August 2095, less than twenty years after their foundation.^[21]

However, in the year 2103, the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force arrived in Appalachia and set up at Fort Atlas, previously called the ATLAS Observatory, reestablishing a Brotherhood presence in the region. In doing so, they became the second iteration of the Appalachian chapter.^[272] However a leadership rivalry emerged between Paladin Rahmani and Knight Shin regarding the Brotherhood's isolationism. Shin wanted to keep the Brotherhood's tradition at the expense of the safety of the surrounding wastelanders, while Rahmani wanted to abandon the Brotherhood tenets in order to bring about a more united wasteland.

Mojave[]

The Brotherhood's bunker is located in Hidden Valley, directly east of the settlement of Goodsprings in the Mojave Wasteland. It is surrounded by powerful underground fans that serve as a high-tech defense system, creating artificial sandstorms that allow the inhabitants to travel to and from the bunker undercover. It also serves as a kind of electronic disturbance to any and all outside factions' targeting sensors, therefore rendering the bunker safe from detection.^[273]

Prior to 2276, the Mojave Brotherhood had been very active in the region before their crippling defeat at HELIOS One by NCR forces and were forced underground on the orders of their new leader Elder McNamara. Due to a complete lockdown ordered to preserve what remaining soldiers he had, McNamara relies solely on teams that were trapped outside of the bunker for intel and trusted undercover operatives to bring food and supplies back to those trapped inside.^[273]

Despite their seclusion from the outside world, they still are regarded as a powerful faction in the region, this is shown in Mr. House's calculations as they painted the Brotherhood insurgency to be the greatest threat to his reign in the Mojave Wasteland in the long-term.^[273]

East Coast Brotherhood[]

On the East Coast, the Capital Wasteland chapter established the Citadel, built into and beneath the ruins of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. This faction was led by the idealistic Elder Owyn Lyons who decided to make the protection of the human inhabitants of the Capital Wasteland from super mutants and other threats his top priority, instead of the acquisition and preservation of technology. While Lyons was officially recognized by the ruling council at Lost Hills as the leader of a Brotherhood faction, because of his changed priorities, he received no support from California, and his faction, for all intents and purposes, was independent. Without reinforcements from the West Coast, Lyons was forced to recruit locally, but, as most new wastelander conscripts are overeager, unskilled, or both, the survival rate of these local members was atrocious. Elder Lyons' daughter Sarah commanded her own elite squad, Lyons' Pride. These soldiers help preserve the Capital Wasteland by holding back the super mutants, who tend to remain in the urban ruins of Washington, D.C.^{[274][Non-game 21]}

Members of Lyons' expeditionary force who preferred to stay faithful to the Brotherhood's original goals of locating and preserving technology and knowledge eventually abandoned him in 2276, after Lyons outright refused to permit them to excavate Fort Independence. Under the lead of Paladin Henry Casdin, they left the Citadel to take up residence in the fort and styled themselves as the Brotherhood Outcasts. In addition to carrying out Lyons' original orders, the Outcasts attempted to re-establish contact with the western elders and have Lyons placed in front of a firing squad.^[275]

As the war with the super mutants intensified, the Enclave returned in the flesh after fleeing New California several years prior. Their radio broadcasts had been heard for years on wasteland radios. In a bold first move, they seized the Jefferson Memorial's "Project Purity" (a project intended to provide clean water to the wasteland), and subsequently consolidated their power throughout the Capital Wasteland. At first favoring caution, Elder Lyons soon changed his mind, engaging the Enclave in a full-scale battle after the Enclave acquired possession of Vault 87's G.E.C.K. and nearly activated Project Purity. With the aid of Liberty Prime, the Enclave was ousted from the Jefferson Memorial and into uncertain disarray. Despite the subsequent loss of Liberty Prime, Lyons' chapter started its recovery to dwarf their fellow chapters back west in power, especially after the devastation of the NCR-Brotherhood War.^[274]

Sometime around or prior to 2287, the Brotherhood of Steel had also established an outpost somewhere near Nuka-World; the specific location of this base is not known, but it is not found within the in-game worldspace of Nuka-World. Buzz, a member of the Pack, stumbled upon this outpost and found it seemingly abandoned, with the area littered with the bodies of dead Brotherhood members and ghouls. However, he was able to locate a operational suit of power armor inside.^[276] When he and an associate returned to retrieve the armor, they were attacked by Brotherhood members who had returned. This forced him to return a third time, when he was able to don the suit of power armor but was shot in the process, perishing after he attempted to flee.^[277][278]

Following their arrival and war for the Commonwealth, the Prydwen made its way to New California, having learned of the Enclave defector Siggi Wilzig making his way to Lee Moldaver's NCR remnants in Los Angeles. The Prydwen's forces would cooperate with the West Coast Brotherhood in their ongoing war with the NCR, seizing control of the L.A. Boneyard.

Montana Chapter[]

	The following is based on bugged content.

A Brotherhood bunker exists in Montana and was at some point the home of an elder named Patrocolus.^[279]

	End of information based on bugged content

Chicago Chapter[]

The Brotherhood of Steel sent a detachment of troops east by airship to track the remnants of the Master's Army. After crash landing in Chicago, they clashed with the mutants in the city. By 2277, they had been classified by the Brotherhood as a rogue unit and "fell off of the radar" of the organization's other chapters.^[280] However, they were able the defeat the remnants of the Super Mutant Army that fled east. They were either killed or were assimilated into the Chicago chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel, which seemed more willing to allow mutants to join its ranks.^[281]

Branch organizations[]

Circle of Steel[]

The Circle of Steel is a branch organization within the Brotherhood of Steel dedicated to dealing with internal conflicts. In terms of their position relative to the Brotherhood proper, they handle the internal affairs of the whole Brotherhood of Steel.^{[282][283][284][285]} They are based on a faction of the same name that was to appear in the cancelled Van Buren.

Non-canonical chapters[]

Midwestern Brotherhood[]

	The following is based on information from Fallout Tactics.

The splinter faction, which lost contact with the Brotherhood leadership at Lost Hills, had been an independent organization since 2197, when the airship of its founders crashed near Chicago. Unlike the original, isolationist Brotherhood, the Midwestern Brotherhood expanded aggressively and eventually established a network of bunkers and vassalized towns from Illinois to Kansas, drafting folk from tribes and cities under Brotherhood protection into its ranks. While more open to the outside world, this faction of the Brotherhood is by no means altruistic - the villagers under Brotherhood rule, while protected from raiders and mutants, live in fear of the infamous Brotherhood inquisitors. The Midwestern Brotherhood was far more open in terms of recruitment compared to its West Coast counterparts, accepting ghouls, super mutants and even intelligent deathclaws into their ranks. The Brotherhood's main bases were bunkers that were originally pre-War military bunkers that were found, taken, and rebuilt. In accordance with the Brotherhood's military roots, they were renamed Bunkers Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon.

	End of information based on information from Fallout Tactics

The aforementioned Chicago detachment is a reference to the Midwest Brotherhood as they appeared in Fallout Tactics, though what is mentioned of them is essentially all that remains in canonical installments. However, just like their Fallout Tactics counterparts, the canon Chicago chapter also allows mutants into its ranks.^[281]

Texas Expedition[]

	The following is based on information from Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.

After the death of John Maxson, Rhombus, the head of the Brotherhood's paladins, became the new high elder, in the non-canonical Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. A super mutant faction under the leadership of Attis moved east and attempted to recreate the mutant army in Texas using the Corporate Vault. Rhombus, despite some criticism from the ruling council of the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel, started a crusade against the still-existent threat of the super mutant army, now led by Attis, in 2208. The Texan Brotherhood would prove successful in their quest, destroying Attis and his army at the ghoul city of Los.

Later they would expand their reach to include Fort Worth and the Alamo.

	End of information based on information from Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

Unlike the Chicago detachment, the events of Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel have not been referenced in any way in later canonical installments.

Foreign relations[]

For further information on relations such as trade, see Trade, Redistribution of technology and Confiscations.

Civilians[]

Initially the Brotherhood was founded as an organization to help the survivors of the Great War and took direct involvement in the defense of civilians as a top priority.^{[286][287][288]} However following 2082, this would take a backseat as the priorities of the organization shifted towards the collection and preservation of technology to safeguard humanity.^[289] Regardless, during the Brotherhood's early years it still remained a ever-present goal of the organization for most chapters. Despite technology being the main priority of the organization, the Brotherhood also has a mission to assist civilians when possible but not if it compromised the organization's mission or values.^[290] The Codex states, "Shield yourself from those not bound to you by steel, for they are the blind. Aid them when you can, but lose not sight of yourself." And although outsiders were viewed with caution, they were not seen as completely lost by the Brotherhood. They could in the Codex's words, have their "eyes opened" through joining the organization, "Fear those who do not pledge to the Brotherhood for though their eyes may be opened through service, they are now blind."^[291]

Furthermore, despite the organizations ever-developing caution when it came to outsiders, they continued to openly assist civilians on both the east and west coast. With the Appalachian chapter of the Brotherhood sacrificing itself to defend the populations of West Virginia and beyond from the scorched plague in 2095,^[292][293] and the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force's defense of a settlement from raiders in the Midwest during 2103.^[294] By 2161, despite adopting more isolationist policies, the Brotherhood of Steel still assisted Wastelanders against serious threats. Even though the organization had stopped recruiting outsiders in 2141 (6 years following Roger Maxson's death), they assisted civilian settlements by driving off the Master's super mutant army during the Unity Crisis. Following this they began to reintroduce technology into the Wasteland over time, becoming a major distributor of both pre and post-war tech.^[295][296]

They would also protect the citizens of the West Coast by assisting in the defeat of the Enclave following their emergence in 2241.^[297] On the East Coast, the year 2277 saw open conflict between Lyons Brotherhood and the Enclave over the control of Project Purity. Following their reintegration into the Brotherhood, they would continue to provide clean water to people of the Capital Wasteland into the 2280s.^[298][299] Perhaps most impressively, the Brotherhood would defeat the Enclave with the assistance of a new knight, the Lone Wanderer. Together, they were also able to save the entire population of post-nuclear America by destroying a group that had the capability and had planned to release Modified FEV into a major water supply. This would have been perpetrated with the goal of cleansing the continent of all mutations, which by this point basically included everyone besides Vault Dwellers.^[300] By 2287, the Commonwealth detachment of the Brotherhood would work to protect the regions citizens against Institute created threats like synths and super mutants during the War of the Commonwealth.^[301]

The Brotherhood's hesitancy to involve itself in the average affairs of wastelanders doesn't stem from a place of malice, but is rather due to the fact that it could be a tactically poor choice depending on the situations level of severity. The long-term mission of the organization is the paramount concern for most members, and they will ignore the pleas made by civilians if assisting them impedes those goals.^[302] The Brotherhood of Steel does not consider itself to be a "charity" for the average wastelander to exploit for personal gain.^[303][304] The Brotherhood is also hesitant of sharing their technology with others, despite the obvious benefits said technology could bring to the wasteland. Instead they chose to introduce it at a slow rate and only with those who they deemed could be trusted with its use. It is a commonly accepted idea within the Brotherhood that most people of the wasteland are not responsible enough to use (and maintain) all of the technology the Brotherhood has at their disposal. They are known for redistributing some of their technologies in exchange for food and other resources. But they keep the more sensitive, advanced and hazardous technologies under their protection.^{[Non-game 22][305][306]}

While they are generally not hostile to others without a good reason and Brotherhood members are seen as people not to be trifled with. Following the death of founder, Roger Maxson, for a period many members of the Brotherhood were not interested in justice for the weaker and less fortunate wastelanders (or mutants) around them. They largely focused on keeping their secrecy with isolation and preserving and developing technology, which they would often put above human life since technology is irreplaceable in the post-nuclear wastelands—lives are not. Their motives are often based on the long-term results.^{[Non-game 22]} Against its enemies, the Brotherhood maintains a policy of total warfare. As a general rule, they do not take prisoners, whether the opposition are simple wasteland hostiles like super mutants or raiders, to more complex opponents such as the Railroad or Enclave. This is done because the Brotherhood seeks to neutralize a given threat indefinitely.^[307][308] But the organization takes a lighter approach when dealing with militant civilians, and usually looking to subdue rather than eliminate them. In rare cases that wastelanders compromise a critical mission or if they pose a threat to a member of the Brotherhood, the organization will reluctantly pacify or eliminate the threat.^[309][310] The organization does try to prevent unnecessary casualties but acknowledge the fact that collateral damage does and will occur, regardless of its member's dislike of it.^[311]

Raiders[]

Raiders have always been seen as a natural enemy of the Brotherhood of Steel and the two groups have been at open conflict for over two centuries. The Brotherhood views the very existence of raiders as a direct obstacle to the Brotherhood's mission to save the remnants of humanity.^[312] By extension, many within the organization additionally believe that part of their mission is to address the threat these raiders pose. And as a result, the Brotherhood will usually engage and either destroy or subdue these groups to protect local populations, as well as the organization's interests. Over the years, there have been several major conflicts between the Brotherhood and different factions of raiders.^[313] However, the Brotherhood is willing to make temporary alliances or non-aggression pacts with raider groups should a situation deem it tactically beneficial. This is seen when the Brotherhood entered into an agreement with the Rust Eagles raider group rather than choosing conflict with them.^[160] They were also willing to form a temporary alliance with the Blood Eagles trapped in Vault 96.^[314]

They similarly do not hold ill-will towards those who have formerly been raiders in the past, and are more than willing to have them join the ranks of the Brotherhood should they dedicate themselves towards its goals. The Brotherhood contingent stationed at Big Bend Tunnel East was under the command of Knight Melissa Reische. In 2088, she came into contact with Carol Sweeney, the leader of an ex-raider group that settled on the opposite side of the tunnel. Despite them being former raiders, the Brotherhood would provide them shipments of supplies while the former raiders would provide them any scavenged materials of technological or military value.^[315]

In 2103, despite protests from members of the chapter and the groups reputation,^[312] Paladin Rahmani expressed interest in forging a long-term relationship with the Crater Raiders in the interest of regional stability.^[316] This would not come to pass, as tensions between the two groups increased after the raiders stole Brotherhood supplies, and harassed patrols. As a result, the Brotherhood was forced to requisition their property in addition to the Makeshift vault that was in the possession of the raiders.^{[317][318][319]} Similarly, the Brotherhood's mission to locate their stolen property also brought them into conflict with the Blood Eagles located at Dagger's Den. They had been using Brotherhood weaponry against civilians, threatening them for their supplies. A settlement known as the "The Retreat" contacted the Brotherhood for assistance. The Brotherhood would dispatch a initiate to retrieve the supplies and weapons by any means. After killing several Blood Eagles and making their way inside, the initiate confronted the group's leader, Dagger.^[320] The Brotherhood representative was more than happy to threaten or kill the Blood Eagles, but was also willing to negotiate a outcome that would not result in bloodshed. following this, the chapter would place the tree-top settlement under their protection.^[321][322]

Mercenary groups[]

During it's history the Brotherhood has consistently clashed with large mercenary groups. These groups are often motivated only by monetary compensation and are willing to commit heinous acts such as, kidnapping, human trafficking and mass murder. Because of their willingness to accept such contracts and commit these crimes, they are often drawn into conflict with the Brotherhood of Steel.^[323][324] These groups might also be in possession of advanced weaponry and technologies, thus they may be viewed as competitors or a threat by the organization. In 2104, the Appalachian chapter of the Brotherhood would all but annihilate what remained of the Hellcat Company during their assaults on Vault 96 and West Tek. The mercenary group had been assisting Edgar Blackburn in abducting innocent civilians for his inhumane experiments with FEV.^[323]

In 2277, the Capital Wasteland chapter of the Brotherhood would come into conflict with Talon Company mercenaries. This occurred because they were attacking Brotherhood water caravans that were carrying clean water meant for the settlements of the Capital Wasteland. Which resulted in the Brotherhood launching an assault on Fort Bannister.^[325] Alpha Squad led by Paladin Jensen, assisted by a knight, the Lone Wanderer, would enter the base. Once inside they killed all Talon Company mercs in their path, including their leader Commander Jabsco, effectively crippling the group. Following this, the Brotherhood would occupy Fort Bannister to use as an outpost.^[326][327] In 2287, as the Brotherhood of Steel entered the Commonwealth they would find themselves at odds with a large mercenary group known as the Gunners. Willing to accept any contract and responsible for the constant massacre of civilians, the Gunners became a fast-enemy of the Brotherhood, who were bothered by their cruelty towards wastlanders and misuse of technology.^[328] Clashes between the two became common, whether it was for a strategic location or resources.^[329] During the War of the Commonwealth, the Brotherhood has the ability of capturing strategic locations from the Gunners, this includes the Mass Fusion building.^[330]

Relations with NCR[]

Prior to the late 2240s, the Brotherhood had moderately good relations with the quickly developing New California Republic, to the point that one of the provinces of the fledgling nation state was named after the founder of the Brotherhood: Maxson. It was also the location of the Brotherhood's subterranean headquarters, Lost Hills, but it was never incorporated into the NCR. The two factions were involved in trading and the sharing of some technologies, the Brotherhood even possessed an outpost in the NCR's capital of Shady Sands.^[331][332] These relations would eventually sour due to the introduction of reactionary policies by the Brotherhood in the 2250s. They sought to limit and control the access to dangerous technologies within the region. This brought them into open conflict with the NCR, from which a bloody struggle ensued for decades. Despite past differences and the current conflict, the Brotherhood of Steel has shown itself to be willing to work with other parties or even rivals to achieve a common or crucial goal. Such as the cooperation with the NCR to ensure the defeat of the Enclave following the destruction of the Control station Enclave. During the height of the NCR-Legion War, the Brotherhood of Steel Mojave chapter displayed a willingness to sign a temporary truce with the NCR, as their ambitions in the Mojave were not at "crossed purposes".^[333]

If negotiations proceed, the Mojave chapter will send a representative, Paladin Todd, to discuss the terms of the truce with the NCR's Colonel Moore. The Brotherhood's truce came with a condition, Paladin Todd requested that the NCR return the power armor used by NCR heavy troopers, which had been salvaged from their conflict together. In exchange for the return of their property, the Brotherhood would sign a temporary truce with the NCR in the Mojave.^[334] They would also provide the NCR with combat support by sending some armored units to the Second Battle of Hoover Dam.^[335] The Mojave chapter was willing to do this despite continued hostilities between the two in the west. As per their agreement, the NCR handed over all suits of salvaged power armor and in return the Brotherhood helped patrol Interstate 15 and Highway 95.^[336]

Outside recruitment[]

During its formation and early years - the Brotherhood of Steel recruited from all walks of human life. Many were former members of the United States Military. Roger Maxson had begun attempting to contact ex-military units across the former United States with the proposition of joining his organization.^[337][338] However, not all that joined were soldiers, others were scientists, first responders or just average wastelanders.^{[339][340][341][342]} The Brotherhood on the West Coast kept growing, welcoming into its ranks a National Guard unit that was formerly stationed near Mariposa. Basic training for new Brotherhood recruits was extensive and strenuous. Even former military veterans found it to be a lot more difficult than their prior training. In Appalachia for example, all new recruits, regardless of background, were required to report to Camp Venture for basic training. The Brotherhood of Steel had made modifications to US Army Ranger training to set a new standard for basic. Part of this basic training even included live fire engagements against hostile targets such as super mutants and raiders. Because of this, casualties were seen as a necessary loss when it came to building a better soldier.^[343][344]

When the Brotherhood expands into a new area, open recruitment may be seen as necessary to the security of the mission. The Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force for example had recruited dozens of initiates and hopefuls on their track across the country.^[345] During 2103, they arrived and established their headquarters at Fort Atlas in Appalachia. Following this, they continued to recruit large numbers of local civilians to fill their ranks as a new chapter. These new recruits would then be indoctrinated with the teachings and regulations of the Brotherhood of Steel. They were provided training and sent on patrols or to guard checkpoints for combat experience.^[346][347]

It was only following the death of Roger Maxson that the Brotherhood began their isolationist policies. Following 2141, it is known that the organization would stop recruiting outsiders, despite a few exceptions. But by 2161, they had still remained active on the surface in New California, launching operations and trading with settlements.^[348] By 2241, they had become completely isolationist on the West Coast, masking their presence to most of the outside world. During this time period, the Brotherhood did not recruit outsiders as a general rule. When it did, they required the recruits to be very young, so that the proper relationship with technology could be cultivated. Adults have an approach that the Brotherhood considers perverted.^[349] However, exceptional individuals were conditionally allowed join the Brotherhood.^[350][351] Throughout its history, the Brotherhood of Steel has been known to offer asylum to refugees. Especially children, but adults are also accepted. The Brotherhood has also on occasion offered asylum to larger groups following terrible events such as "The Scourge" or the destruction of Shady Sands.^{[352][353][354]} Many of these refugees go on to join the Brotherhood's ranks, while ones who choose not to become Brotherhood civilians (aka. Brotherhood civvies). These actions as a whole act as a form of recruitment, bolstering their numbers.^[355][356]

Following 2255, the Capital Wasteland chapter of the Brotherhood under Elder Owyn Lyons began recruiting wastelanders after they arrived in Washington, D.C.. In order to establish and further reinforce the chapter in the region, the Brotherhood would go on recruiting drives to attract new members from local settlements, such as Rivet City, but continued to remained hesitant of outsiders. This is how Paladin Danse and Knight Cutler joined the organization. Circa 2287, the policy changed somewhat radically. As Elder Arthur Maxson became the leader of the Brotherhood's Eastern branch, he retained Elder Owyn Lyons practice of recruiting wastelanders^[357] sponsored by existing Brotherhood members^[358] and expanded upon it. Civilians could now choose to approach the Brotherhood to enlist on mass, and are for the most part greeted positively by their future comrades.^[359] As it was under Lyons, the sponsor would travel with their charges and teach them the ideals of the Brotherhood and train them in combat.^[360] To this end, active members can field promote recruits to initiate rank, but the rank and subsequent promotions have to be confirmed by the elder at the earliest possible opportunity.^[361][362] However, while the member can retract their sponsorship,^[363] once the rank is confirmed by the elder, only the elder can dismiss the sponsored party from the organization.^[364]

By the 2290s, a similar recruitment policy has been adopted by the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel, in staunch contrast to the near-total refusal to accept outsiders into its ranks in 2281. The Brotherhood accepts recruits from all walks of life and provides them with food, education and a place in the world.^[365] However, these recruits or refugees are presumably forbidden from leaving the Brotherhood due to the security risk, regardless of how much one may want to. As Squire Dane tells Maximus there is no leaving the organization when he mentions the possibility of doing so.^[366]

Attitude towards mutants[]

The Brotherhood's attitude towards mutants ranges from dislike to outright hostility. When it comes to the ghouls, the Brotherhood on the West Coast dislikes them due to their ideology. As the Brotherhood collects and preserves technology, tinkering ghouls that dismantle or sometimes damage old technology are abhorrent. Their dislike was amplified by salvaging operations in the Glow, a location regarded by the Brotherhood as close to the holy ground due to the deaths of their comrades there and high technology within. Most Brotherhood members came to see ghouls as filthy scavengers. Thankfully, contact between them is limited.^[367] Regardless, despite knowing the locations of ghoul settlements, such as Necropolis and Gecko, they did not take hostile actions against them. On the East Coast, the Brotherhood has a similar attitude towards ghouls. Many members dislike them, but similarly the organization does not conduct large-scale operations against them despite knowing the location of Underworld City. Much to the distaste of Underworld's residents, members of the Capital Wasteland chapter stationed at the Washington Monument are known to take pot shots at ghouls to either harass them, or likely to verify if they are feral.^[368] The Brotherhood of Steel's presence in the Mall indirectly provides Underworld with a level of protection from the mercenaries of Talon Company. However, the ghouls dislike the Brotherhood for turning their neighborhood into a warzone due to their war with the super mutants.^[369] Despite these issues, members of the Brotherhood are not openly hostile towards ghouls that approach to speak with the organization, and are even willing to conduct business with them.^[370]

The West Coast Brotherhood's hostility towards super mutants was derived from the location of Lost Hills. The proximity of their bunker to Mariposa and the desolate Central Valley put them in the paths of many bloodthirsty mutants. That made them an easy choice for an external enemy to focus members of the chapter on. However, after the fall of the Master, the Brotherhood drove away the super mutants with minimal loss of life on both sides of the conflict. Additionally, they were not hostile towards super mutants that settled down peacefully in the region.^[371] There were however exceptions, Marcus, a former high-ranking member of the Master's Army met Knight Jacob, a member of the Brotherhood. While initially hostile, the two forged a strong friendship as they traveled together. In the Fall of 2185, he and Jacob founded the multi-species settlement of Broken Hills.^[372] As a sign of their everlasting friendship, in the 2270s, Marcus established the settlement of Jacobstown, which was given its name sake in honor of Knight Jacob.^[373]

Some Brotherhood members will even feel pity towards mutants, as a result, they will try to end their suffering as quick as possible. One such member is Knight Captain Colvin of the Capital Wasteland detachment. A deeply religious individual, Colvin treats combat with reverence. He sees every battle he participates in as a worship and his weapon as a holy item. He bears no malice towards those he kills, including super mutants, he will even pray for the soul of each one he dispatches, believing that he releases them from their torment.^[374][375]

In the early 2080s, the Brotherhood would engage super mutants for the first time in its history. With the goal of saving the inhabitants of Appalachia from the occurring super mutant outbreak, the Appalachian chapter aligned themselves with the Responders. The Appalachian super mutant conflict saw several major events, the first phase culminated in the Battle of Huntersville in 2086. Huntersville was the source of the outbreak, so the Brotherhood and their ally completely destroyed the mutant force there and raised most of the town to the ground, this was done in attempt to prevent further spread.^[376] By extension, their efforts in this conflict contributed to preventing a massive catastrophe from unfolding. With the Brotherhood and its allies actions hindering the Enclave's plan to launch Appalachia's unused nuclear weapons against post-war China.^[377][378] In 2104, members of the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force clashed with super mutants in the region once again. After defending Fort Atlas and offering assistance to other settlements, they gladly put a stop to Dr. Blackburn's inhumane FEV experiments that were plaguing the area.^[379]

To the Brotherhood of Steel, super mutants are also a reminder of mankind's misuse of technology, and believe adamantly that it is a wrong and dangerous path for science. Thus, they see it as their duty to destroy these abominations that threaten what remains of humanity. When it comes to conflict with the mutants, it is one of the everlasting situations in which the defense of civilians is the organizations top priority.^[380][381] When it comes to humanity's misuse of technology and experimentation, super mutants surprisingly seem to share similar views to the Brotherhood of Steel. Some will even speak about it, stating, "You humans made us, now suffer for your arrogance!" Acknowledging that they are a result of humankind trying to "play god". This is one of the many threats that the Brotherhood works to prevent.^[382]

Part of the reason that the Brotherhood has clashed so frequently with super mutants on the East Coast, is that for the most part, mutants created by the Vault 87, Huntersville, or Institute strains are gratuitously violent and lack significant intelligence when compared to the Western counterparts created by the Master.^{[383][384][385]} Unlike in the West, where some mutants maintain peaceful communities like Jacobstown, Broken Hills or Black Mountain under Marcus, East Coast super mutants consistently attack innocent settlements, devouring or mutating their inhabitants. They have no interest in a peaceful coexistence, thus negotiations are not viewed as possible.^[386] The constant mass-murder of civilians by these mutants is considered a crime against humanity by the Brotherhood of Steel, and they see it as their duty to cleanse the Wasteland of such threats.^[387][388]

This forces Eastern chapters of the Brotherhood, both ideologically and strategically, to take a more aggressive and firmer stance when it comes to dealing with mutants.^[381][389] Starting in 2254, the newly established Capital Wasteland detachment led by Elder Lyons launched a war of annihilation against regions super mutants to save the innocent inhabitants of the Capital Wasteland. And by 2277, both sides had taken casualties, but the mutants had been reduced mostly to the D.C. ruins. Less than a year later super mutants were almost completely fractured. After attempting to regroup, their leader, Shepherd was killed by a young Arthur Maxson.^[390][391]

By 2277, in staunch contrast to the rest of the organization, it was rumored that Super mutants were allowed to join the ranks of the Chicago chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel in the Midwest. Many had been supposedly been assimilated into the organization following the destruction of remnants from the Master's Army.^{[Non-game 23]}

Prior to 2276, before the lock-down, the Brotherhood in the Mojave Wasteland had remained neutral with the neighboring super mutant settlement of Black Mountain, the Brotherhood had specifically left the communications array and its technology alone out of respect for the community. However, this policy was established while Black Mountain was still under the control of the benevolent Marcus. By 2281, the bipolar and violent Tabitha had taken power. The mutants under her command became increasingly aggressive, attacking wastelanders and even a Brotherhood patrol. As a result, Elder McNamara declared that no more respect would be given and that their technology was now "fair game". Instead of violent retaliation, the Brotherhood can, with the help of the Courier, install a remote signal transmitter in one of Black Mountain's consoles. It would allow them to access the radar and other detection systems. This would all done to gather intelligence in preparation for the Brotherhood's return to activity on the surface in the Mojave.^[392]

By 2287, the Brotherhood on East Coast had maintained its policy towards mutants, with standing orders to exterminate any post-War abominations, especially one's created by The Institute.^[393] In practice though, the Brotherhood usually does not shoot on sight unless targets are confirmed as hostile - even if they are a synth, ghoul or super mutant in a critical location.^[394] Some groups in the Commonwealth were supportive of the Brotherhood's conflict against Institute created super mutants. Factions like the Commonwealth Minutemen had been involved in a violent struggle with the super mutants for decades. The Brotherhood's actions in the region were greeted with enthusiasm by senior members of the Minutemen, such as Preston Garvey, who were more than happy to have the Brotherhood's assistance in subduing them.^{[395][396][397]} In regards to ghouls, by 2287, the Brotherhood under Maxson seems to treat non-feral ghouls better than the Brotherhood under Lyons did, as dialogue from Paladin Danse suggests that regular ghouls are considered no different from human civilians overall even if discriminatory attitudes towards them are common.^[398]

By 2296, the Brotherhood's policy towards mutants on the West Coast seems to be mostly the same. They have retained their dislike of ghouls and super mutants, but still do not go out of their way to launch hostile operations against either group. It is however widely assumed among new aspirants and initiates that Brotherhood has a policy of shooting ghouls on sight.^[399] This is displayed when Squire Thaddeus assumes that Knight Titus (Maximus) had killed a ghoul the second he had seen him, but to his surprise he is informed otherwise. Similarly when Brotherhood members are confronted by the ghoul at the Griffith Observatory, they do not fire on him immediately and give him the chance to speak, only shooting at him after he attacked them first. However, the Brotherhood still seems to possesses strict rules about mutants having membership in the organization, this can even include their own members who are in early stages of mutation - though it is not known how stringently this is actually enforced.^[400]

Technology[]

Power armor[]

The use of power armor is closely associated with the Brotherhood, who actively track down pre-War suits, keep them repaired and operating, and even have a limited ability to manufacture their own. Depending on their availability, their use may be reserved for higher-ranking members, while others have to make do with pre-War combat armor or less. Most chapters make do with whatever pre-War models are in the area, and while some suits may be seen as the "default," there is no form of enforcement on which type of power armor a member may use, and they are often simply painted over in Brotherhood symbols.

Even though the Brotherhood has captured Enclave technology on different occasions, they have never been seen fielding Enclave suits of power armor.

• T-45d - Most commonly used by: Lyons' Brotherhood, Brotherhood Outcasts and some members of the Mojave Chapter.
• T-51b - Most commonly used by: Lost Hills Chapter, Appalachia Chapter, the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force, and the Mojave Brotherhood
• Ultracite power armor - Designed by the Lost Hills and Appalachian Chapters, no production models were ever fielded.
• T-60 - Most commonly used by: Eastern Chapters, limited use by chapters on the West Coast.^[401]
• X-01 - Not used by members, pieces are kept in the Brotherhood armory on the Prydwen.
• Advanced Power Armor Mark II - Not used by members but researched, suits in possession of the Outcasts at Fort Independence.

Weapons[]

Military and energy technology is the Brotherhood's main priority, and their efforts over the centuries have equipped them with a powerful array of power armor, energy weapons, defense turrets, combat implants, computers, and heavy weapons (artillery, rocket launchers, Fat Man launchers, and flamethrowers). Their focus allowed them to amass sizable stockpiles of power armor (T-60, T-51 and T-45 variants) and energy weapons like Gatling lasers and Tesla cannons. The Brotherhood of Steel had a great understanding of many of these weapons, and thus, they were able to manufacture brand new items along with maintaining pre-war technology. As stated by Brotherhood Apprentice Melissa Watkins, "Knights of the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel are responsible for maintaining and manufacturing new weapons and power armor".^[402] This production capacity was somewhat limited, but the items produced possessed a high quality due to the most of the manufacturing process being done by hand. Further modifications to pre-War power armor models were also made. Due to the ultracite's effectiveness against the scorched the Lost Hills chapter designed the Ultracite power armor. The schematics were transferred to the Appalachian chapter to help with their struggle.^[403]

The Brotherhood of Steel has also had access to heavy equipment such as artillery as early as the 2080s. Brotherhood schematics and blueprints for heavy mortars can be found at Fort Defiance, the fort itself also included multiple artillery guns as a part of its defensive capabilities.^[404] By 2287, the Brotherhood continued to operate forms of heavy artillery.^[405] With the Commonwealth Brotherhood being in possession of equipment that is stationed somewhere in the downtown Boston area - Diamond City in the event of their victory, will ask that the Brotherhood keep them out of the city limits.^[406] In 2296, the Brotherhood on the West Coast similarly also possesses some forms of artillery. Members can be seen transporting artillery shells via wheel barrow at a Brotherhood airbase in New California, a substantial stockpile of shells can also be seen next to a storage shed.^[407] During the 2090s into the 2100s, the Brotherhood also began operating moderate numbers of automated SAM missile defense systems to deal with airborne threats.^[408] During the Assault on Adams Air Force Base in 2277, the Brotherhood gained access to perhaps the most devastating weapon it had possessed, the Bradley-Hercules orbital strike satellite.^[409]

Apart from applied combat technologies, the Brotherhood also has access to advanced medical technologies, such as cybernetics and combat implants.^[410] Further they have access to sonic and sensor technologies, automated research programs and even the ability to jam teleportation technology.^[411][412] The Brotherhood also has virtual reality training systems, which allow personnel to maintain their combat prowess even under lockdown.^[413] Prior to 2296, the Brotherhood of Steel designed an instrument that was able to track radiation signatures.^[414] Some chapters have also supplemented their combat force with recovered robots, like robobrains, sentry bots, Mister Gutsies, Mister Handy's and even a prototype combat robot known as Liberty Prime.^[415] Other robots like Protectrons have been reprogrammed by the Brotherhood to act in many roles, such as security, construction, maintenance, trading and even recruiting units. Due to their lack of manpower, and the fact that they did not recruit outsiders, the Brotherhood splinter group known as the Brotherhood Outcasts relied heavily on reprogrammed robots in order to augment their smaller pool of human soldiers.^[416]

Vehicles[]

See also: Brotherhood airship

In the 2080s, the Brotherhood unit stationed at Forward Station Delta had temporary access to heavy ground vehicles. This included pre-War APC's and even a tank that where reactivated by Initiate Tieggs.^[417][418] The Brotherhood did not possess many working ground vehicles, at least not by the early 2160s.^[419] By contrast, in 2105, the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force was known to use pre-war APC's for transport such as in the case of Forward Station Tango in Appalachia.^[420] In 2277, during the Brotherhood's war against the Enclave in the Capital Wasteland, they occupied the Rockland car tunnel. The Brotherhood was able to refurbish some pre-war military trucks, and utilized them to transport supplies and provisions like Aqua Pura from Washington to the front-line in the Rockland.^[421] Some chapters of the Brotherhood had operated Vertibirds as early as the 2080s. Former members of the United States Air Force had joined the newly formed Brotherhood, and with them they brought their equipment and experience.^[422]

The Brotherhood did have access to an entire fleet of airships in the mid-22nd century, used for exploration and recon. However, over the years, the fleet was either destroyed or dismantled for spare parts. By the 23rd century, none of the airships remained, with one vessel crashing in the Midwest on a long-range exploration mission. It was not until the acquisition of Pride One, a captured Enclave Vertibird, at the end of the Brotherhood-Enclave War, that the Brotherhood was known to have returned to the skies. Five years later, the Brotherhood built a new, more advanced, airship at Adams Air Force Base which they christened the Prydwen, which was launched in 2282.^{[423][Non-game 24]} The Prydwen's construction was carried out alongside a brand-new Vertibird fleet. This fleet would be made up of captured and restored Enclave Vertibirds, as well as brand-new ones built from scratch. By 2287, the size of this new air force was so significant that the Brotherhood created an entirely new caste, known as lancers, in order to pilot them. The Brotherhood utilizes two main variants of the Vertibird. The most commonly seen is the standard transport variant, with its large cargo bay and side mounted minigun. The Brotherhood does also possess fully-armed gunships for dedicated attack missions. However, the organization use's these sparingly for critical tasks.^[424]

Research and manufacturing[]

While the overall devotion to research had fluctuated over the course of centuries, the Brotherhood was once at the forefront of research in the wasteland on the West Coast. In the 22nd century, for example, research topics ranged from redeveloping laser weapons,^[425] through physics,^{[426][427][428][429]} to astronomy^[430][431] and theories on time travel.^[432]

West Coast[]

In terms of manufacturing capacity, the West Coast Brotherhood mostly relies on items hand-made by the knights. Although limited supplies pose a challenge,^[433] the real problems come from the actual manufacturing and prototyping process,^[434] especially when the reality does not seem to match the knights' expectations.^[435] Regardless, the Brotherhood was able to maintain a high enough output of technology (primarily weapons and ammunition) to support themselves and trade the surplus for water, food, and other necessary supplies.^{[Non-game 22]} By 2161, the Brotherhood of Steel in Lost Hills was manufacturing and modifying brand new laser weapons. Production and development of these weapons was under the control of the chapter's then Head Scribe, Vree.^[436]

The Brotherhood of Steel had a great understanding of these technologies, this allowed them to not only collect them, but also gave them the ability to manufacture new items from scratch - along with maintaining and improving pre-war technology they have secured. As stated by Brotherhood Apprentice Melissa Watkins, "Knights of the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel are responsible for maintaining and manufacturing new weapons and power armor".^[402] Though this production capacity was somewhat limited, however, the hand manufacturing and the high degree of sophistication of their primary weapons meant that the Brotherhood's items were always of high quality. In a conflict, this also had limited strategic flexibility: In the 2260s - 2270s, it could not compete with the production of a populous nation-state like the New California Republic, with their reserves of workers, industrial output and the mass manufacturing of inexpensive weapons.^[437] Prior to 2296, the Brotherhood of Steel had designed and began manufacturing a handheld device that was able to track radiation signatures. This was used by their units to locate the detected organism.^[438]

East Coast[]

The Brotherhood's war with the scorched brought about several technological breakthroughs. Scribe Takano of the Lost Hills chapter on the West Coast was able to design several inventions to assist the Appalachian Brotherhood and their struggle. She would make schematics and blueprints of her designs to be transferred to Scribe Grant in West Virginia. He would make modifications to these plans as needed, and then they were manufactured to be used in the field.^[439][440] Sonic scanning module were produced and used to track the scorchbeasts,^[441] while Sonic emitters were produced to lure them into kill boxes.^[442] The Brotherhood would use both of these to great efficiency, however perhaps the single most advanced item Scribe Takano sent were schematics for the modified T-51 Ultracite power armor, but due to the declining situation it was never produced.^[443] Following their arrival to the region in 2104, the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force had established its headquarters at Fort Atlas. They located a Ultracite battery cell in the former observatory's basement. This technology was reverse engineered by Scribe Valdez in hopes of boosting a communications transmitter, so that they can re-establish contact with High Elder Maxson and the rest of the Brotherhood on the West Coast.^[444]

By the mid 2250s, production in the Capital Wasteland was also initially limited by lack of supplies and crucial components. They were involved in contributing to Project Purity, but were forced to withdraw from the effort in 2258. However certain research and production projects were able to bear fruit. One was the successful activation of Liberty Prime. Several new developments on key systems, including the power, had to be undertaken. As even the pre-war US government was unable to utilize the technology in the Sino-American War. Eventually in 2277, they were able to complete Liberty Prime after a 20-year period.^[445] They were also shown to be capable of rebuilding it from a destroyed state to a completely operational one once again.^[446] Another was the Tesla cannon, which had its design modified by the Brotherhood for use against the Enclave. Brotherhood's scribes under the Order of the Sword worked to build their own Tesla cannons to more effectively counter the Enclave's Vertibird fleet. To do so, they needed to modify the technology with a PPE Tesla coil they acquired from Olney Powerworks.^[447]

During the year 2277, as the Brotherhood of Steel clashed with the Enclave during the war for the Capital Wasteland, the Enclave began to deploy mind controlled Deathclaws. To counteract this, Brotherhood Scribe Vallincourt created a device known as the Deathclaw control scrambler. This piece of technology is capable of constantly broadcasting its override signal to the domestication unit. Meaning that the device passively takes control of the deathclaw and causes it to turn on it's Enclave handlers.^[448] Following 2278, production on the East Coast became much more streamlined and efficient. After the defeat of the Enclave at Raven Rock and Adams Air Force Base during the Brotherhood-Enclave War, the Brotherhood gained access to their manufacturing facilities.^[449] The facilities at Adams Air Force base in particular were known to manufacture power armor, robots and apply modifications to vertibirds.^[450] There, they were also able to construct a massive airship known as the Prydwen in a period of just 4 years.^[451]

And while their ability to manufacture new suits of power armor on the East Coast has not been officially confirmed, dialogue from Paladin Danse at the Corvega factory depicts that they are capable of doing so.^[452] They do however, modify existing models. Sometime prior to 2296, the Brotherhood on the East Coast would make modifications to their standard T-60 series power armor. Jet packs were once said by Lancer Captain Kells to be pretty rare, even to the Brotherhood. Instead of the large and bulky jet packs used by the pre-war United States military, they added smaller rocket systems which retract into the interior of each wrist. Despite their compact size, they are capable of propelling the heavy suit for long distances with considerable speeds. As of 2296, this does seem to be standard issue on Brotherhood models of the T-60.^[453][454] The Brotherhood of Steel were also able to develop and manufacture a electromagnetic field emitter that was able to block incoming radio waves. This disabled the Institutes ability to teleport into the Boston Airport area.^[455][456] Smaller innovations were made with Vertibird Signal Grenades, and experiments with enhanced radiation-blocking medicine.^[457][458]

Redistribution of technology[]

The first known example of the Brotherhood redistributing technology occurred during the Brotherhood's First Expeditionary Force's journey to Appalachia. After acquiring a stockpile of Hellstorm missile launchers from a military facility in the Midwest, the Brotherhood encountered a town under the threat of an imminent attack from raiders. While Paladin Rahmani elected to stay and assist the town in its fight, Knight Shin proposed distributing the launchers to the townsfolk to give them a fighting chance.^[459] Even though doing so would go against the Brotherhood's standard protocol, Rahmani had nonetheless chosen to sanction Shin's plan, despite having personal reservations about it.^[460] The Brotherhood's plan failed, even though they joined the battle, the raiders managed to slaughter the town's residents and claim the launchers for themselves. This would later force the Brotherhood to requisition these weapons when found.^[461][462]

Prior to the 2150s, the Brotherhood of Steel in New California had established trade relations with the merchants of the Hub. In exchange for food and other items, the Brotherhood distributed newly constructed energy weapons that had been manufactured by Head Scribe Vree and the other scribes of Lost Hills. This offered the settlement and the merchants a better level of protection from raiders and other threats. Traders from the Crimson Caravan and Far Go Traders would also presumably spread these weapons further by selling them on their caravans.^[463] By this time period, the Brotherhood had become the largest distributor of weapons in the region. High Elder John Maxson even mentions that the Brotherhood is responsible for creating or distributing most of the weapons seen in the civilized Wasteland.^[165] Despite this, the Brotherhood was still unwilling to trade its weapons with groups, such as the Water Merchants and raiders, that would misuse the technology to harm others.^[166]

Following the events of the Unity crisis in 2161, the Brotherhood of Steel helped various human outposts drive back the remnants of the Master's army and had become a major research and development hub by beginning to slowly reintroduce advanced technology into wasteland.^[464] However, the Brotherhood would generally keep most of its more advanced/dangerous technology and knowledge to itself, while sharing small portions of it with those they believed were wise enough to use it responsibly.^[465] One such example included the trade of an advanced main frame computer to the dwellers of Vault 13.^[466]

ln 2189, the Hub joined the New California Republic. This saw limited cooperation between the Brotherhood of Steel and the NCR who now controlled the settlement. This included standard trade, but also the exchange of some more advanced technologies that were both beneficial and non-threating.^[167]

In 2277, Protector McGraw at the Outcast outpost was willing to share a portion of the technological stockpiles locked in the facility's armory with anyone in possession of a Pip-Boy, in exchange for them unlocking it by entering and completing the Anchorage Reclamation simulation.^[467] While this decision angered Defender Sibley and some of the other Outcasts from the garrison, who refused to share technology that they fought so hard to gain with an outsider,^[468] But McGraw had remained adamant that their end of the bargain be upheld.^[469]

The East Coast Brotherhood's victory over the Enclave during the struggle for the Capital Wasteland and the battle for Project Purity allowed them to establish control over the newly-activated purifier. The benefits gained from the seizure of this technology were not hoarded, as Lyons' Brotherhood began to distribute the water to the people of the Capital Wasteland and the East Coast free of charge.^[470] The large amount of distribution that needed to be undertaken resulted in the Brotherhood of Steel requesting assistance from Rivet City. For their participation in protecting the caravans, they were compensated with caps along with advanced technologies that the Brotherhood had acquired after defeating the Enclave.^[471][472] In 2287, more than a decade after the water purifier's activation, and seemingly the Brotherhood of Steel under Arthur Maxson continues to provide water to the people of the Wasteland, as Deacon will mention that the people of the Capital Wasteland have clean drinking water.^[473]

By 2287, it has become a standard practice for the East Coast Brotherhood in the Commonwealth to offer compensation to outsiders who assisted the Brotherhood in their operations, usually the retrieval of vital technologies. The Brotherhood will usually compensate individuals with technology, such as modified laser rifles.^[474][475]

Notes[]

• Despite being relatively small in numbers (compared to groups, such as the NCR), the Brotherhood is the most widely spread faction in post-War America.
• Most members of the Brotherhood are usually gruff in dealing with outsiders and usually extremely rude towards mutated creatures, such as ghouls and super mutants.
• As of 2103, Leila Rahmani believes the elders of the Brotherhood to be comprised of "fearful conservatism," remarking that she had tried to steer them away from this ideal.^[476]
• The Brotherhood is extremely territorial when it comes to technology and will defend it to the death. In Fallout: New Vegas, it is mentioned that an elder was severely punished for destroying a piece of unknown technology.^[477]
• According to the Citadel terminal entries, the Brotherhood in Lost Hills began protecting the NCR state of Maxson by 2277 at the latest.^[478] It also mentions an internal conflict, possibly a civil war, in the Brotherhood of Steel on the West Coast. This conflict forced Arthur Maxson to live in the Citadel.^[479]

  

• The Brotherhood of Steel also appears in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, although the game is considered non-canon in Bethesda's continuity. In this game, after the death of John Maxson, Rhombus, the head of the Brotherhood's paladins, became the new high elder. After the death of the Master, the Brotherhood of Steel helped the other human outposts of New California drive the mutant armies away with minimal loss of life on both sides of the conflict. However, a super mutant faction under the leadership of Attis moved east and attempted to recreate the mutant army in Texas using the Corporate Vault. Rhombus, despite some criticism from the ruling council of the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel, started a crusade against the still-existent threat of the super mutant army led by Attis. Rhombus became the leader of the Texas Expedition and they traveled eastward to Texas, arriving by 2208. There, he discovered a prototype vault which was abandoned and installed the Brotherhood's main base of operation in this area. Their main mission was to eradicate the menace of all super mutants. The Texan Brotherhood was now also more open to recruiting outsiders, including ghouls like Cain. With the help of a Brotherhood Initiate (Cain, Cyrus or Nadia), the Texan Brotherhood would prove successful in their quest, destroying Attis and his army at the ghoul city of Los.
• A Montana chapter was meant to be mentioned in Owyn Lyons' dialogue, but the sequence is bugged and does not play in-game.^[279]
• ^{(Note 1)} The exact outcome of this endeavor is dependent on player's actions. The Brotherhood can end up establishing a mutually beneficial trade deal with Foundation, by providing protection, training or caps in exchange for food, water and, optionally, intel on the whereabouts of various technologically advanced weapons in the region. Alternatively, Foundation can be threatened into subservience and forced to provide food and water to the Brotherhood. Lastly, the player can simply fail to establish any kind of trade relations between the two factions, forcing the Brotherhood to rely on itself.

Appearances[]

The Brotherhood of Steel has appeared in all Fallout games to date, as well as the Fallout TV series.

Behind the scenes[]

• The flag with the sword, gears, wings, and stripes was first used in Fallout 3, as a low-resolution asset flown over the Citadel. When extracted, the texture can be recreated to produce the flag on the right. This interpretation is supported by the official merchandise (where a full-size flag uses the red-and-white version) and Fallout 76's Nuclear Winter mode, where the Brotherhood of Steel minigun paint has a decal depicting this version of the flag.
  • However, the flag used for these is an erroneous recreation that was first posted on this wiki shortly after the game's release. The sigil was oversized (terminating on the last, rather than the penultimate stripe) and placed in a round field, whereas the sigil on the Citadel flag was placed with a stroke blending effect applied that gave it a rounded appearance. The original asset is based on a thirteen-stripe design, with a burlap filter applied and the sigil placed over the filter with a stroke effect applied, masking part of the burlap filter. This version was subsequently used as the basis for the Brotherhood of Steel flag in official Bethesda merchandise.
• Valve Software's multiplayer FPS Team Fortress 2 pays homage to the Brotherhood with an achievement in the game's Mann vs. Machine game mode.

Developer quotes[]

• The Brotherhood of Steel was originally planned to double as a religious organization centered around the worship of pre-War technology.^{[Non-game 25][Non-game 22]} This ideology was directly influenced by A Canticle for Leibowitz, which dealt with a group of Catholic monks tasked with preserving all scientific and technological knowledge until humankind is prepared to wield it.^{[Non-game 26]}
• They were also inspired directly by the Guardians of the Citadel faction from Wasteland.^{[Non-game 25]}
• Joshua Sawyer described the impact of the Brotherhood raids on the NCR's gold reserves, as new gold coins could not be minted and paper money could not be properly backed with gold. NCR citizens panicked and rushed to reclaim the listed face value of currency from the NCR's remaining gold reserves. Since the NCR was unable to realize these withdrawals, particularly towards the frontier, faith in their currency considerably dropped. To protect against an actual economic collapse, the NCR government abandoned the gold standard. Since then, many wastelanders lost faith in it as a medium of worth, both as a result of it not being backed by anything but the government's word and the inevitable inflation. In response to the loss of faith, merchant consortium's of the Hub established their own currency, the veritable bottle cap, backing it with a standardized measure of water.^{[Non-game 11][Non-game 12][Non-game 13][Non-game 14]}
• Sawyer also commented on the Brotherhood's conflict with the NCR, in that at the same time the Republic's power grew, the Brotherhood adopted a policy of reclaiming technology from people outside the order, which caused conflict in the Mojave.^{[Non-game 27]}

Creation Club[]

These stenciled Brotherhood decals are seen in the "Brotherhood of Steel, Institute, Railroad, Minutemen Weapon Paint Job" and "Brotherhood of Steel, Institute, Railroad, Minutemen Armor Paint Job" bundles on Fallout 4's Creation Club storefront, created for Bethesda by the modder Skibadaa. The orientation of the cogs on these symbols alternates between uses. Some of the skins included in these bundles were later repurposed as Overseer rank rewards in Fallout 76's Nuclear Winter game mode.

Insignia	Use	Notes	Seen
	Brotherhood of Steel (Fallout 76)[480]	This decal is used on miniguns, assault rifles, and infantry armor painted in Brotherhood colors.	Creation Club (2017) Nuclear Winter (2019)
	Brotherhood of Steel	This decal is used on various weapons painted in Brotherhood colors, including laser weapons and 10mm pistols.	Creation Club (2017)
	Brotherhood of Steel	This decal is used on various weapons painted in Brotherhood colors, including Gatling lasers, missile launchers, sniper rifles, and captured Institute weapons.	Creation Club (2017)
	Brotherhood of Steel	This decal is used on combat rifles and combat shotguns painted in Brotherhood colors.	Creation Club (2017)

Gallery[]

Fallout[]

Brotherhood of Steel paladin in T-51b power armor

Lost Hills entrance

Lost Hills interior

Lost Hills interior

Lost Hills map

Recreated file of the insignia that eventually became the standard for Brotherhood insignia

Fallout 2[]

Den outpost

NCR outpost

San Francisco outpost

Horrigan confronting Matthew

Fallout 3[]

BoS power armor concept art

Fawkes standing before a Brotherhood of Steel vertibird

The Citadel, their headquarters in Fallout 3

Fallout: New Vegas[]

Brotherhood of Steel patrol in the Mojave Wasteland

The Hidden Valley bunker, their headquarters in Fallout: New Vegas

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Fallout 4[]

Concept art of Brotherhood soldiers leaving a vertibird

Members training at the firing range in the Boston Airport

The Prydwen, an airship and the Brotherhood's base of operations in Fallout 4

Arthur Maxson with various members on the Prydwen

Weathered flag

Logo decal

Fallout 76[]

Taggerdy's Thunder was transformed into the Appalachian Brotherhood afer Maxson contacted Taggerdy using a radio

Brotherhood soldier in Appalachia

Evidence of the original Appalachian Brotherhood at Forward Station Alpha

Russell Dorsey outside Fort Atlas, their base in Fallout 76

Knight Daniel Shin with various members in Fort Atlas

Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force weapons cache

A Brotherhood medallion players can place in their C.A.M.P.s

Erika Hewsen performing first aid on Knight Shin

Fallout (TV series)[]

External links[]

• Brotherhood of Steel on Wikipedia

References[]