Brotherhood of Steel

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Brotherhood of Steel

Insignia of the Brotherhood of Steel
Series	Fallout
First appearance	Fallout (1997)
Purpose	Military Organization
Technologies	Power Armor

The Brotherhood of Steel is a fictional organization from the post-apocalyptic Fallout video game franchise. The Brotherhood collects and preserves technology, but they are not known for sharing their knowledge, even if doing so would improve the quality of life among the people of the wasteland.

The Brotherhood faction has been present in every Fallout game to date.^[1]

Structure[]

A cosplayer dressed in a Brotherhood of Steel power armor (center).

The Brotherhood has a research branch known as the Scribes, and a combat branch comprising initiates, knights, paladins and sentinels. Scribes are assigned to one of three Orders: the Swords develop advanced weapons like the super sledge and gatling laser,^[2] the Shields are focused on maintaining Power Armor and reverse engineering civilian technology for defensive purposes, and the Scrolls collect and transcribe prewar books.

The Outcasts of Fort Independence, known among fans as the "Dark Brotherhood" because of their black and red armor, split from Owen Lyons' followers because they believed preserving lost technology was more important than protecting the locals.^[3] The NCOs of the Outcasts are known as Defenders, commissioned officers are known as Protectors, and scribes are known as Specialists. In Operation Anchorage, the Lone Wanderer can assist the Outcast faction by completing a military simulator to unlock the base's armory.

Development[]

The Brotherhood was created by R. Scott Campbell, who stated that he "simply wanted a group exactly like the monks from the Guardian Citadel in Wasteland". He stated that he "really wanted the player to be able to befriend and join up with this group (and grab all of their awesome gear, of course)". He added that while "this did make them similar to concepts in Gamma World and Warhammer 40K, he professed that he "just loved the idea of high-tech knights in power-armor", calling their creation "total fan service to me."^[4]

Appearances[]

The Brotherhood of Steel is the central faction of two spin-off titles, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.

In the first game of the modern Fallout series, the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel were portrayed as an altruistic organization dedicated to protecting the Wastelanders from raiders and Super Mutants. Other chapters, like the Hidden Valley Brotherhood of the Mojave Wasteland, remained isolationist. By the time Arthur Maxson succeeded Owen Lyons as Elder during the events of Fallout 4,^[5] the Brotherhood had reverted to their original mission of confiscating and reverse engineering lost pre-war technology, and re-established contact with their superiors on the West Coast.^[6] The Brotherhood are one of the pivotal factions in Fallout 4, and players may choose to either side with them or join another faction to eliminate the Brotherhood in order to progress the narrative of the game's main storyline.

The Brotherhood are heavily featured in the Steel Dawn update to Fallout 76, as part of an expansion pack called Fractured Steel.^[1] In that game, it is led by Paladin Leila Rahmani, who "arrived from California" with her troops "to establish a new Appalachian chapter".^[7][8]

Promotion and merchandise[]

A Brotherhood of Steel member clad in Power Armor is featured as part of a range of Fallout-themed Funko Pop figurines which were first released in 2015.^[9]

Reception[]

Patricia Hernandez of Kotaku called the Brotherhood in Fallout 4 "giant dicks", saying that she refrained from stealing until she met them. Saying that they are "overzealous assholes" who "just stormed into the Commonwealth, acting like they own the place", she also states that "they feel that they are entitled to every significant piece of technology out in the wasteland".^[10] She criticizes their fictional ideology as not even "making any sense", saying that while it is "supposed to be about the preservation and protection of technology", "their leader, Elder Maxson, takes this to mean that the Brotherhood must destroy all synths". She also criticizes the fact that the player must destroy the Institute if they side with the Brotherhood despite their seemingly similar goals.^[10] Citing the "distasteful things they have you do during their faction quests", she singles out Proctor Teagan, who sends you on a "revolting quest where you have to force farmers to give crops to the Brotherhood, regardless of whether or not they want to".^[10]

Brendan Lowry of Windows Central called the Brotherhood's quest line in Fallout 4 morally grey, saying that while "The Minutemen are the "good guys" [...] and the Institute are unquestionably evil", "the Brotherhood is the only faction [...] that makes you critically think." Saying that "when the Brotherhood arrives in the Commonwealth, they make a promise to defend the people living there", things start to change later, and the Brotherhood "shows its enemies no mercy" regardless of whether they are hostile. Lowry states that "there's a strong argument to be made both for and against the Brotherhood's ideology".^[11]

Controversy arose among fans due to a retcon of the Brotherhood in the plot of Fallout 76. Despite established Fallout lore stating that "first recorded activity from the Brotherhood of Steel was in California in the year 2134," Fallout 76 establishes a Brotherhood presence "in West Virginia in the year 2102", something that "should be downright implausible if not impossible".^[12] Bethesda explained this discrepancy with the use of a "functioning satellite" that allowed the Brotherhood of Steel to extend their reach to Appalachia.^[13]

See also[]

• Knights Templar
• Space marine

References[]