DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
FronTech
HTML https://frontech.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Factions (Explanations)
*****************************************************
#Post#: 276--------------------------------------------------
Brotherhood of Steel
DIR By: Victoreno
Date: October 23, 2012, 2:19 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
The Brotherhood of Steel (BoS) is a quasi-religious organization
operating across the ruins of post-war North America, with its
roots stemming from the American military and the
government-sponsored scientific community from before the Great
War.
The founder of the Brotherhood of Steel was Captain Roger Maxson
of the United States Army. He was a member of a military team
commanded by Colonel Robert Spindel, originally sent to the
West-Tek research facility on January 3, 2076 by the U.S. Army
to monitor the experiments being conducted there by West-Tek on
behalf of the American government in the interest of national
security. On January 7, 2077, all West-Tek military research was
moved to the newly-constructed Mariposa Military Base, along
with Spindel's team, to enhance the research's security.
On October 10, 2077 Captain Maxson and his men discovered, to
their horror, that the West-Tek scientists at Mariposa were
using military prisoners as involuntary test subjects in their
experiments with the genetically-engineered Forced Evolutionary
Virus. Morale in the base broke down, and Colonel Spindel
suffered a mental breakdown, eventually committing suicide five
days later. Captain Maxson's men turned to him for leadership in
the midst of the crisis.
After interrogating Robert Anderson, the chief scientist on the
West-Tek research team, and learning about the extent of their
scientific experiments on military prisoners, Maxson executed
Anderson and many of the other scientists. Maxson, now in
control of Mariposa, declared himself to be in full desertion
from the U.S. Army via radio on October 20, 2077. Strangely, he
got no response from the Army chain-of-command, as the rest of
the Army was too busy fighting the Chinese threat. Three days
later, on October 23, 2077, the nuclear arsenals of both sides
were launched, and the Great War ended two hours after it
started, with most of the Earth reduced to a radioactive
wasteland.
The Mariposa Military Base survived the nuclear exchange that
devastated the United States, the soldiers within protected from
the radiation and FEV flooding into the newly created Wasteland
by the base's highly-effective nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons protection protocols. Two days later at Mariposa, on
October 25, 2077, an Army scout in power armor named Platner was
sent out to get specific readings on the atmosphere. He reported
no significant amounts of radiation in the area surrounding the
facility. After burying the bodies of the executed scientists in
the wastes outside of Mariposa the soldiers sealed the military
base, then headed out into the desert, taking supplies and
weapon schematics from the base with them. Captain Maxson led
his men and their families to the government fallout bunker at
Lost Hills in California ("the Exodus"). In November 2077, after
a few weeks in the Wasteland, the soldiers and their families
arrived at the Lost Hills bunker. However, they suffered many
casualties along the way from the terrible conditions of the
Wasteland, including Maxson's wife (but not his teenage son).
The Lost Hills bunker became the headquarters of the newly
formed paramilitary organization that Maxson created and named
the Brotherhood of Steel, intending to use its resources to
eventually rebuild human civilization—no matter the cost.
Little is known about the early years of the Brotherhood of
Steel. In 2134, a faction led by Sergeant Dennis Allen gained
strength in the organization, and urged the Brotherhood's Elders
to let them explore the southeast ruins of the primary West Tek
Research Facility, now called the Glow after it was directly hit
by a Chinese nuclear bomb, for technological artifacts. The
Elders refused, so Sergeant Allen and his separatist faction
split away from the Brotherhood of Steel, taking some advanced
technology and weapons with them. Despite that, under the
leadership of Roger Maxson, the Brotherhood grew in strength,
further developing their technology, and the orders of Knights,
Scribes, and Paladins were formed. In 2135, Roger Maxson died of
cancer, and his son took over as the new High Elder of the
Brotherhood.
In the 2150's, the Brotherhood established its control over the
areas surrounding the Lost Hills bunker, becoming one of the
major powers in the Core Region of the West Coast. Some time in
the early 2150s a raider group known as the Vipers began to
establish a power base in the badlands to the south of the Lost
Hills Bunker. Driven by a religious frenzy (and the need to
provide for their much larger numbers of soldiers and
disciples), they began raiding more frequently than before,
eventually attracting the attention of the Brotherhood of Steel.
In 2155, the Brotherhood sent out a few squads of scouts to
track the Vipers down. This was more of a training exercise
conducted by the High Elder than anything else, as the
Brotherhood was convinced that a small detachment of troops in
power armor would be sufficient to deal with a group of raiders,
no matter how large. One Brotherhood squad, led by High Elder
Maxson, found the Vipers. Expecting the raiders to break and run
at the sight of soldiers in power armor, Maxson did not take
into account the religious zeal and ferocity of the Vipers...or
their poisoned weapons. A single arrow nicked him while his
helmet was off, causing him to die a few short hours later. John
Maxson, the grandson of Roger, took up the role of High Elder,
and Rhombus became the new head of the Paladins and the order of
Knights.
The Paladins, now led by Rhombus, began a full scale campaign
against the Vipers, tracking them down and wiping out almost all
of their members within the span of a month. Some of the Vipers
were able to flee north and east into the Sierra Nevada mountain
range.
Several years later, the Brotherhood faced an enemy far greater
than any band of raiders. In October of 2161, a Brotherhood of
Steel patrol came across a dead super mutant in the badlands.
They took the corpse back to the Scribes, and Head Scribe Vree
began to study it. After several long examinations, it was shown
to be completely sterile.
In 2162, the Vault Dweller arrived at the Brotherhood's base at
Lost Hills, wanting to join them. He was not taken seriously and
sent on the usual fool's errand to the ruins of the West Tek
Research Facility, renamed "The Glow" after a Chinese nuclear
attack during the Great War made the facility a radioactive
death trap. He surprised everyone by not only returning alive,
but also succeeding in his mission (he was tasked with finding a
holodisk with the record of an expedition of several Brotherhood
Paladins to the Glow). As a result, he was the first outsider in
a very long time to be accepted as a member of the Brotherhood
of Steel, even though some prominent members of the Brotherhood
resisted his joining the organization.
It was from the Vault Dweller that the Brotherhood learned about
the Master's mutant army and his plans to turn all human
survivors into super mutants. With the support of High Elder
John Maxson, the Vault Dweller managed to convince the Council
of Elders to send a squad of Paladins to the Mariposa Base
(which had been, ironically, where the Brotherhood originated,
although not even Maxson was aware of that), where the Master's
FEV vats were located. With the help of the Brotherhood, the
Vault Dweller eventually managed to defeat the Master, and was
never seen again in the Lost Hills bunker. The Brotherhood at
this time appeared to be the most technologically advanced
faction encountered in the Core Region of the West Coast.
Although the super mutant army and the Gun Runners had access to
comparable advanced weaponry, the Brotherhood had a monopoly on
power armor, certain medical technologies like cybernetics, and
advanced supercomputers.
Following the defeat of the Master, the members of the
Brotherhood began disputing amongst themselves over the need for
new recruits versus their secrecy as an organization. The Elders
finally ruled against the sharing of technology with outsiders,
believing that they would continue to survive on their
traditional principles. The minority that was opposed to this
was sent eastward to track down the remnants of the Master's
army via airships. When these airships crashed near Chicago,
this group founded a new contingent of the Brotherhood of Steel:
the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel. The Brotherhood would later
establish small outposts throughout the California area, as well
as carry out expeditions to Washington D.C. in 2254 and the
Mojave later on.
Also following the defeat of the Master, the New California
Republic was founded and began expanding. Eventually, the NCR
founded the state of Maxson in the surrounding area of the Lost
Hills Bunker. While the bunker remained under Brotherhood
control, the state was under the jurisdiction of the NCR.
Relations between the two factions weren't without tensions, but
the two remained at peace for the time being.
By 2242, the Brotherhood was no longer the power that they once
were. With the reemergence of the Enclave, the Brotherhood was
no longer the most advanced organization in the wasteland, and
knowing this, the Brotherhood was intimidated. Without the
proper resources to deal with the Enclave, the best the
Brotherhood could do was keep an eye on them; to this end,
several bunkers near areas of Enclave activity were reactivated.
Eventually, the Brotherhood learned of the Enclave's vertibird
technology. Without similar technology of their own, the
Brotherhood would be unable to counter a possible Enclave
invasion. At the request of his superiors, Matt of the San
Francisco bunker enlisted the help of the Chosen One in
retrieving the vertibird plans from Navarro.
By 2231, Jeremy Maxson had assumed the position of Brotherhood
High Elder. In addition to wanting to expand Brotherhood
operations eastward, he was much more aggressive in his
"hoarding" of pre-War technology. He wanted to restore the power
of the Brotherhood by wresting all advanced tech from the hands
of "lesser people" by any means necessary. Naturally, this led
to disputes with the NCR, which had always been in favor of
using advanced technology for the benefit of society (at least
according to Thomas Moore, an NCR citizen, which is what he saw
as the NCR's justification for trying to annex Vault City).
Shortly after the destruction of the Enclave, a war broke out
between the Brotherhood and the NCR.
With their superior technology, the Brotherhood managed to hold
out against the NCR, even coming close to total victory. Yet,
the Brotherhood's technological advantage was eventually outdone
by the sheer size of the NCR's army; no matter how many troops
the NCR lost, they always seemed to have more. The Brotherhood,
on the other hand, was still a selective group, and thus, was
short on numbers. With this discrepancy in troop numbers, the
Brotherhood's defeat was imminent.
The Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel would still be
fighting the NCR as late as 2274. After establishing a base at
HELIOS One, the Mojave Brotherhood soon found themselves at odds
with the NCR and its growing power in the region. Eventually,
the NCR sought to control HELIOS One, and the Brotherhood, under
the orders of their Elder, Elijah, refused to leave. This led to
a confrontation between the two, and in the typical chain of
events, the Brotherhood's superior technology was no match for
the NCR's superior numbers, and they were defeated in one of the
bloodiest battles in the Brotherhood's history. With over half
of the chapter dead, the Brotherhood retreated to the Hidden
Valley bunker where Nolan McNamara (in light of Elijah's
disappearance following the battle) took the role of Elder upon
himself and placed the bunker under lock-down. Since then, the
Brotherhood's presence in the Mojave Wasteland has been confined
to only a few scouting missions, a great point of controversy
amongst the chapter.
Brotherhood of Steel is a neo-knightly order that rose from the
ashes of the American military of the West Coast in the years
following the devastation of 2077. The organization's tenets
include the eradication of mutants and worship of technology,
and the Brotherhood has never been very keen on sharing their
resources with their fellow wastelanders (who they generally
consider too ignorant and irresponsible to deserve such advanced
technology).
The Brotherhood is generally beneficial to humanity, but they
have their faults: They don't care for mutants; they worship
technology (and in many cases put it above human life); and they
don't like to share their choicest technological discoveries,
despite the obvious benefits their technology could bring to the
Wasteland.
Although the Brotherhood has always been portrayed as aloof, as
time went on more negative aspects of their beliefs have been
increasingly emphasized as their power has decreased. Originally
they stood for relatively benign goals of preservation. Indeed,
in one of the possible endings in Fallout; they voluntarily
reintroduce technology, engage in novel research, and actively
help the wasteland. Later, in Fallout Tactics, the Midwestern
faction eventually would go on to become a near-fascist state,
but only if a specific ending is chosen in which this faction
assumes the new leadership of a prejudiced General Barnaky. A
different ending involves the Midwestern Brotherhood working
together with the humans and non-humans of the Midwestern
wasteland for the greater good, and create a post-apocalyptic
utopia. (However, it should be noted that none of the endings of
Fallout Tactics has yet been assumed as canon, and so is open to
speculation.) By the time of Van Buren/New Vegas the main
Brotherhood is strongly paranoid, not only seeks to preserve
technology but actively remove it from outsiders, is
disinterested in nonmilitary assets, and engages in little if
any work to actually improve their tech. Much of the
Brotherhood's belief system is enshrined in a document known as
the Codex, which acts as an important source of information on
regulations and rules that members must adhere to. The East
Coast Brotherhood is different from the West Coast, seeming to
want to help others instead of collect vital technology, but
this created a faction focused entirely on collecting tech in
the east, the Brotherhood of Steel Outcasts.
The Brotherhood is mostly composed of the descendants of those
military officers, soldiers, and scientists, but aside from some
outsiders among their ranks, the Brotherhood is as close to
pure-strain humanity (prime normals) that may be found outside
of a Vault or the Enclave.
The ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel are generally recognized
as being composed of the best and the brightest remaining to
humanity, which means the BoS is a relatively small
organization, at least compared to the New California Republic.
They make up for this with their frightening arsenal of
pre-and-post-Great War technology: they have laser weapons,
power armor, surgical cybernetic enhancements, combat implants,
and Brotherhood Paladins have the ability to erase an entire
town from the map without a scratch. The vast majority of BoS
members are born into the Brotherhood - they very rarely accept
outsiders into their ranks. While not an official policy, many
members believe that in order to survive, all members are
obligated to procreate. This results in a lack of tolerance for
same-sex relationships, at least when the proponents of the
aforementioned stance are concerned. Those born in the
Brotherhood that want to be neither Scribes, Knights nor
Paladins are free to leave - the Brotherhood does not believe in
forcing anyone to serve them against their will. Although,
members who decide to leave the Brotherhood will face the
punishment of death for sharing any medical or scientific
knowledge they have acquired with any outside faction.
The headquarters of the Brotherhood 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 bunkers in the Den, San Francisco,
and Shady Sands (capital of the New California Republic). 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 town 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 most likely resulted in the destruction of many of
the Brotherhood's bunkers in the Core Region.
A Brotherhood bunker is located in the 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 which
allow the inhabitants to travel to and from the bunker under
cover. It also serves as a kind of electronic disturbance to any
and all outside factions' targeting sensors, therefore rendering
the bunker safe from detection. Mr. House's calculations painted
the Brotherhood insurgency to be the greatest threat to House's
reign in the Mojave Wasteland in the long-term.
The Brotherhood of Steel has characteristics similar to that of
today's military such as standard armor (T-45d power armor or
T-51b power armor), to standard weapons (laser rifle and the
laser pistol), to standard ammunition (microfusion cells, small
energy cells and electron charge packs). They also have training
similar to that of recruit basic military training and trade
training, have a chain of command, various bases, supply their
own troops and have distinct branches/trades (i.e. Paladins and
Scribes) that cover combat and support roles within the
organization.
Military 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,
and computers. Their devotion to the cause of collecting
technology is such that they are willing to go to war in order
to obtain it, even against much larger organizations such as the
NCR.
Although less advanced than the Enclave, Brotherhood soldiers
are generally equipped with Energy Weapons and suits of Power
armor, usually either the T-51b or T-45d models, both of which
were designed before the Great War. Recon armor is also widely
used, primarily by scouts, knights, and initiates. In addition,
the Brotherhood has access to some of the best medical
technology available in the post-war world, and other
technologies such as cybernetics and surgical implants.
They also possess heavy duty combat robots that have assisted
them in battle, like the intimidating sentry bots, and even a
40-foot Communist-hating metal giant in the hands of the Capital
Wasteland detachment.
HTML http://th07.deviantart.net/fs50/PRE/f/2009/271/8/f/fallout_3_brotherhood_of_steel_by_spanielz.jpghttp://img520.imageshack.us/img520/7104/91850220fz4.jpg
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 1