Brotherhood of Steel | |
---|---|
Series | Fallout |
First appearance | Fallout (1997) |
Most recent appearance | Fallout (2024) |
Created by | R. Scott Campbell |
In-universe information | |
Type | Quasi-religious paramilitary organization |
Founded | October 20, 2077 (De jure) 2082 (Officially) |
Location | |
Leader |
|
Key people |
|
Technologies | Power Armor |
Enemies |
|
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]
Due to the fragmented nature of the Brotherhood, existing in multiple Expeditionary Forces (known as "Chapters"), a set structure is hard to follow. All Chapters follow a chain of command known as "The Chain That Binds", with four ranks used universally by all. These are, in ascending importance, Initiate, Knight, Paladin, sentinel, and Elder.
All Chapters stem from the original Western Brotherhood seen in Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game, and usually take on names relating to their location, such as the Appalachian Brotherhood ( Fallout 76 ), Mojave Chapter ( Fallout: New Vegas ), and the Eastern Brotherhood ( Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 ).
Within each chapter, two groups exist known as Scribes and Paladins. Scribes are responsible for all logistical matters within each chapter. Members of the Order of Swords are responsible for the maintenance of advanced weaponry and the Power Armor so frequently used by the organization. The Order of Shields are responsible for reverse engineering civilian technology for defensive purposes. The Order of Scrolls are responsible for the recovery and acquisition of advanced schematics and pre-war knowledge in the form of books and other media. Paladins are the “armed forces” of the brotherhood and are the main users of power armor and advanced energy weaponry. These members are the main components of the teams which recover old world technology, as well as the members who combat threats to the brotherhood, such as mutants, the enclave, the NCR, etc. Brotherhood paladins traditionally are the members which can ascend to the rank of elder in a chapter, although certain scribes have been known to become elders, such as in Elder Elijah’s case.
The Brotherhood have been shown to have an internal affairs division, known as the Circle of Steel. At least one member (Christine) is known to have been sent after a rogue Elder (Elder Elijah) in the Fallout: New Vegas add-ons Old World Blues and Dead Money .
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". [2]
The Brotherhood of Steel made its first appearance in the original Fallout video game and has been present in every entry in the series since. It is also the central faction of two spin-off titles, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel .
The depictions of the Brotherhood have greatly varied. They are first shown to be an enigmatic, militaristic cult that the protagonist may join in Fallout , who can be critical to defeating the Master, the main antagonist. The Brotherhood has a different appearance in Fallout 2 , where they are shown to have outposts throughout the wasteland and are in cooperation with the New California Republic.
In Fallout 3 , the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel were portrayed as an altruistic organization dedicated to protecting the wastelanders from raiders and super mutants. The diversion in ideology has caused a splinter group to emerge called the Brotherhood Outcasts, who have no interest in assisting wastelanders but instead pursuing the Brotherhood's original mission of confiscating pre-War technology. If the player character chooses to assist Lyons, the Brotherhood faction soon becomes a dominant power in the region with much of the population appreciating its assistance, such as in operating a massive water filtration project to make the region's water supply safely drinkable.
Other chapters, like the Mojave chapter in Fallout: New Vegas , remained isolationist and were chiefly focused on obtaining pre-War technologies and often used extreme measures to obtain them, such as terrorizing wastelanders and even becoming embroiled in a war with the New California Republic before the events of the game. The war with the NCR has left the chapter very weakened, with around half of their paladins and knights lost after the NCR invaded the Mojave chapter's original headquarters in a decisive victory. Depending on the player character's actions in New Vegas, the Mojave Brotherhood chapter can maintain the status quo, make peace with the NCR, or be destroyed.
By the time Arthur Maxson succeeded Owen Lyons as Elder of the Eastern chapter during the events of Fallout 4 , [3] the Brotherhood had reverted to their original mission of confiscating and reverse engineering lost pre-war technology, reunified with the Outcasts, and re-established contact with their superiors on the West Coast. [4] 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". [5] [6]
A main character of the 2024 television adaptation Fallout , Maximus (Aaron Moten), is depicted as a squire in the Brotherhood of Steel. After being mistreated by his knight Titus (Michael Rapaport), he refuses to save the knight's life following a Yao Guai attack, stealing the power armor and assuming his identity. Maximus, in the guise of Titus, is later sent his own squire, Thaddeus (Johnny Pemberton). [7] [8] [9] [10]
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. [11]
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". [12]
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". [13] Bethesda explained this discrepancy with the use of a "functioning satellite" that allowed the Brotherhood of Steel to extend their reach to Appalachia. [14]
Various sites noted a fan theory that the Brotherhood chapter depicted in the Fallout television series had conquered and then incorporated the beliefs of Caesar's Legion, a dictatorship formerly featured in Fallout: New Vegas as enemies of the New California Republic and Mr. House. The theory points to the characters' Roman names and the use of a unique red-and-yellow flag, with PC Gamer 's Jody MacGregor saying she "wants it to be true". [15] [16]
Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In its first 15 years, it was a video game developer and self-published its titles. In 2001, Bethesda spun off its in-house development team into Bethesda Game Studios, leaving Bethesda Softworks to focus on publishing operations.
Fallout is a media franchise of post-apocalyptic role-playing video games created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, at Interplay Entertainment. The series is set during the first half of the 3rd millennium, and its atompunk retrofuturistic setting and artwork are influenced by the post-war culture of the 1950s United States, with its combination of hope for the promises of technology and the lurking fear of nuclear annihilation. Fallout is regarded as a spiritual successor to Wasteland, a 1988 game developed by Interplay Productions.
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel is a turn-based real-time tactical role-playing game set in the post-apocalyptic Fallout universe. Developed by Micro Forté and published by 14 Degrees East, Fallout Tactics was released on 14 March 2001 for Microsoft Windows. It had sold over 300,000 units worldwide by 2008.
Van Buren was the codename of a canceled role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios. It was intended to be the third game in the mainline Fallout series. Set in the year 2253, the plot of Van Buren revolved around a prisoner who would explore the American Southwest while being chased by robotic prison guards. The main antagonist was a mad scientist named Victor Presper, who planned on using the prisoner as an inadvertent vector to spread a deadly virus. Gameplay would have included a mixture of real-time and turn-based combat. The player would explore the map with a team of non-playable character (NPC) companions. Each NPC would make their own independent decisions which would affect the story.
Fallout is a 1997 role-playing video game developed and published by Interplay Productions, set in a mid-22nd century post-apocalyptic and retro-futuristic world, decades after a nuclear war between the United States and China. Fallout's protagonist, the Vault Dweller, inhabits an underground nuclear shelter. The player must scour the surrounding wasteland for a computer chip that can fix the Vault's failed water supply system. They interact with other survivors, some of whom give them quests, and engage in turn-based combat.
Fallout 3 is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the Fallout series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring the rights to the franchise from Interplay Entertainment. The game marks a major shift in the series by using 3D graphics and real-time combat, replacing the 2D isometric graphics and turn-based combat of previous installments. It was released worldwide in October 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is a 2004 action role-playing game developed and published by Interplay Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and was the first entry in the Fallout series to be released for home video game consoles. Set in the year 2208, the player controls an initiate of the Brotherhood of Steel, a militant organization that attempts to bring order to a world that has been decimated by nuclear warfare. Critics often compared Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel to a hack and slash game, due to its emphasis on fast-paced combat and encounters with large groups of enemies. Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel does not feature an open world map like other Fallout games, and is instead linear in design.
Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. It is best known for its action role-playing franchises, including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield. Bethesda Game Studios opened in 2001 as the development unit of Bethesda Softworks, separating from publishing operations. Todd Howard serves as the studio's executive producer, leading it with managing director Ashley Cheng and studio director Angela Browder. As of November 2023, Bethesda Game Studios had 450 employees.
Fallout: New Vegas is a 2010 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Set in the Mojave Desert 204 years after a devastating nuclear war, the player controls a courier who wakes up after being shot in the head by an unknown assailant. While tracking down their assailant, the courier becomes embroiled in a larger conflict between different governing factions vying for control of the region. Fallout: New Vegas features an open world map that the player can freely explore. Much of the gameplay revolves around combat, and there are a variety of weapons the player can use, such as melee weapons, conventional guns, and energy-based weapons. An optional difficulty level is Hardcore Mode, which adds survival mechanics such as a need to routinely eat, drink, and sleep.
There are five pieces of downloadable content (DLC) for the Bethesda action role-playing video game Fallout 3. Each package of downloadable content adds new missions, new locales to visit, and new items for the player to use. Of the five, Broken Steel has the largest effect on the game, altering the ending, increasing the level cap to 30, and allowing the player to continue playing past the end of the main quest line. The Game of The Year edition of Fallout 3 includes the full game and all five pieces of downloadable content.
Emil Pagliarulo is an American video game designer who works at Bethesda Game Studios.
Creation Engine is a 3D video game engine created by Bethesda Game Studios based on the Gamebryo engine. The Creation Engine has been used to create role-playing video games such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76. A new iteration of the engine, Creation Engine 2, was used to create Starfield. The Creation Engine has been tailor-made for large-scale open-world RPGs.
Fallout: New California is a fan-made modification and unofficial prequel to the action role-playing video game Fallout: New Vegas, made by Brandan Lee and Radian-Helix Media. It was released in two installments, with the first installment released on May 31, 2013, and the second installment released as a beta on October 23, 2018. Originally known as Fallout: Project Brazil, the modification was renamed to Fallout: New California on September 1, 2017.
Fallout 4 is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the Fallout series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The game is set within an open world post-apocalyptic environment that encompasses the city of Boston and the surrounding Massachusetts region known as "The Commonwealth".
Fallout 76 is a 2018 action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is an installment in the Fallout series and a prequel to previous entries. Initially set in the year 2102, players control a resident of Vault 76 who must venture out into the dilapidated open world known as "Appalachia" in order to re-colonize the region, and uncover a mysterious plague that has killed off its inhabitants.
Fallout is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet for Amazon Prime Video. Based on the role-playing video game franchise created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, the series stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, and Walton Goggins.
The music soundtrack of the Fallout series is composed of both licensed music from the mid-century's Jazz Age to the Space Age, as well as original scores by Mark Morgan, Matt Gruber, Devin Townsend, Inon Zur, and Ramin Djawadi. The series also features original songs and covers commissioned for the games as diegetic music heard in the world of Fallout.
"The Beginning" is the eighth and final episode of the first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout. The episode was written by producer Gursimran Sandhu and directed by Wayne Yip. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 10, 2024, alongside the rest of the season.
The New California Republic (NCR) is a fictional post-War republic from the post-apocalyptic Fallout franchise. Operating primarily out of Southern California, it serves as an attempted governing body for the wasteland, including some portions of Oregon and Nevada, along with further colonization efforts in Arizona and the Baja California area of Mexico.