Technological development driven by the gears of industry ceaselessly churning even in the wasteland must be regulated. The people protected from themselves by a force of trained and disciplined warriors. This circle of individuals will be unto each other as a family, a fraternity, a brotherhood. The hope of mankind: the Brotherhood of Steel.
Hi, Scribe Ric reporting as ordered to present the cultural index on the Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout’s neo-knightly not so nice but totally justifiable army. The Brotherhood was formed on a simple premise, beyond the end of the world, in the ruins of civilization, who will safeguard the technological progress of mankind?
After all, even when there was oversight, look what happened, the great war, nuclear fire. No, the best option to ensure mankind can continue is to restrict the access future generations have to possibly catastrophic technologies. This purpose is to accumulate advanced technology, whether pre-war or new in origin and confiscate it.
Organisations such as the Institute and the Enclave are in possession of dangerous tech that is selectively emulated such as the Vertibird ships, or destroyed, such as the Synths and the FEV generated monstrosities such as Super Mutants. In 2077, before the bombs fell, a military detachment witness first-hand the corruption
Of science at the Mariposa Military Base as unwilling humans were subjected to mutagens and viral augmentations known as the Forced Evolutionary Virus. Despite their orders to the contrary, they turned away from their superiors and purged the base.
When the end came in October and they were sealed in, it fell to Roger Maxson to lead the survivors out in a time that came to be known as the Exodus to Lost Hills, a shelter from the fallout that would house the remnants of their military.
It was this man who would create the Brotherhood of Steel, give them their purpose which still guides them, 210 years later. The Brotherhood, despite the name includes many female members and operates a strict hierarchy. Yet it too, draws much of its influence and inspiration from tales of knightly valour
And chivalric quests, coating ranks and designations of military origin in a medieval dressing which seeks to inspire such qualities in its members. The fever to which they obey its doctrine is seen by some as simple discipline but it would not be too far to suggest an almost religious zeal.
Again, further cemented by the addition of Orders, Chapters, Paladins and so on, designations that have strong connotations to the church. Along the western coast, the Brotherhood of Steel may even be seen to be the ruling body of its territories, suggesting a sort of Crusader State where law is passed by those at the
Highest point of command. Speaking of which, the structure of the Brotherhood is arranged into chapters, each chapter is headed by an Elder who maintains a high degree of influence and is part of the Council of Elders. Chapters include the West Coast Brotherhood, the founding party who are based in bunkers along Southern California.
The Western Chapters abide by the founding principles of the order to a very strict degree and is the seat for the High Elder, the overall leader of the organisation. One of these chapters is the Mojave chapter, who was led into the arid lands by Elder Elijah
With the purpose to secure powerful undamaged pre-war tech such as HELIOS 1, the solar power and satellite array. This chapter was forced into hiding when recurring opponents, the New California Republic expanded into Vegas and forced the chapter back. The Midwestern chapter was technically never supposed to exist as it was founded by survivors
Of an airship crash somewhere near Chicago. Due to the small number of survivors this chapter had to abandon several leading tenants of the order and recruit from outside of the Brotherhood, currently under the leadership of General Dekker. There is also the East Coast chapter originally founded by Elder Lyons.
Based in Washington, they set up in the ruins of the Pentagon and renamed it the Citadel. This chapter, over time and with distance from its origin began to drift substantially from its mission parameters and became a very a different organization in terms of ideology from the Western chapters.
This led to much internal strife and eventually the Brotherhood Outcasts, a splinter cell of soldiers that disagreed with the level of involvement that Elder Lyons was taking in the affairs of the settlers of the wasteland. I find it interesting that the Outcasts still referred to themselves as brotherhood soldiers
Despite their small number and held true to the rules and regulations of the order. They could have easily decided to become raiders or the like and although aggressive, chose to continue serving the order in their own way.
They wished to have Elder Lyons removed from power by the Council of Elders but were unable to do so. Then there is the Circle of Steel, a chapter within the ranks of the Brotherhood itself responsible for policing its members and conducting investigations into their practices.
When an abhorrent abuse of power is noted, that individual may be marked for death. Alongside the Elders, there are the generals, they report directly to the High Elder and effectively govern the military forces of the Brotherhood. Where the exact power lies between the two is often at the discretion of the Council,
But it often seems that an Elder is given jurisdiction of the chapter while the soldiers within are under the command of the General. Then there are the divisions of Scribes and Knights. The Knights are the order of soldiers, those who fight, patrol, enforce and engage.
The Head Paladin commands the various Paladins of the chapter including Star Paladins, Paladin Commander, Lord, Senior. Paladin Commanders are just that, commanders just below the Head in rank. Seniors are noted Paladins who have no higher rank but are awarded special treatment for notable performance.
Both Paladin Lords and Star Paladins are given greater autonomy and report only to the Head Paladin. The difference is that that a Lord still commands soldiers. Below the Paladins is the order of Knights. The Head Knight governs them but remains below the Head Paladin.
Knight Commander below that, then Captain, Sergeant, Senior then the standard Knights. The Scribes are the thinkers and researchers of the Brotherhood. As with the knights, they are managed by the chapter’s Head Scribe who ultimately assigns duties to the divisions heads. The Head Scribe reports only to the Elders.
The Proctors, or High Scribes manage the three divisions of Scribe, the Order of the Quill, the Sword and the Shield. Or Documentation , weaponization and engineering. Within these orders multitudes of projects are always running with the Senior Scribes overseeing these.
Before an individual chooses their path, Knight or Scribe, they are a Journeyman, learning the basics of both, becoming either a Squire or journeyman scribe and before this, they are simply initiates, undergoing basic military training. There are other specialised roles too, such as the Sentinel, who acts on detached duty
And reports solely to the Elders of a chapter. The chapters themselves can alter the chain of command to better suit a situation too. The “chains that bind” is the manifestation of the chain of command as recorded by the Brotherhood and dictates that orders are undeniable, but can be only accepted from the immediate
Superior. This cumbersome latter part of this doctrine however is often disregarded in the field. As alluded to earlier, the BoS generally does not recruit. It’s members are initiated from those born by couples in the order and although a child
May refuse to join, doing so results in banishment from the Brotherhood and the vow that no knowledge of technology can be shared. This applies to all who may consider leaving the organization as the spread technology must be curtailed at any cost.
These children who remain are inducted into the ranks and begin their long climb; the discovery of drawings amidst the barracks of the Brotherhood at least suggests that these children are allowed to be children, at least when off duty. The Brotherhoods origins as a military force based of West-Tec technology means that they
Have always had access to Power Armour and Laser weaponry add that to their tactical know how and training, and you can see why they are expected to be the foremost fighting force in the wasteland. A single Knight in power armour with a Gatling laser could be considered a one man army.
As this military answers to no government, the direction and objectives can change with those who are in command. Some factions place an emphasis on helping the settlers of the wasteland while most see this as a waste of resources and at best remain ambivalent to outsiders.
Others, such as Arthur Maxson rewrite large portions of Brotherhood dogma to unite the chapters and embark upon a crusade, constructing an air force complete with flagship with appropriate Arthurian title, the Prydwen. This awe inspiring feat of engineering goes a long way to establish and inspire the legendary status of the Brotherhood.
All of the Brotherhood of Steel, its mission reports, rules, lineage and history is recorded in the Codex; a tome of lore where the Scrolls are kept. The Scrolls are effectively personnel records, each individual has one, but in keeping with the romanticised medieval aspects, are given a grandiose name to inspire.
The fact that members are literally born into the Brotherhood places a great emphasis on the ideas of legacy and lineage. The majority of High Elders for example, are all Maxsons, descended from the original leader, in as much the same way noble houses of medieval Europe were very insular.
Tradition and birth right can be seen to dictate a person’s place in the organisation. Arthur Maxson for example killed a Deathclaw at the age of 13 and I wonder how much of that was motivated by the drive to live up to a legacy?
Sentinel Sarah Lyons ran her own elite squad of paladins and was the daughter of Elder Owyn Lyons. Great things are expected of those of great blood it seems. Among the ranks of the Brotherhood, you will find just that.
A family who will fight alongside you, bend over backwards to help you and provide you with security in insecure times. As an outsider though, you are likely to be shunned at best, unless you are in possession of advanced technology.
In which case, you will be stripped of it, for the safety of the people, of course. This has earned the Brotherhood a mixed reputation that varies wildly depending on who you ask. Deeds in the past, clearing out super mutants, securing locations and purifying the Capital
Wasteland’s water supply have earned respect among the populous, but these are often the result of obeying the codex of the Brotherhood, or by a rogue element giving in to compassion. The day to day activities of the Brotherhood are far more reminiscent of hoarders and unasked-for enforcers of an overzealous doctrine.
Then again, what would the land be like if they just left nukes lying around in the hands of a bunch of immature waste landers? Thanks for watching this index. With the Brotherhood of Steel the best experience is to live it.
It has its darker elements sure, but so does everything in the Fallout universe. So option one for the next index is sticking with the pseudo-military science fiction, how about the Green Lanterns of DC Comics? Or if green ain’t your thing let’s look to the Zabraks of Star Wars.
The choice is yours and until the next video, I’ve been Ric, thanks again and Ad Victorum
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