Ad Victoriam! The Story of the Brotherhood of Steel

An Abridged History of the Brotherhood of Steel

One of the most iconic aspects of the Fallout franchise, power armor is usually the end-all, be-all solution to any threats a player would face in the Wasteland. Combining the power and durability of a tank and the concept of Iron Man’s suits, putting on power armor is the Fallout equivalent of being like the knights of old. It’s fitting, as while players can encounter plenty of factions with power armor, it’s most commonly associated with the Brotherhood of Steel. Formed from the remnants of the US Military and inspired by the knightly orders of Medieval Europe, the Brotherhood of Steel can be an imposing force as they travel the Wastelands searching for pre-war technology. As the Fallout show demonstrates to newcomers, though, they’re not quite heroes.

I’m RJ Writing Ink, and this is an abridged history of the Brotherhood of Steel, one of the most prominent factions in Fallout. 

Horrors of Mariposa Base

The Brotherhood’s story begins at a top-secret army base in California. In the months leading up to the Great War, a detachment of US troops was assigned to protect the scientists there, who were working on a substantial project. Little did the soldiers know, but those scientists were experimenting with an artificial virus to turn people into super-soldiers. And they were testing it out on prisoners of war.

After learning the truth, the CO had a mental breakdown and committed suicide. That left his 2nd-in-command, Captain Roger Maxson, in charge of the outraged soldiers. Maxson interrogated the scientists, and to his horror, they claimed the US government ultimately authorized their experiments. In utter disbelief, Maxson executed them all. Then, to make Washington give him answers, he moved the soldiers and their families inside the base before declaring their secession from the Union. 

A response never came. On October 23rd, 2077, the Great War brought nuclear death to the world. Save for some scattered enclaves, the US government ceased to exist. Maxson and the others were on their own.

Forging a New Order

Now in charge, Maxson’s priority was keeping his group safe, and while their base was spared nuclear destruction, that wouldn’t last forever. After checking to ensure radiation levels were safe, Maxson told everyone they were leaving. They took whatever they could carry, buried the scientists, and sealed the base up before heading south. Their destination was an underground bunker.

The Exodus south proved costly. Some members abandoned the group, searching for tech from a nearby facility, and have yet to return. Others fell to people who escaped the bombs and turned to banditry to survive. Everyone had lost someone by the time they made it to the bunker, and many were on the verge of giving up. 

Maxson knew he couldn’t let his people give up, and with America no more, he chose to give them a new cause to believe in. From that day forward, they would abandon their past as part of the US Military. Taking inspiration from knightly orders of old, they would dedicate themselves to finding, protecting, and preserving knowledge and tech for future generations to use to rebuild the world. And to keep it out of the hands of those who would use it for evil, like their former government had. They would become a Brotherhood of Steel. 

That was how things started. After a while, though, things began to change.

Things Start Getting…Foggy for the Brotherhood

Things started changing as time passed, and the Brotherhood set up chapters across America. The original chapter began to think that Maxson’s teachings meant keeping tech out of the hands of everyone who wasn’t them. That led them into repeated conflicts with groups like the NCR that they could’ve cooperated with, weakening their resources.

On the East Coast, things fared a little better. After making it to the ruins of Washington DC and seeing how bad things were, their leader shifted focus to helping the people of the Capital Wasteland out over finding tech. That led to some of them breaking off to follow their original mission. When Arthur Maxson, a direct descendant of Roger, became head of the East Coast Brotherhood, they renewed their focus on acquiring technology. They did continue to help people out, though.

There was also an issue that was shown in the TV show. Besides being unwelcoming to outsiders, the Brotherhood had another problem: they didn’t like ghouls like The Ghoul or Super Mutants, AKA anything exposed to the virus that started all of this. It didn’t matter if they were friendly; they would treat them like trash or shoot them on sight. Many Super Mutants are hostile, and Ghouls turn feral when exposed to much radiation, but that’s beside the point. 

The Brotherhood Aren’t Heroes, But They’re the Best We’ve Got

The Brotherhood of Steel is one of the most storied and complicated factions in the Fallout series. On their worst days, they hoard any technology like a group of packrats, shoot any outsiders on sight, and can be incredibly racist against Ghouls, Super Mutants, and sentient machines. Their continued rivalry with the NCR doesn’t do them any favors. However, they also fight against far worse groups, like the Enclave, Raiders, feral ghouls, and hostile Super Mutants. They protect the knowledge of pre-war America from being lost for good, much like the monks and elite warriors of Europe did after the fall of Rome. In short, they can go either way on the morality spectrum. 

The events of the first season of Fallout didn’t paint them in the best of lights for newcomers, and even the good people in them, like Maximus, have made mistakes. Thanks to what they seized, it could be easy for them to go mad with power. Compared to Vault-Tec and the Enclave, though, they’re saints! Fingers crossed, Maximus can help them get their act together and be a force for good like Roger Maxson wanted. 

If you want to learn more about the Brotherhood, go play any of the Fallout games. The Brotherhood is in every game to date.