Paladin Danse

Paladin Danse, unit designation M7-97, registration DN-407P, is the commanding officer of the Brotherhood of Steel unit known as Recon Squad Gladius, deployed to the Commonwealth in 2287. He is a possible companion in Fallout 4.

Background
Before he joined the Brotherhood of Steel, Danse had memories of growing up as an orphan in the Capital Wasteland. As a child, he made a dangerous living by scavenging the D.C. ruins until he could afford to open his own junk stand in Rivet City. It was around that time he befriended a man named Cutler, and together the two scraped by as traders.

When the Brotherhood of Steel began recruiting, Danse and Cutler agreed it was "the best way out of [their] nowhere lives". They joined the order, under the training of Paladin Krieg, and were successful soldiers, but roughly a year after being posted to the Prydwen, Cutler disappeared on assignment. Danse personally spearheaded a three-week search for the missing squad. Ultimately the trail led to a super mutant hive where it was revealed that Cutler's team had been killed, and Cutler himself had been exposed to the Forced Evolutionary Virus. Danse, saddened to discover his friend had been mutated, killed Cutler. The experience incited an intense hatred in Danse of most non-humans, including super mutants, ghouls, and synths.

Danse achieved the rank of Paladin while the assault on Adams Air Force Base was happening, which resulted in the fatality of his first section leader. By the year 2287, he had risen to become one of Arthur Maxson's most respected officers. He was assigned a reconnaissance team and dispatched to the Commonwealth to investigate signs of the Institute's activities. However, misfortune quickly reduced the recon team to only three members. When the Sole Survivor first encounters Paladin Danse, he and what's left of his team are holed up in Cambridge Police Station, unable to proceed with their mission. Paladin Danse enlists the aid of the Sole Survivor to help him retrieve an item from the nearby ArcJet Systems complex. After their task is completed, Danse offers the Survivor the rank of Initiate in the Brotherhood of Steel, should they wish to join.

Provided the Sole Survivor enlists in the order, Danse will become a full companion following the completion of Shadow of Steel. On their journeys Danse makes it clear he believes the Institute and its synths are too dangerous to let live, and both must be eradicated for the safety of mankind. However, after the Survivor breaches The Institute's mainframe, it is revealed that Paladin Danse himself is actually a synth. Danse, or unit designation M7-97, goes AWOL shortly thereafter. Elder Maxson orders the Sole Survivor to find and execute their former mentor, saying the existence of a such a creature cannot be allowed.

When found at Listening Post Bravo Danse is adamant that he did not know he was a synth. The disgraced paladin then encourages the Survivor to carry out their orders to kill him, insisting that he "must be the example, not the exception." The Survivor must then choose to either execute Danse or convince him to flee the Commonwealth. If Danse survives the events of Blind Betrayal he will thank the Survivor and, with Maxson's promise not to have him hunted down, remains in the Commonwealth to aid the Survivor in their mission.

Due to his revelation, it is unknown if any of the memories that Danse had mentioned were actually real memories, or at which point Danse begun living as a human.

Quests

 * Paladin Danse will become a full companion upon receiving the quest Tour of Duty.
 * Call to Arms: The Sole Survivor explores ArcJet Systems with Paladin Danse, which is overrun with Institute synths.
 * Semper Invicta: The Sole Survivor has to help Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys.
 * Shadow of Steel: The Sole Survivor and Paladin Danse board the Prydwen. Danse becomes available as a companion after the completion of the quest.
 * The Lost Patrol: The Sole Survivor is asked to find what happened to the last Brotherhood recon team.
 * Liberty Reprimed: If Danse is taken as a companion while finding the bombs, he will stay at the storage room to watch over it.
 * Blind Betrayal: Danse is revealed to be an Institute synth. Elder Maxson orders the Sole Survivor to find and execute him. The Sole Survivor is given the choice to either execute him or keep him alive and in exile.
 * Airship Down: If Blind Betrayal has not been completed, and Paladin Danse is still alive, he will make the last stand with the Brotherhood of Steel. He can be killed by the player character, the synths or by the crashing airship.

Effects of player's actions

 * Maximum approval with Danse awards the Know Your Enemy perk, which grants +20% more damage against ghouls, super mutants and synths. It is impossible to max out the relationship with Danse before completing Blind Betrayal.
 * Siding against the Brotherhood faction before Blind Betrayal makes him permanently hostile, removing him as a companion.
 * If he is alive after Blind Betrayal and the Survivor becomes an enemy of the Brotherhood of Steel, then a bug may occur rendering him unable to react to the player character.
 * If Blind Betrayal has been completed, he may instead ignore the Sole Survivor and will only turn hostile if attacked. This appears to be a bug since the player character can still open the trade menu with him. The issue effectively removes him as a companion, but will not remove his perk.
 * Danse will stop talking and functioning as a companion if the player becomes hostile with the Brotherhood, even after Blind Betrayal's completion. This is evident by the fact that he is killable and functions more like a normal settler than a companion.
 * Danse is a potential candidate for romance, an option that unlocks after reaching the highest level of affinity.
 * Having reached maximum affinity and romanced Danse, even if he then begins to ignore the Sole Survivor, he will nevertheless continue to sleep with the Sole Survivor (granting the Lover's Embrace perk) when visited at Listening Post Bravo.

Other interactions

 * Danse has the authority to grant the Sole Survivor membership into the Brotherhood of Steel.

Appearances
Danse appears only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * Unused dialogue suggests that Paladin Danse and the Sole Survivor were originally able to challenge Maxson's authority as Elder through combat according to "the Litany". Through his defeat, it would have allowed Danse to regain his status as Paladin and grant the Sole Survivor the rank of Elder within the Brotherhood.