Brotherhood of Steel (Fallout: New Vegas)



The Mojave chapter is a chapter of the original Brotherhood of Steel active in the Mojave Wasteland.

Background
The Brotherhood of Steel is a paramilitary organization, devoted to the recovery and preservation of pre-War technology and information. Officially, the Brotherhood seeks to salvage such knowledge so that it may be used for the benefit of mankind, but in practice, they are oddly selective as to what is important enough to be saved, often ignoring basic but potentially useful technologies (such as agriculture and civil engineering,) in favor of military hardware like energy weapons and power armor. They are notoriously secretive with their discoveries and distrustful of outsiders, even outright hostile in some cases. Even now, more than two centuries after the Great War, the Brotherhood zealously restricts the use and knowledge of their technological finds, even within their own ranks.

Based out of the fortified bunker of Hidden Valley, the Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel operated openly in the Vegas wastes for several years, carrying out several reclamation missions without encountering any serious opposition. Father Elijah, the reigning Elder at the time, eventually took a particularly strong interest in the dilapidated HELIOS One, a pre-War solar power plant. Despite the objections of the chapter's Paladins, who contested that the plant was too big a target for their relatively small forces to properly defend, Elijah decided that the vast promise of HELIOS One far outweighed the risks.

Over the next several months, the Brotherhood commenced repairs on the power plant, hoping to restore it to working order. However, Father Elijah had his own hidden agenda for the plant: in his studies, the Elder had discovered that HELIOS One was secretly connected to ARCHIMEDES II, a still-functioning orbital weapons platform. Such devastating firepower was too tempting an opportunity to ignore. After years of unchallenged dominance, the balance of power in the Mojave Wasteland shifted in 2253, when New California Republic forces entered the region and occupied Hoover Dam. Unnerved by the arrival of such a potential threat, Father Elijah declared that HELIOS One would now serve as the Mojave Brotherhood's home base. With little other choice, the chapter subsequently uprooted itself from Hidden Valley and moved into the plant.

By the year 2275, the New California Republic had established a firm presence in the Mojave Wasteland, having signed the New Vegas Treaty with the enigmatic Mr. House the year before and subsequently cementing a regional stronghold at McCarran International Airport. It was thus inevitable, then, that the NCR would soon set its sights upon HELIOS One. Elijah, still believing that he could unlock the facility's hidden capabilities, refused to abandon the power plant and forced his Paladins to continue defending it.

Although the chapter had refrained from participating in the NCR-Brotherhood War like their brethren back in New California, hostilities quickly flared between the Mojave Brotherhood and the resident NCR forces; attempts at communication and hope for possible cooperation proving futile, ultimately breaking down into violence. What followed over the following year was a series of guerrilla skirmishes, that culminated in 2276 with Operation: Sunburst, a full-on assault on HELIOS One by the NCR. Despite their technological advantage, the Brotherhood forces were gradually chipped away by the relentless NCR reinforcements. The Paladins continually urged Elijah to signal a retreat before their losses became too great, but the Elder dismissed their pleas, too obsessed with his work on HELIOS One and unlocking its secrets.

It was at the height of the conflict that Father Elijah abruptly vanished, leaving his chapter without any sort of explanation. Seemingly abandoned by their leader, the remaining Brotherhood forces were led by Head Paladin McNamara, who took on the title of Elder for the chapter. McNamara launched a desperate counterattack against the advancing NCR forces, buying himself and his people enough time to escape the facility and retreat back to the safety of the Hidden Valley complex. Sunburst was nothing less than disastrous for the Mojave Brotherhood, with more than half of the chapter's Knights and Paladins having fallen in combat. HELIOS One, the facility they fought so hard to defend, was left in shambles due to collateral damage.

In the wake of such a catastrophic loss, now-Elder McNamara enacted, against the wishes of most of the chapter, an absolute lock-down on the Hidden Valley complex; no members were allowed out of the bunker and those who were already outside at the start of the lock-down were not allowed back in. In the years since the chapter's defeat and subsequent lock-down, Elder McNamara has restricted activity outside the bunker to occasional reconnaissance missions and high-value raids. All operations take place at night, with engagement of NCR forces strictly forbidden. Though the Brotherhood's ascetic lifestyle has prepared its members for a sequestered existence better than most, the passivity of their current situation has proved highly stressful.

Current status
The Mojave Brotherhood operates on a policy of strict isolationism: no outsiders are allowed anywhere near the chapter's bunker at Hidden Valley, any who stray too close are killed on sight. The idea of outsiders joining the organization is completely unheard of. The only individuals granted access are a precious handful of patrols, scouts, and procurement specialists sent out into the wastes to gather food and other supplies. Since their crushing defeat at the HELIOS One facility in 2276, the chapter has watched from a distance as the New California Republic's presence and power in the Mojave Wasteland continued to grow; the possibility of having to engage the NCR once again is a disquieting notion for members of the group, particularly the leadership. Unable to test their combat skills in real-life situations outside, the chapter's Paladins are only able to keep themselves sharp through the use of virtual reality simulators and hands-on practice on the bunker complex's firing range.

Though deeply respected for his actions during Operation: Sunburst, which may have single-handedly saved the Mojave Brotherhood from extinction, Elder McNamara has been a target of some controversy within the organization, his enactment of the lock-down on Hidden Valley and its continuation years later has led some members to begin questioning the chapter's future. Head Paladin Edgar Hardin has recently begun gaining support from like-minded members who have begun to doubt McNamara's leadership, with rumors suggesting that Hardin plans to usurp the Elder.

By 2281, the Courier is the only known outsider to have visited the Brotherhood's bunker and survived, and thus can determine the fate of the ill-fortuned chapter. While the likes of Mr. House and Caesar want nothing more than to see the Brotherhood wiped out from the region, the New California Republic is more flexible. Should Elder McNamara remain in place as leader, the Courier may negotiate a truce between the two factions, thus ensuring the Brotherhood's survival in the Mojave Wasteland.

Society
The Brotherhood's professed mission is to preserve pre-War technology and human knowledge for the benefit of future generations. In practice, its definition of technology is strangely selective, ignoring basic but potentially useful technologies (genetic modification of crops and civil engineering, for example) in favor of combat technology such as energy weapons and power armor; and even now, nearly two centuries after the Great War, the Brotherhood zealously restricts the use and knowledge of such technologies to its own membership.

The Mojave Brotherhood operated freely amid the Vegas wastes for several years, carrying out many reclamation missions without serious opposition. The balance of power shifted in 2274, when a large contingent of NCR troops entered the region and occupied Hoover Dam. Conflict was inevitable. Nearly two years of guerrilla skirmishes culminated in a pitched battle at HELIOS One, a solar energy plant the Brotherhood had been refurbishing for several months with the goals of bringing it back online and activating its hidden offensive capabilities (the ARCHIMEDES II death ray). The battle for HELIOS One (Operation: Sunburst) proved a disaster for the Mojave Brotherhood. More than half its paladins and knights were killed. The chapter's leader, Elder Elijah, disappeared without a trace. The Brotherhood was driven from the facility, which suffered extensive damage. Survivors retreated to Hidden Valley.

Since that defeat, the chapter's leader, Elder McNamara, has restricted activity outside the bunker to occasional reconnaissance missions and high-value raids. All operations take place at night, and engagement of NCR forces is strictly forbidden. Though the Brotherhood's ascetic lifestyle has prepared its members for a sequestered existence better than most, the passivity of their current situation has proved highly stressful.

Relations with the outside
Since the NCR-Brotherhood of Steel War, the Mojave brotherhood has kept its contact with the outside world to a minimum, due to heavy casualties. Other than a few patrols that come in and go back out at night, no members leave the secure bunker and few people outside of the brotherhood ever enter or leave the Hidden Valley base. The exception being Veronica and others like herself. Depending on the Courier's choice they can set up a treaty between the NCR and Brotherhood. If this treaty is signed the Brotherhood will discontinue the lockdown and will openly operate in the wastes, such as assisting NCR patrols on the Long 15 and in select locations in the Mojave. If the character does not interact with the Brotherhood it will result in the Brotherhood ultimately launching an attack on HELIOS ONE and regaining control.

Technology
This Brotherhood chapter uses a mixture of both the T-45d and T-51b models of power armor, with the T-51b being much more widely used (see bugs). Their weapons are all extremely advanced, with tri-beam laser rifles being almost standard issue to the ordinary guard, while Gauss rifles are also used in high volume. Like most of the Brotherhood they will never have plasma rifles. Patrols sometimes even include heavier weapons such as the Gatling laser. Their scouts continue to find weapons in the Mojave, resulting in many unused weapons being stored in the Brotherhood armory. It seems that the Brotherhood Scribes are researching night vision optics. One of them even wants to invent automatic doors. They rarely if ever use conventional weapons, which, as stated above, results in many rather high end weapons such as anti-materiel rifles and miniguns being unused and collecting dust in their armory. However, they do give conventional weapons to their members that go out into the wasteland to collect supplies, as to not draw suspicion from factions that want them dead such as the NCR or Caesar's Legion. As per their current circumstances, they can take no chances.

Appearances
The Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel appears only in Fallout: New Vegas, and is mentioned in the Dead Money and Old World Blues add-ons.

Bugs

 * Almost no members of the Brotherhood of Steel wear Brotherhood T-45d power armor, although they may be seen wearing the corresponding helmet with Brotherhood T-51b power armor. This is due to a leveled list which is meant to contain Brotherhood T-45d armor, but contains the T-51b variant instead.
 * Most members of the Brotherhood of Steel become notably weaker once Old World Blues is installed, reducing their Strength and Endurance stats by 3 and 2 points respectively, and removing Explosives as a tagged skill. This affects both unnamed members, particularly those found patrolling the area around Hidden Valley, as well as some named members including Linda Schuler, Knight Lorenzo, and even Nolan McNamara and Edgar Hardin.