Deacon

Deacon is a synth sympathizer and agent for the The Railroad living in the Commonwealth in 2287. He is a potential companion in Fallout 4.

Background
Deacon is a spy for the secretive pro-synth liberation organization, The Railroad. When the Sole Survivor first approaches the group, they discover Deacon has been covertly keeping tabs on their activities in the Commonwealth. He will vouch for the Survivor's character to Desdemona, citing their accomplishments in the wasteland and their potential usefulness. Should the Sole Survivor join the Railroad, Deacon will become a companion.

At first glance Deacon is a laid back, lighthearted individual with a penchant for toying with people by lying. In reality he proves to be a cautious loner who is slow to trust. As they travel together, Deacon informs the Survivor that he is a synth and shares his recall code: a verbal command that will provide information on the Institute at the cost of wiping his entire personality. As his approval rises Deacon will reveal that he was one of the original founders of the Railroad some 70 years before, and Desdemona is merely the figurehead for his shadowy leadership. However, passing speech checks cause him to break down and confess these are all lies. He then warns the Sole Survivor to be wary of malicious people who will deceive them to achieve their own ends.

Once Deacon has reached maximum approval he will confide in the Survivor that he feels out of place in the Railroad, claiming that he is finally ready to tell the truth about himself. He says that as a youth he was a member of the University Point Deathclaws, a gang who harassed people accused of being synths. Their antagonism escalated to a lynching which was carried out on unreliable information. Shaken by the killing, Deacon left the gang to become a farmer. He fell deeply in love and married a woman named Barbara, but the Deathclaws returned and murdered his wife. It was not in retaliation for Deacon's departure, but because they had learned - to both Deacon's and her surprise - that Barbara was a synth.

Distraught and enraged by the loss of his wife, he proceeded to butcher most of the remaining Deathclaws in a bloodthirsty haze. In the aftermath of the slaughter, the Railroad contacted Deacon, seeing the benefits of someone both sympathetic to their cause and adept at dealing with bigots. Despite believing himself to embody everything wrong with the Commonwealth and being undeserving of joining The Railroad, Deacon nevertheless swore himself to the cause of synthetic freedom and equality. He then thanks the Sole Survivor for putting up with his games and expresses appreciation for them being a friend he can trust.

Other interactions
Deacon cannot be asked to pick locks or hack terminals. He does however have a much higher Sneak rating than most characters, and rarely alerts enemies to his presence as other followers do.

Quests

 * Tradecraft: Deacon accompanies the Sole Survivor to the Railroad's previous headquarters to retrieve a lost prototype.
 * Precipice of War: The Sole Survivor and Deacon escort Tinker Tom to Cambridge Police Station to steal a Brotherhood vertibird.
 * Rockets' Red Glare: Using the stolen vertibird, the Sole Survivor and Deacon infiltrate and sabotage the The Prydwen.
 * The Nuclear Option: Deacon and the other members of the Railroad assault the Institute, freeing the synths within before blowing up the facility's nuclear reactor.

Effects of player's actions

 * At maximum approval Deacon awards the Cloak & Dagger perk, which gives +40% duration for Stealth Boys and +20% damage from sneak attacks.
 * Deacon will become instantly hostile if the player character kills a settler or anyone involved in the Railroad.
 * Siding with the Brotherhood of Steel or the Institute in the end game sequence will flag the player character an enemy of the Railroad, resulting in the loss of Deacon as a companion and turning him hostile.
 * After siding with the Minutemen and finishing the end game sequence without completing the optional quest, the Railroad and Deacon will turn hostile when the player next speaks to Desdemona. You may still speak to other Railroad characters and complete quests for them.

Approval

 * Deacon likes it when the player character picks locks.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character hacks terminals.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character promises to help people.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character resolves conflicts without killing.
 * Deacon loves it when the player character helps and speaks positively of synths.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character suggests that Stockton has a good reason to be paranoid.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character humors Tinker Tom's paranoia.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character sides with Ironsides in Last Voyage of the U.S.S. Constitution.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character kills Lorenzo Cabot.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character tells Joe at Bunker Hill that helping synths is a good thing.
 * Deacon likes it when the player gives the serum to Brian Virgil
 * Deacon likes it when the player completes Boston After Dark and also if the player character uses the code words to High Rise.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character teams up with Glory during Memory Interrupted.
 * Deacon likes it when the player character defends the freedom of the press while speaking with Piper and Mayor McDonough.
 * Deacon loves it when the Sole Survivor gives Austin Engill the cure during Hole in the Wall.
 * Deacon loves it when Kent Connolly is rescued during The Silver Shroud. He also like if one tries to frighten (Speech check) the men of Sinjin during this quest.
 * Deacon loves it when the player character says 'You hate everyone' in conversation with Dr. Carrington.
 * Deacon loves it when the player character agrees to attempt to communicate with Patriot during The Molecular Level.
 * Deacon loves it when the player character gives the cure to Austin Engill during Hole in the Wall
 * Deacon loves it when the player spares Danse in Blind Betrayal.
 * Deacon loves it when you tell Desdemona you'll protect the Railroad during End of the Line.
 * Deacon loves it when you mourn the synth in Memory Interrupted.
 * Deacon loves it when you tell Desdemona that you miss Glory.

Disapproval

 * Deacon dislikes it when the player character asks for more money in dialogues.
 * Deacon dislikes it when the player character attacks non-hostiles.
 * Deacon dislikes it when the player character uses Chems.
 * Deacon dislikes it when the player character eats a corpse.
 * Deacon dislikes it when the player character gives drugs to Mama Murphy.
 * Deacon dislikes it when the player enters Lorenzo's cell after killing him or if the player chooses to free Lorenzo
 * Deacon dislikes it when helping Preston retake Fort Independence.
 * Deacon dislikes it when the player character enters the town of Covenant.
 * Deacon dislikes it when the player character returns the egg to the deathclaw.
 * Deacon hates it when Brandis at Recon Bunker Theta is killed, regardless if he attacks first.
 * Deacon hates it when the player character joins the Brotherhood of Steel.
 * Deacon hates it when the player assassinates Shelly Tiller.
 * Deacon hates it when Danse is executed at the end of Blind Betrayal.

Notable quotes

 * "The big three for predicting people: caps, beliefs, and ego. Get a handle on what's driving someone, and you know where you stand."
 * "And here I was wanting to spend the day reading Proust. And then you have to ruin it."
 * "I really want to know how the Big One started. What idiot fired first? Why? What the hell did they think they'd gain?"
 * "Back before I met you I'd go whole days without massacring a bunch of things. Honest."
 * "But I had a point here. A lesson, if you will. There're other organizations out there. And, in time, I'm sure they're going to spoon-feed you their own patented form of bullshit. Ignore the verbage and look at what they're doing. What they're asking you to do. What sort of world they'd have you build and how they're going to pay for it."
 * (When told to stay) "Absolutely. And my eagerness is totally unrelated to wanting a smoke break."
 * "I never really much cared for the Minutemen. The idea sounds great. But you give small men big power and sometimes you'll pay for it."
 * "One time, I got a face change and was a girl for a few months. You should've seen the looks back at HQ."
 * (To enemy) "You know, running away is always an option! I won't shoot you. Promise."
 * (When looting body) "Whenever you're done corpse-squatting, I'm good to go."
 * (When you decide to keep Buddy) "This robot is a national treasure!"
 * "Insert something Shakespearean involving death and your inevitable doom here."
 * "We sure do a whole lot of that. Winning, that is!"
 * "We live to see another day. And night. Etcetera."
 * (After reaching top of Trinity Tower) "Alright. You got me up here... let's go down. Now?"
 * "I'm convincing the next raw recruit I'm actually President Eden. Think I can pull it off?"
 * (When seeing the Alien ship crashland) "We need to get to that crash site, even if it means Tinker Tom will say 'I told ya so!'."

Appearances
Deacon appears only in Fallout 4.

Bugs

 * Deacon goes into a loop if one select 'Talk' after he has given his recall code, denying exiting of power armor.
 * Reading the note then talking to him will allow to read the note aloud, triggering a conversation and ending the loop.

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