Deacon

"Deacon" is a Railroad agent living in the Commonwealth He is a potential companion of the Sole Survivor.

Background
Little is known about his past prior to joining the Railroad, which he admits he is dishonest about. He states that he was among the first liberated Gen 3's, that he helped found the Railroad, and that he is the true leader of the organization with Desdemona serving as a figurehead. Desdemona suspects that he and "John D." are one in the same.

He shares that when he was younger, he was a member of the University Point (UP) Deathclaws, a gang that harassed people accused of being synths. Their antagonism escalated to the lynching of a man suspected of being a Gen 3. Shaken by his part in the murder, Deacon left the gang to settle down as a farmer. Sometime later he married a woman named Barbara. They intended to start a family, but the UP Deathclaws reemerged and attacked the farm. The gang somehow had learned - to both Deacon's and Barbara's surprise - that Barbara was a synth. Deacon killed the gang members in retaliation.

Work with the Railroad
He was subsequently contacted by the Railroad, who was unaware of his prior affiliation with the gang. Despite believing himself undeserving, Deacon swore himself to their cause. He took the name "Deacon" and survived an Institute raid on the Railroad, with Pinky Thompson attributing the organization's survival to his escape plan. When Pinky stepped down in 2277, he aided Doctor Carrington and Desdemona in revising the organization's policies to put a focus on operational security.

Deacon is frequently mentioned in Railroad leaderships' terminal entries through the years, with Desdemona making frequent notes about his work. He is observant, finding a synth infiltrator from the Institute even before P.A.M. could predict her presence. In 2282, he became paranoid about P.A.M.'s trustworthiness and needed to be persuaded by Desdemona to keep using her predictions, even though Desdemona herself thought she could be laying traps for agents. Deacon is often away from HQ in pursuit of wild theories, on the hunt for leads on historical institute sightings in an effort to find its location. He tells Desdemona that "the solution lies in the past," but Desdemona doesn't necessarily believe this is what he is working on. Most of his work undercover has been tracking persons of interest. When the Sole Survivor awakens from cryostasis inside Vault 111 and emerges into the area, Deacon takes an interest in the traveler. He shadows them throughout the Commonwealth in order to gather information on their activities, with the hopes of recruiting them for the organization in a time of crisis.

Deacon's identities
As a unique part of his character, Deacon makes many claims about his past, former occupations, and relationships. This includes a variety of alternative identities he had, currently has, or plans to have in the future. The following is a list of his claims and identities:
 * A ghoul.
 * A girl.
 * A Mister Handy.
 * President Eden.
 * A soldier from the west.
 * One of the Railroad's founders and the true leader of the faction.
 * Mr. Doe.
 * Disguised as a drifter in Goodneighbor, found at Hancock's speech about the Institute, or in a memory lounger at the Memory Den.
 * Disguised as a Diamond City security guard during Piper and Mayor McDonough's argument.
 * Disguised as a Bunker Hill caravan worker.
 * A longtime friend of Emogene Cabot.
 * A teacher.
 * A pre-War steam cleaner store owner.
 * A blonde person.
 * A mute person named Dingo.
 * A regular chem consumer.
 * A Brotherhood soldier onboard a Vertibird, callsign "Claymore."
 * Growing up around Concord and doing the Museum of Freedom tour every Memorial Day.
 * Growing up in a vault and being a morale officer.
 * Working the midnight shift.
 * Having been an operative in the Capital Wasteland, meeting the Brotherhood of Steel there.

Appearances
Deacon appears in Fallout 4 and Fallout Shelter Online.

Behind the scenes
Deacon makes several references to previous Fallout games. These include suggesting "Code Violet" as a team name, which is part of Harkness' override code in Fallout 3. He also attempts to use what he says is Robert House's override code on Deezer, which he claims to have won in a poker game, and jokes about wanting to convince a new recruit that he is actually John Henry Eden.

Bugs

 * Deacon may randomly be stuck in walk mode before or after completing The Nuclear Option (Minutemen), resulting in him often falling behind when exploring.
 * On PC, a possible fix is to use the console command . On PS4, a possible fix is to draw your weapon to cause him to draw his and start running.
 * During Rockets' Red Glare Deacon can get stuck lying face down on the ground after exiting the Vertibird. This can be fixed by dismissing him as a companion, reverting to normal later.
 * When in power armor, Deacon's outfit changes affect the armor too, and he will unequip whatever armor pieces are equipped. Additionally, he may unequip all armor pieces at the destination of your fast travel.
 * Deacon cannot be told to exit the power armor because he only talks about his recall code. To fix this read the recall code, and then start the dialog and tell him the code. After this it will be possible to make him exit the power armor the usual way.
 * If there is no dialogue option to read the recall code, pause the conversation by moving the camera away, read the note from the inventory and then turn back to Deacon.
 * Sometimes when giving Deacon an outfit to wear, he will stay in that outfit even when trying to switch to a different outfit. The different outfit will change his body shape, but he will still be wearing the original outfit.
 * Deacon rarely may keep his rifle out, except the trigger will be floating above his hand; he will not move and keep aiming with his rifle while remaining on the spot.
 * He can disappear when Father asks for the Railroad to be eliminated. He won't be in the Railroad HQ until the character sides with the Railroad or starts killing them. Once a side is chosen, the message "Deacon tolerates you" will appear and he talk to you about how you're acting crazy. This can be fixed by dismissing him as a companion, coming back for him later.
 * When exploring, Deacon's outfit may begin to change rapidly. If you try to speak to any companion after that it will not work.