Deacon

Deacon is a Railroad agent living in the Commonwealth in 2287, and a potential companion of the Sole Survivor.

Background
Deacon is a spy for the elusive synth liberation organization, the Railroad. Little is known about his past prior to joining the Railroad, and he readily admits to lying about his own history. Among other things, he claims that he was among the first liberated Gen-3's, that he helped found the Railroad in the 2210s, and that he is the true leader of the organization with Desdemona serving as a figurehead.

The most detailed account that he provides holds that as a youth he was a member of the University Point Deathclaws, a gang which harassed accused 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. Some time later he married a woman named Barbara. They intended to start a family, but the Deathclaws reemerged and attacked the farm. The gang had learned - to both Deacon's and Barbara's surprise - that Barbara was a synth.

Enraged by her execution, Deacon butchered the Deathclaws in a bloodthirsty haze. In the aftermath of the slaughter, he was contacted by the Railroad, who were evidently unaware of his prior affiliation with the UP Deathclaws. Despite believing himself undeserving, Deacon swore himself to their cause. As with most of his stories, there is no evidence to prove or disprove this claim.

Claims about his past aside, Railroad historical records hold that he had served the organization as a runner under the name "John D" during and prior to November of 2266, and was among the few survivors of a devastating Institute attack that year. The following year, Wyatt accredited their "pyramid" structure of information distribution to John D's methods in the field, and in March of 2273 he was credited with the creation of the Railroad's "dead drop" system.

Sometime during or prior to December of 2273, he took the name "Deacon" and survived yet another 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 Dr. Carrington and Desdemona in revising the organization's methods of operation to put a focus on security.

When the Sole Survivor first approaches the group, Deacon vouches for the Survivor's character to Desdemona, citing their accomplishments and potential. Should the Sole Survivor agree to join up, Deacon will offer his services as a companion.

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 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.
 * Tactical Thinking, End of the Line: The Survivor is dispatched to kill the Railroad's leaders, including Deacon.

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 endgame 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 character next speaks to Desdemona. You may still speak to other Railroad characters and complete quests for them.

Appearances
Deacon appears only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes
Ryan Alosio, Deacon's voice actor, has expressed interest in reprising his role as Deacon in future installments.

Bugs

 * Deacon will be stuck in walk mode after completing The Nuclear Option (Minutemen), resulting in him often falling behind when exploring.
 * Possible fix for PC is to use the console command.
 * During Rockets' Red Glare Deacon can get stuck lying face down on the ground after exiting the Vertibird. This can be fixed by dismissing Deacon. He will revert to normal when you find him in whichever settlement you sent him to.
 * When in power armor, Deacon's outfit changes affect the armor too, and he will unequip whatever armor pieces are equipped.
 * Additionally, Deacon will unequip all armor pieces at the destination of your fast travel causing you to take him out of the armor, reattach all armor pieces and put him back into it. Deacon may lose the power armor, including the frame, during these changes. This can be seen sometimes in Diamond City when he changes into a Diamond City security outfit.
 * Deacon can't 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.
 * 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.
 * A rare glitch may occur where Deacon will 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.
 * The only way to fix this is to fire him and come 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.