Roger Maxson

Roger Maxson was the founder of the Brotherhood of Steel. Prior to the Great War, he served as a captain in the United States Army. He was close friends with Lieutenant Elizabeth Taggerdy, whom he fought alongside during the Resource Wars.

Mariposa Military Base
In 2076, West Tek's NBC Division made significant advances in the Pan-Immunity Virion Project and the United States Department of Defense, in fear of international espionage, moved the team. The project, now dubbed the FEV (Forced Evolutionary Virus) project, was then under the command of Colonel Robert Spindel and Captain Roger Maxson. On January 7, 2077, all FEV research was moved to the newly constructed Mariposa Military Base to commence testing of the virus on human subjects. The security team was transferred to the newly constructed base as well, to provide protection for the research going on within the facility. They were not informed of the nature of the research.

The first scientist to be interrogated by Captain Maxson was Robert Anderson, the chief of the research team at Mariposa. Anderson explained that the testing at the facility was sanctioned and, in fact, ordered by the government, as he outlined the experiments to the captain. In response, Captain Maxson murdered him. By October 18, the scientists on the project were all dead, murdered by Captain Maxson. Erin Shellman held out the longest, almost convincing the captain that the experiments were really ordered by the government. On October 20, 2077, Captain Maxson declared his unit in full secession from the United States, attempting to force the government to respond to the situation at Mariposa. No response came, but news of the mutiny spread through the wider United States Army. A day later, he ordered the families of soldiers under his command to take shelter within the facility.

Great War
The Great War struck on October 23, 2077. Maxson ordered his soldiers and their families to prepare to vacate the base the next day. On October 26, Maxson ordered the remains of the scientists to be buried in the wastes outside the base. A day later, on October 27, the group left the base under the leadership of Maxson, heading for the Lost Hills government bunker in the south. Maxson's teenaged son survived the trip but his wife died.

Brotherhood of Steel
Maxson used a communications satellite to contact other units across the country. One such unit, based in Appalachia, was led by Elizabeth Taggerdy, an old acquaintance of Maxson's. Maxson delivered a radio broadcast to his loyalists across the country. He claimed that the United States government had failed to serve its citizens in years leading up to the War. Recognizing that the government had abandoned its citizens, he stated that a new order must be formed in order to preserve civilization: a "Brotherhood of Steel."

Maxson intended for the Brotherhood as an organization to work closely with people outside of its ranks, with the task of rebuilding the Old World being too large for the Brotherhood alone. His idea of an open Brotherhood put him at odds with isolationist members of the Brotherhood, including his own son and Paladin Taggerdy.

First Brotherhood Expeditionary Force
Maxson remained in frequent contact with the Appalachian chapter, often broadcasting speeches about specific elements of his philosophy in creating the Brotherhood. Maxson was deeply troubled by the sudden appearance of the Scorched Plague and accompanying Scorched and Scorchbeasts, advising Taggerdy on setting up kill zones to lure the Scorched into. Elizabeth pleaded with Maxson to grant her team permission to use nuclear weapons against the scorchbeasts but was forbidden by him because he found the concept of using nuclear weapons wrong, even to help fight the scorchbeasts. He maintained communications until the satellite burned in the atmosphere, as no one was left to correct its orbit. In his last transmission, he assured Taggerdy of his complete trust in her leadership and promised to send help as soon as he could.

High Elder Maxson and his Council of Elders approved Paladin Rahmani's request to form an expedition to journey to Appalachia, and discover the fate of the chapter. Maxson urged her to reestablish communications with the Lost Hills chapter as soon as possible.

Death
Maxson died in 2135 following a battle with cancer and his son, Maxson II, became the next High Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel. He was not as trusting of outsiders as his father and, under his leadership, the Brotherhood at Lost Hills began to isolate themselves.

Roger Maxson was known as the "Founder" and "Deliverer." Descendents include Maxson II, John Maxson, Lady Jessica Maxson, and Arthur Maxson, who commands the Prydwen as Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel in the Commonwealth.

Fallout

 * Captain Maxson's diary
 * Maxson log
 * Brotherhood Honor Code

Fallout 76

 * About the Brotherhood
 * Elder Maxson's final conversation
 * Formation of the Brotherhood of Steel
 * The nuclear option
 * Preservation of technology
 * Radio log: Aug 29 2077

Appearances
Roger Maxson is mentioned in Fallout, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. His voice is heard in Fallout 76, and he appears as a dweller

Behind the scenes

 * At one point, the Vault Dwellers of Vault 76 would have established contact with Maxson at the Lost Hills bunker. He would have tasked the player with finding the bodies of Squires Belmonte and Kerry, and reporting their cause of death in the "Brotherhood Terminal. The technical data gathered during Forbidden Knowledge may have been sent directly to Maxson and the Lost Hills Brotherhood via uplink. There are several voice lines for Maxson that are not used anywhere, and can only be found in game files. Most cut dialogue files have internal "scenes" attached to them, though these lines do not.
 * In the canceled Van Buren, Jeremy Maxson would have renamed a Brotherhood of Steel outpost in honor of his legendary ancestor. The Maxson bunker would have been located somewhere east of California.
 * Roger Maxson is mentioned in the Fallout Bible.