Pillars of the Community

The Pillars of the Community is a small cult based in the Charles View Amphitheater, operating in the Commonwealth in 2287.

Background
Presenting themselves as a new movement that is quickly gaining traction in the Commonwealth, the Pillars of the Community seeks to gain new followers through the distribution of fliers to nearby settlements. Its missionaries promise those who join a "better life" and welcome all who come to the Charles View Amphitheater seeking the "truth" about the troubled world. A man named Brother Thomas leads the cult and personally sees all new initiates who are looking to become members. He sometimes pays a visit to settlements to spread the word about the Pillars, and encourages all new members to voluntarily give up all of their "worldly possessions" as a first step toward "salvation."

A trained eye can discover that the cult is in reality a cover for a scam operated by Thomas. He uses his fliers and message of false hope to lure unsuspecting wastelanders to the amphitheater so he can extort them for their possessions, threatening to kill them unless they hand over everything peacefully. In fact, locals are annoyed of hearing about the conman's "salvation racket," and Ham eventually had to throw Thomas out of the Third Rail in Goodneighbor because he was bothering customers. He even has caused trouble for the affluent Cabot family by kidnapping and holding their daughter Emogene after a "disagreement" over joining the Pillars of the Community in which she turned violent. Due to the effects of a mysterious serum she uses, it took the entire cult combined to get Emogene subdued and locked up. Eventually, the Cabots could send their new mercenary, the Sole Survivor, to rescue Emogene after finding out that she ran away with Thomas.

Interactions with the player character
Upon approach, Brother Thomas, under the name of Brother Andrew, Brother Simon, Brother James or Brother Matthew, will initiate dialogue with the Sole Survivor. Whether the player character accepts to join or not, at the end of his dialogue he will ask the player character to follow him to his office. In his office, Brother Thomas will tell the Sole Survivor to give him all of their belongings, to which they can either give them to him or opt not to.

On non-compliance, Brother Thomas will drop the act and inform the player character that their belongings can either be given voluntarily or be taken by force. Choosing not to will result in being attacked by the group, but threatening him through a Hard difficulty speech check will allow the Sole Survivor to leave peacefully.

If one agrees to hand over all their possessions, Brother Thomas will take every item from their inventory (excluding companions) and store them indefinitely in his. At this point, the player character is free to go, but the only way to retrieve their items is to pickpocket or kill him.

Emogene Takes a Lover
The Pillars of the Community are part of the quest Emogene Takes a Lover. Magnolia at The Third Rail tells the Sole Survivor that Emogene Cabot has gone to join the Pillars. If Brother James has already been killed, there will be a chance to threaten Brother Thomas by mentioning that the Sole Survivor killed the last leader. One can completely avoid this confrontation by picking the lock to Emogene's room. This quest can also be completed by simply having a high Charisma and convincing Brother Thomas to avoid any violence.

Appearances
The Pillars of the Community appear only in Fallout 4.