Paladin Danse

Paladin Danse, or by his designation M7-97 is a Brotherhood of Steel soldier living in The Commonwealth in 2287. He is a possible companion in Fallout 4.

Background
Before he joined the Brotherhood of Steel, Danse was an orphan growing up in the Capital Wasteland. As a child was forced to make a dangerous living by scavenging the D.C. ruins. When he was older and had saved up some caps, Danse opened his own junk stand in Rivet City. It was around that time he befriended a man named Cutler, and together the two scraped by as traders.

When the Brotherhood of Steel began recruiting, Danse and Cutler agreed it was "the best way out of [their] nowhere lives". They joined the order and were successful soldiers, but roughly a year after being posted to the Prydwen, Cutler disappeared on assignment. Danse personally spearheaded a three-week search for the missing squad. Ultimately the trail led to a super mutant hive where it was revealed that Cutler's team had been killed, and Cutler himself had been exposed to the Forced Evolutionary Virus. Danse, saddened to discover his friend had been turned into an abomination, put the super mutant Cutler down. The experience incited an intense hatred in Danse of most non-humans, including super mutants, ghouls, and synths.

By the year 2287, Danse had achieved the rank of paladin and had risen to become one of Arthur Maxson's most trusted officers. He was assigned a reconnaissance team and dispatched to the Commonwealth to investigate signs of The Institute's activities. However, misfortune quickly reduced the recon team to only three men. When the Sole Survivor first encounters Paladin Danse, he and what's left of his team are holed up in Cambridge Police Station, unable to proceed with their mission. Paladin Danse enlists the aid of the Sole Survivor to help him retrieve an item from the nearby ArcJet Systems complex. After the task is completed, Danse offers the Survivor the rank of Initiate in the Brotherhood of Steel, should they wish to join.

Provided the Sole Survivor enlists in the order, Danse will become a full companion following the completion of Shadow of Steel. On their journeys, Danse makes it clear he believes the Institute and its synths are too dangerous to let live, and both must be eradicated for the safety of mankind. However, after the Survivor breaches The Institute's mainframe, it is revealed that Paladin Danse himself is actually a synth. Danse, or unit designation M7-97, goes AWOL shortly thereafter. Elder Maxon orders the Sole Survivor to find and execute their former mentor, saying the existence of a such a creature cannot be allowed.

When found at Listening Post Bravo Danse will swear that he did not know he was a synth. The disgraced paladin then encourages the Survivor to carry out their orders to kill him, insisting an example should be made and that he "must be the example, not the exception." The Survivor must then choose to either execute Danse or convince him to flee the Commonwealth. If Danse survives the events of Blind Betrayal he will thank the Survivor and, with Maxson's promise not to have him hunted down, remains in the Commonwealth to aid the Survivor in their mission.

Other interactions
Danse has the authority to grant the Sole Survivor membership into the Brotherhood of Steel.

Quests

 * Call to Arms: The Sole Survivor explores ArcJet Systems with Paladin Danse, which is overrun with Institute synths.
 * Semper Invicta: The Sole Survivor has to help Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys.
 * Shadow of Steel: The Sole Survivor and Paladin Danse board the The Prydwen.
 * The Lost Patrol: The Sole Survivor is asked to find what happened to the last Brotherhood recon team.
 * Blind Betrayal: Danse is revealed to be an Institute Synth. Elder Maxson orders the Sole Survivor to find and execute him. The Sole Survivor is given the choice to either execute him or keep him alive and in exile.
 * Airship Down: If Blind Betrayal has not been completed, and Paladin Danse is still alive, he will make the last stand with the Brotherhood of Steel. He is killed by the player character, the synths or by the crashing airship.

Effects of player's actions

 * Maximum approval with Danse awards the Know Your Enemy perk, which grants +20% more damage against ghouls, super mutants and synths. It is impossible to max out the relationship with Danse before completing Blind Betrayal.
 * Siding against the Brotherhood faction makes him permanently hostile, removing him as a companion.
 * If Blind Betrayal has been completed, he will instead ignore the Sole Survivor and will only become hostile if attacked. This appears to be a bug since the player character can still open the trade menu with him. The issue effectively removes him as a companion, but will not remove his perk.

Romance
Danse is a potential candidate for romance, an option that unlocks after reaching the highest level of affinity.

Notable quotes

 * When Lover's Embrace is activated:
 * "I'm more tired now than when we went to sleep"
 * "Better than a training exercise"
 * "That was exhilarating"
 * "Ad Victoriam"
 * "Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

Appearances
Danse appears only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes
Unused dialogue suggests that Paladin Danse and the Sole Survivor were originally able challenge Maxson's authority as Elder through combat according to "the Litany". Through his defeat, it would have allowed Danse to regain his status as Paladin and grant the Sole Survivor the rank of Elder within the Brotherhood.

Bugs

 * When other power armor parts are equipped for Danse, they will count upon his carry weight, and lessen how much he is able to carry. Additionally if any of those power armor parts are unequipped, Danse won't get get back his old armor, but rather the power armor frame will be visible. It seems this has also in some way decreased his total carry weight drastically, to the point where he for some reason can only carry a bit over 10 pounds, even after emptying out his entire inventory. It is advised to let Danse keep his power armor on, as there doesn't yet seem to be a fix to this issue. (This is likely due to his own power armor pieces still being in his inventory, and taking up carrying capacity, albeit still being invisible, much like follower weapons).
 * One way to fix this is with console commands. Use the console command to get the IDs of his power armor pieces, then use  to get Danse to put his armor back on. After doing so,  should show that all of his power armor is now equipped.
 * When talking to Deacon for the first time commenting "the Institute is the enemy" will cause Danse to hate it.
 * Sometimes when sending Danse to Boston Airport, he will spawn in the Warehouse room that is inaccessible until further down the Brotherhood of Steel story-line. If this happens, on PC one can use the console commands, then  to move Danse next to the player character.

Gallery
Danse Danse Паладин Данс