Initiate Dodge

Initiate Vernon Dodge is a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, located at Watoga Towers in Appalachia in 2103.

Background
Before the Great War, Vernon Dodge was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He took a job bagging groceries once his service was finished, describing himself as "burned out" with no family or friends. After the bombs dropped, he survived but began to suffer from alcoholism. Years later, a recruiter for the Appalachian Brotherhood of Steel found Dodge and convinced him to join, giving him a "second lease on life, and maybe even civilization."

At some point, Dodge (who had achieved the rank of Initiate) developed a friendship with a younger member of the Appalachian Brotherhood. However, the kid had "a lot more stick than carrot," suffering a nervous breakdown and going AWOL in the night. Initiate Dodge saw it as his duty to track him down, before anyone like Senior Knight Wilson would notice that the kid had gone missing. By the time Dodge caught up with him, they were both completely lost, a day's distance away from Appalachia and unable to gather their bearings. While they were lost, the two were attacked and captured by a group of raiders practicing slavery. Dodge spent the next decade enslaved, fighting in arenas and killing opponents without mercy, so that he would not end up as a corpse on a cold floor. Over that decade, he lost an eye (and now wears an eyepatch), and his young friend died.

Dodge was eventually brought to the Watoga Civic Center, another arena run by Sargento's gang. Because he was so close to home, Dodge's anger boiled over. He strangled his handler with a slave collar and "ran like hell" to escape. A search party was sent to recapture Dodge, but he managed to escape, albeit with a bullet in his leg, giving him a limp.

Because of his unwitting desertion, Initiate Dodge was ultimately one of the few surviving members of the Appalachian Brotherhood, who were virtually wiped out by the Scorched. Once he was free, he returned to find almost all of his comrades dead. He went back into hiding, taking residence in Watoga Towers, and documenting his accounts for approximately three weeks, taking note of certain occurences on a terminal. He has only recently re-emerged with the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force's arrival from New California, seeking to establish a groundwork to support them.

Quests
Breaking Radio Silence: The player character is prompted to investigate a grisly scene in Watoga, where they find a note left by Initiate Dodge, who has set up base at Watoga Towers.

Other interactions
Initiate Dodge is the main point of contact for the Daily Ops feature, sending the player character on challenging missions. He maintains communication with the player character throughout the Daily Op, occasionally appearing via a transmission on the righthand side of the HUD.

Appearances
Vernon Dodge appears only in Fallout 76, introduced in the One Wasteland For All update.