Brotherhood of Steel (East Coast)

The East Coast Brotherhood of Steel is a division of the Brotherhood of Steel and was founded by Elder Owyn Lyons. Their headquarters is the Citadel, an imposing fortress built into and beneath the ruins of the Pentagon on the edge of what used to be Washington, D.C. As of 2287 they are led by Arthur Maxson, the last descendent of the venerated Maxson family line. Under his leadership the Brotherhood has grown into a major military power in the region, able to project their power and influence all along the eastern seaboard.

History
Following the destruction of the Enclave on the west coast, the Brotherhood dispatched an expedition to Washington D.C. on a mission to reconnect with the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel, investigate reports of super mutants in the Capital Wasteland, and recover any advanced technology. Led by Paladin Owyn Lyons, the group included Henry Casdin, Ishmael Ashur, Reginald Rothchild and Lyons' 3 year old daughter, Sarah.

Contact with the Midwest chapter was unsuccessful, so the group traveled to Pittsburgh. The city was being terrorized by wildmen, trogs, slavers and raiders. Lyons' force swept through the city, destroying many hostiles and suffering only one casualty: Ishmael Ashur. Believing him to be dead, the Brotherhood gathered the surviving children into their ranks and continued toward Washington D.C.

On their arrival, the wilderness outside the city was overrun by super mutants. Attacking head on, they drove the mutants into the ruins of Washington D.C. and earned the favor of the local population. Their investigation of the Pentagon uncovered a remarkable cache of technology, including the two-story tall Liberty Prime. The discovery earned Owyn Lyons a promotion to Elder and a change in his orders: Instead of returning to the West Coast, they would establish a permanent presence in the area. They founded their base, the Citadel, in the remnants of the old Pentagon.

The Brotherhood's treatment of people in Pittsburgh and in Washington marked a characteristic trait of Elder Lyons' leadership. The Brotherhood's primary directive was to recover and preserve advanced technology. In many instances this directive was observed, even in the face of human suffering, however Elder Lyon's detachment prioritized people's lives and well-being over machines, which is a far cry from the Brotherhood's traditional attitude. When the Elders in Lost Hills learned of these new priorities, they cut off all support to the chapter, though they still considered it as part of the Brotherhood. The chapter suffered a further setback when a number from within their ranks left in protest to form the Brotherhood Outcasts.

It was in this weakened and isolated state that it was possible for the Enclave, having relocated from New California as well, to re-establish a base of continual operations at Raven Rock, to make its move. They seized Project Purity, then set up outposts in Washington D.C. and its surrounding wilderness. However, with the assistance of the Lone Wanderer, the Brotherhood ended the Enclave's presence in the known region; driving them first from Project Purity and then from their final holdout at Adams Air Force Base. The fate of the Enclave as a whole after these events remain a mystery.

Despite the Brotherhood's success with Project Purity and the war against the Enclave, the organization continued to struggle. Lyons would eventually pass away in 2278, leaving behind leadership to his daughter Sarah Lyons, who was then named Elder in his place, but she was killed in combat shortly afterwards following her father's death. In the leadership crisis that followed, the Brotherhood repeatedly appointed and deposed one ineffectual leader after another until Arthur Maxson assumed leadership. In 2283, Arthur Maxson was appointed Elder at age 16, the youngest in Brotherhood history, after displaying exceptional skill as a capable warrior and diplomat by defeating the supermutant leader Shepherd and brokering peace with the Brotherhood Outcasts, bringing them back into the fold.

By 2287 the East Coast Brotherhood had established contact with Lost Hills and Hidden Valley, and actively received support from the west. During this time, they began to make plans to establish control not only over the Capital Wasteland, but the entire eastern seaboard. To complete this objective, they began constructing The Prydwen, using parts from the Enclave Mobile Crawler at Adams Air Force Base and a nuclear reactor from the wreck of an old aircraft carrier. The construction took a total of three years. During this time, the Brotherhood sent scouts into the Commonwealth, first a single paladin volunteered to go into the Commonwealth, a team led by Paladin Brandis and a team led by Paladin Danse. While the first scout was largely successful, the second team had bad luck from their drop off point in Malden. First being ambushed by Gunners straight off the Vertibird, which resulted in a large number of soldiers manually shorting out their power armor (and killing them in the process), the survivors made their way to an old National Guard outpost, which was infested with feral ghouls and resulted in the death of another member of the team. The team then fell back to a pre-War military satellite base, but it was infested with super mutants, which resulted in the death of yet another member of the team. The only survivor and commanding officer, Paladin Brandis, made his way to a pre-War nuclear shelter, and took shelter there until either the Brotherhood or someone else found him.

The final recon team, Recon Squad Gladius, was to both establish a permanent Brotherhood presence in the Commonwealth to prelude the Prydwen's arrival, and investigate Recon Squad Artemis' disappearance. After completing these objectives, Danse was to give an "all clear" signal to the Prydwen to enter the Commonwealth, which after several technical delays with the Prydwen and an argument between Quinlan, Cade, Kells, and Maxson over Ingram's combat readiness (due to her using a power armor frame in place of her legs, which were blown off by a super mutant utilizing a Fat Man while she was field testing a suit of power armor for one of her fellow soldiers), with Cade giving his approval that she is in fact combat ready and his medical approval, Quinlan his technical approval, but Kells and Maxson denying her request, since they were worried that there could be a malfunction in the field, thus putting her fellow soldiers at risk, and couldn't risk it until they were absolutely sure it functioned properly and efficiently in a combat environment. Nevertheless, the Prydwen made its way to the Commonwealth in a rather spectacular fashion, slowly making its way over the Commonwealth while an escort of Vertibirds flew alongside it. Recon Squad Gladius made contact with the Prydwen, and the Brotherhood established a permanent foothold at the Boston Airport, and bolstered Gladius's position at Cambridge.

Society
The Brotherhood of Steel is a neo-knightly military order that rose from the ashes of the American military on the West Coast in the years following the devastation of 2077. The organization's tenets include the eradication of mutants, synths, and the veneration of technology. The Brotherhood has never been very keen on sharing their resources with their fellow wastelanders (whom they consider too ignorant and irresponsible to possess advanced technology). Despite their obsession with technology they will destroy technologies they deem too dangerous or uncontrollable, such as Institute synths.

The Brotherhood is generally beneficial to humanity, but in a more indirect way. They hunt down hostile mutants and synths, and they keep dangerous technologies out of careless or malevolent hands. Despite the obvious benefits their technology could bring to the Wasteland they don't like to share their resources with outsiders, but would rather control the technology and use it themselves to help people in the wasteland. It is an established belief within the Brotherhood that the people of the Wasteland are not responsible enough to possess or use advanced weapons technology. They believe that if everyone possessed these advanced weapons, the wasteland would be even more dangerous and chaos driven than it already is. However the Brotherhood is willing to trade some of their technologies with wasteland communities in return for supplies or even manpower, such as the arrangement with Rivet City security, and Diamond City but they always keep the more sensitive and dangerous technologies safe to themselves.

The Brotherhood's disdain for mutants and synths stems from their belief that such "abominations" are the direct result of reckless scientific experimentation, i.e, "technology run amok". They hold the irresponsible use of technology by pre-war civilizations responsible for the planet's destruction, and actively seek to prevent a second apocalypse from occurring by maintaining a monopoly on advanced weapons technology.

Recently, much like the chivalrous knights of old, the Brotherhood has been more interested in justice and safety for the obviously weaker and less fortunate around them to a certain extent, ghouls, and mutants are not included as the Brotherhood believes them to be dangerous. Instead of keeping their secrecy, the Brotherhood has been far more assertive in the goings on of wasteland politics and life. They continue in their mission of preserving and developing technology. Their motives are often unclear, to those outside their ranks and Brotherhood members are not people to be trifled with. The East Coast contingent of the Brotherhood when it was first founded had effectively "gone native" under the leadership of Elder Owyn Lyons. Lyons felt the Brotherhood had a responsibility to protect the people of the Capital Wasteland from the super mutant threat; a notion not entirely lost on Elder Maxson.

As of 2287. It is clear, that the Brotherhood is an unrivaled power in the region, and draws most of its new recruits from the area. Based off of information from dialogue, terminals, and holotapes the Brotherhood appears to have evolved politically into an Ordensstaat (Order-State) akin to the old Order", and governs the Capital Wasteland directly as its own "country".

Military
The East Coast Brotherhood chain of command is divided into three clear levels.
 * Initiates are Brotherhood-born members and sponsored outsiders who are training to become Knights, Scribes or Lancers
 * Lancers are the backbone of the Brotherhoods newly formed airforce. Without them the Brotherhood would be unable to operate their vast fleets of VB-01 transport and VB-02 attack vertibirds.
 * Knights are fully fledged members who have served time in the Brotherhood. They are professional soldiers, and the main backbone of the Brotherhood's ground forces.
 * Paladins are the Brotherhood's elite, seasoned veterans that are often high ranking field commanders or used in elite strike teams.
 * Scribes are the brain to the Brotherhood's braun. They are responsible for the development and research of all brotherhood technology, as well as the maintenance of advanced systems, weapons and armour and any other technical requirements.
 * Sentinel is a rare rank, only given to the Brotherhood's best and most distinguished soldiers. The last known Sentinel was Sarah Lyons, daughter of Elder Owyn Lyons; she was the highest ranking field commander under Elder Lyons, and commanded the Lyon's Pride, a single squad of the chapter's best soldiers. It is unknown if the Pride still operates as of 2287, but it is assumed to have been disbanded following the deaths of Owyn and Sarah Lyons. The Sole Survivor can achieve this rank through completion of A New Dawn.

Sometime after 2277 the Brotherhood formed an air force for the operation and training of pilots for their captured Vertibirds. These pilots are known as Lancers.

With all the Brotherhood's recent success including the defeat of the Enclave and subsequent acquisition of all Enclave technology and the reintegration of the Brotherhood Outcasts, the East Coast division of the Brotherhood is at the height of its power. They have access to Vertibirds, power armor, and energy weapons; as well as the ability to manafacture more of these according to Paladin Danse. They also possess A new and improved rebuilt Liberty Prime, Best of all they have the Prydwen, a colossal airship developed by the Brotherhood, which Paladin Danse claims houses enough troops and resources to "push a full scale offensive" and is capable of "mobilising the whole division according to Arthur Maxson.

In light of their recently acquired fleet of Vertibirds, the Brotherhood division under Elder Maxson now frequently conducts air assault operations within the Commonwealth, the foremost examples of which can be experienced in the missions Spoils of War and The Battle of Bunker Hill. Patrol and shock teams are frequently dropped into the Commonwealth to secure objectives deemed valuable to the Brotherhood or to eliminate hostile threats from an area.

Rank system
Exclusive to the current East Coast Brotherhood is a system of rank insignias among the Knights and Paladins. It has only been observed on their power armor so far but all the rank insignias appear to be based off a pentagon, which could be a reference to their base of operations the Citadel. The rank of Initiate is an outline of a pentagon, then a full Knight is a solid pentagon with chevrons added to it to denote Knight-Sergeants and Knight-Captains. A Paladin's insignia is an elongated solid pentagon with a sword inside of it and a pair of wings flanking it. Sentinels and Elders employ the same pentagon and wing motif but with a single diamond for Sentinels and three diamonds for Elders within the outline of a pentagon.

Special forces

 * Lyon's Pride - The "Pride", as it was known colloquially, was an elite unit of the east coast division of the Brotherhood of Steel under Elder Lyons. The Pride was led by the then-sentinel Sarah Lyons, daughter of the erstwhile Elder Owyn Lyons. Members of the Pride were hand picked, and represented the best that the Brotherhood had to offer. As of 2287 there is little to no information on the unit or its fate.

Relations with the outside
Originally under Elder Lyons rule, the East Coast Brotherhood was known to trade with outsiders, but as of 2277, there were many incidents which dissuaded the Brotherhood from such activities. The Brotherhood was also known to help patrol and defend settlements such as Megaton, until the super mutant threat escalated to the point that they were forced to withdraw from many key locations. In line with Elder Lyons' philosophy, Lyons' Knights and Paladins tried to protect any and all innocent wastelanders they encountered while out in the wasteland, and recruit them if possible. They were also known to hire mercenaries when needed, such as Reilly's Rangers. After the Battle of Project Purity, the Brotherhood began freely delivering Aqua Pura to settlements across the Capital Wasteland, working with Rivet City security and wasteland scavengers to organize the water caravans.

By 2287 the East Coast division of the Brotherhood has compromised between the former Elder Lyons' altruistic vision, and their traditional goals. They are relatively friendly towards human wastelanders and tolerate sentient ghouls, but have a generally hostile attitude towards super mutants, ferals and synths. The Brotherhood believes outsiders are too irresponsible and unrestrained to possess access to advanced technologies. They seek to control the dangerous technologies and would rather use them themselves to protect people rather than let the people themselves possess them. Much like how a parent may stop their child playing with fire. It is central to their beliefs that they must appropriate any dangerous technologies that they can control, and destroy the ones they cannot, such as the synths. By maintaining a monopoly on advanced technology, the Brotherhood hopes to protect the innocent and prevent a second apocalypse from occurring due to the irresponsible use of advanced technology.

Unlike the old West Coast Brotherhood, the East Coast division under Maxson has continued Lyon's practice of recruiting outsiders into the Brotherhood. While Lyons hastily welcomed outsiders into the ranks to bolster their forces, the Brotherhood under Maxson is more cautious, and recruits outsiders through a system of Sponsorship. Under this system existing members of the Brotherhood can "sponsor" an outsider's entry into the ranks, making him/her an initiate. In this way the Brotherhood is able to balance its need for new recruits with their desire to ensure the loyalty of new members.

Technology
In 2277, the East Coast Brotherhood primarily used T-45d power armor; this armor was much more widely issued, being given to most front-line personnel, and not just select Paladins. They still used energy weapons, mostly the laser rifle and the laser pistol. However, due to the difficulty of finding, producing new parts, and maintaining the laser based weapons, and due to the fact that the Brotherhood no longer received supplies from the west coast, many paladins were forced to use traditional guns, notably the standard assault rifle and the Chinese assault rifle.

The Brotherhood formerly had access to Liberty Prime, a 40 foot tall communist-hating robot that packs enough firepower to decimate anything in its way. It was destroyed by an Enclave orbital missile strike, but members of the Brotherhood hold high hopes for its reconstruction. The Brotherhood has transported the disassembled parts of Liberty Prime to the Commonwealth, where they intend to rebuild it to use in the fight against the Institute.

After the war against the Enclave, the Brotherhood gained access to fleets of Vertibird gunships and stockpiles of laser weapons, plasma weapons, and power armor.

As of 2287, Brotherhood of Steel forces are equipped almost exclusively with laser weapons, combat armor, and the T-60 power armor. They are not seen using either the T-45 power armor or T-51 power armor. It is unknown at this time how the Brotherhood came into possession of such a large number of T-60 power armor suits or what became of the older suits they replaced. What became of the numerous advanced suits of Enclave power armor or the plasma weapons the Brotherhood captured after defeating the Enclave is unknown as well.

The War in the Commonwealth
The Brotherhood is a major player in the Commonwealth's fate, if the Sole Survivor decides to side with them. Before taking on the Institute, however, they must first establish their foothold around the Boston Airport, such as wiping out the super mutants at Fort Strong and, most importantly, getting Liberty Prime back online. This requires the help of Dr. Madison Li, a scientist who previously helped on the project ten years ago before heading to the Commonwealth to join the Institute. After infiltrating the Institute and recruiting Dr. Li, the Brotherhood solves the problems with attaching Prime's limbs, but unfortunately the giant robot requires a huge amount of nuclear energy, as well as Mark 28 nuclear bombs, which can only be found at the Mass Fusion headquarters in the middle of the ruins of Boston, and Sentinel site in the Glowing Sea, respectively.

After retrieving the nukes and the Beryllium agitator (and dealing with a traitor and the Railroad,) Prime is finally set to take on the Institute. Liberty Prime, assisted by the Brotherhood, blows through waves of synths while trekking through the ruins of Boston (stopping briefly to salute the memorial at Bunker Hill), and finally arrive at the ruins of CIT, where a huge Brotherhood contingent is fighting through the synths defending the ruins. While Prime scans for a weak spot to blow open an entrance to the underground facility of the Institute, the Brotherhood mops up any remaining synths sent to defend the outside of the facility. Prime finds a weak spot, and uses his lasers to blow a hole in the ground which opens to the old abandoned Robotics facility. The Sole Survivor takes point, aided by Elder Maxson (and Paladin Brandis, if they completed The Lost Patrol appropriately), as well as, depending on their level, several Legendary Knight Sergeants, Legendary Knight Captains, or Legendary Paladins. Brandis has the potential of dying during this quest.

Maxson states his disappointment with the Old Robotics Center, saying that he expected much more from the Institute. As the squad fights through more synths and turrets, they enter the Bioscience area, where Maxson states that this is "exactly what he fears," in other words, science which is uncontrolled and unrestrained. They come to the atrium where several coursers and synths are waiting for them. After eliminating them, Proctor Ingram states over the intercom that they require access to the Advanced Systems area, but the lockdown engaged in the facility is preventing them from accessing it. The Sole Survivor goes to the Director's office, where Shaun is in the final stages of cancer. The Sole Survivor has the option of having one final conversation with him, where Shaun will condemn his parent for destroying everything he had built and where he had lived for his entire life. The Sole Survivor has the option of gloating over their victory or saying their goodbyes to their son. Shaun can also be persuaded to give the access code to shut down some very powerful synths guarding the door to the Advanced Systems area.

After overriding the lockdown (and optionally issuing the evacuation order, which will affect their reputation with the Minutemen and Preston Garvey in the future), the squad goes to the Advanced Systems area and, from there, the nuclear reactor area. The Brotherhood sets the blast charges on the reactor and, after some business with the Shaun synth, teleports to the top of the Mass Fusion building where the Sole Survivor presses the button that ends the Institute permanently. From here, the Sole Survivor is promoted to Sentinel, and is free to carry out his own operations without reporting in to any superiors (though he is still held accountable for any actions taken that violate the Codex).

Alternatively, if the Sole Survivor decides to destroy the Institute with the Minutemen, his fellow Knights and Paladins state that they are angry they weren't invited to the "party," envious that the Minutemen have so much firepower, and surprised that the Minutemen actually had the strength to take on the Institute. Named characters, however, will react differently. Proctor Ingram will state that while it might not have been the Brotherhood way to use the Minutemen to destroy the Institute, it still got the job done, no matter what the cost, and approves of the Sole Survivor's actions. Proctor Teagan says he approves of the "crater" in the middle of Boston, and how the Sole Survivor must be proud. He also states it was "ingenious" to use the Minutemen as "cannon fodder," thus minimizing casualties in the Brotherhood, and states his displeasure with his colleagues' "narrow-mindedness." Paladin Danse states that even though the Minutemen were used to get the job done, in the end, all that matters is that a new age in the Commonwealth is taking place, no matter who struck the killing blow to the Institute. The Sole Survivor, depending on choices made up to this point, will remain either a Knight or a Paladin, and will not recieve the promotion to Sentinel, due to The Nuclear Option not being completed for the Brotherhood.

The Institute isn't the only problem the Brotherhood is having since landing in the Commonwealth. Proctor Quinlan requires technical documents found in Pre-War ruins that might have information pertaining to important technology, weapon schematics, or military bunkers left behind in the war. Senior Scribe Neriah requires blood samples from heavily irradiated species such as feral ghouls, yao guai, and super mutants. Even after Danse is banished from the Brotherhood, Recon Squad Gladius still needs to complete their duties in Cambridge Police Station, such as cataloging tech or cleansing an area of radiation infected beings.

Appearances
The East Coast Brotherhood of Steel appears in Fallout 3, its add-on, Broken Steel, and Fallout 4. They are also mentioned in the other Fallout 3 add-ons, Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt and Mothership Zeta, and they are again mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes
The East Coast Brotherhood of Steel have some similarities and differences with other Fallout games:
 * External recruitment is also present in Fallout Tactics, and for the "Texas Expedition" in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.
 * The Brotherhood Outcasts, renegades deserted from the newly established Brotherhood of Steel division are similar to the Circle of Steel in Van Buren.

Fallout 4
Hermandad del Acero de Yermo Capital Confraternita d'Acciaio della Zona Contaminata della Capitale Bractwo Stali Ruin Stolicy Brotherhood of Steel da Capital Wasteland Братство Стали (Fallout 3) Brotherhood of Steel (Costa Leste)