Brotherhood of Steel (Fallout: New Vegas)

The Mojave Brotherhood of Steel chapter is a chapter of the original Brotherhood of Steel active in the Mojave Wasteland.

Discovering HELIOS
The chapter was formed by Elijah, a scribe who was promoted to the rank of elder. The chapter's initial purpose was to secure the Hoover Dam for the Brotherhood of Steel. After entering the Mojave, Elijah began to show great interest in HELIOS One, and despite the paladins attempts to convince him that the site was impossible to defend, the Elder decided the vast potential of the site was worth the risk. Declaring that HELIOS would become the chapter's main base, the rest of the Brotherhood had no choice but to follow. Unfortunately for the Brotherhood, the New California Republic (NCR) had reached the Mojave by 2273, and had taken Hoover Dam.

War with the New California Republic
In 2274, the NCR had officially set up a base at McCarran International Airport. From there, the NCR soon set its sights on the HELIOS One solar plant. Elijah, still believing that the plant contained an unprecedented military advantage, refused to leave the plant, and forced the Paladins to continue defending it.

Some time later, the NCR launched Operation: Sunburst to capture Helios One. Outnumbered 20 to 1 by NCR soldiers, constant skirmishing arose. Despite the Brotherhood being in control of far superior equipment, such as energy weapons and power armor, the Brotherhood had no reinforcements, and lost more and more soldiers after each fight. Paladins continued to urge the Elder that they should retreat back to the bunker, but Elijah ignored them, obsessed with the potential of HELIOS. Eventually, when the casualties reached too high, Elijah fled without warning; Veronica Santangelo was the only person with any contact.

With no leader, Head Paladin McNamara took the title of Elder for the chapter. Leading a counterstrike, the remaining Paladins and Scribes fought their way out of the facility and back to the bunker, where they would reside for years. Against the wishes of most of the inhabitants, McNamara declared an official lockdown on the bunker; no members were allowed out, and anyone already outside weren't allowed back in.

Current Status
The chapter operates a policy of strict isolationism: no outsiders are allowed anywhere near the bunker, and anyone found near it is killed. The only people granted access are patrols, scouts, and procurement specialists for food and other supplies. Although they now only have half the number they did at HELIOS, the NCR has multiplied rapidly, and was thought to be a much greater risk than before. The idea of outsiders joining the group is unheard of. The paladins have only remained sharp thanks to the virtual reality simulators and a firing range.

While the structure of leadership in the chapter has become questionable, Head Paladin Edgar Hardin has began to take his own action, and a lot of its members have began to follow him and his ideal of usurping the chapter's Elder, Nolan McNamara, who has led the group since the loss at HELIOS One to the NCR.

Indeed, the Courier is the only known outsider to have visited the bunker, and thus can determine the fate of the ill-fortuned chapter. While Mr. House and Caesar want the Brotherhood dead, the NCR are a bit more flexible, and the Courier can instead negotiate a truce with the Brotherhood, which will ensure the Brotherhood's survival in the Mojave for some time. The Courier can only make a truce between the NCR and the Brotherhood if he/she keeps McNamara as the elder.

Society
The Brotherhood of Steel is a militant organization devoted to the preservation of pre-War technology and human knowledge. Their professed mission is to preserve pre-War technology and human knowledge for the benefit of future generations. In practice, its definition of technology is strangely selective, ignoring basic but potentially useful technologies (genetic modification of crops and civil engineering, for example) in favor of combat technology such as energy weapons and power armor; and even now, nearly two centuries after the Great War, the Brotherhood zealously restricts the use and knowledge of such technologies to its own membership.

The Mojave Brotherhood operated freely amid the Vegas wastes for several years, carrying out many reclamation missions without serious opposition. The balance of power shifted in 2251, when a large contingent of NCR troops entered the region and occupied Hoover Dam. Conflict was inevitable. Nearly two years of guerilla skirmishes culminated in a pitched battle at HELIOS One, a solar energy plant the Brotherhood had been refurbishing for several months with the goals of bringing it back online and activating its hidden offensive capabilities (the ARCHIMEDES II death ray). The battle for HELIOS One (Operation: Sunburst) proved a disaster for the Mojave Brotherhood. More than half its paladins and knights were killed. The chapter's leader, Elder Elijah, disappeared without a trace. The Brotherhood was driven from the facility, which suffered extensive damage. Survivors retreated to Hidden Valley.

Since that defeat, the chapter's leader, Elder McNamara, has restricted activity outside the bunker to occasional reconnaissance missions and high-value raids. All operations take place at night, and engagement of NCR forces is strictly forbidden. Though the Brotherhood's ascetic lifestyle has prepared its members for a sequestered existence better than most, the passivity of their current situation has proved highly stressful.

Relations with the outside
Since the NCR-Brotherhood of Steel War, the Mojave brotherhood has kept its contact with the outside world to a minimum, due to heavy casualties. Other than a few patrols that come in and go back out at night, no members leave the secure bunker and few people outside of the brotherhood ever enter or leave the Hidden Valley base.

Technology
This Brotherhood chapter uses a mixture of both the T-45d and T-51b models of power armor, with the T-51b being much more widely used (see bugs). Their weapons are all extremely advanced, with tri-beam laser rifles being almost standard issue to the ordinary guard, while Gauss rifles are also used in high volume. Patrols sometimes even include heavier weapons such as the Gatling laser. Their scouts continue to find weapons in the Mojave, resulting in many unused weapons being stored in the Brotherhood armory. It seems that the Brotherhood Scribes are researching Night Vision optics. One of them even wants to invent automatic doors.

Bugs

 * Almost no members of the Brotherhood of Steel wear Brotherhood T-45d power armor, although they may be seen wearing the corresponding helmet with Brotherhood T-51b power armor. This is due to a leveled list which is meant to contain Brotherhood T-45d armor, but contains the T-51b variant instead.
 * Most members of the Brotherhood of Steel become notably weaker once Old World Blues is installed, reducing their Strength and Endurance stats by 3 and 2 points respectively, and removing Explosives as a tagged skill. This affects both unnamed members, particularly those found patrolling the area around Hidden Valley, as well as some named members including Linda Schuler, Knight Lorenzo, and even Nolan McNamara and Edgar Hardin.

Appearances
The Mojave Brotherhood of Steel Chapter appears only in Fallout: New Vegas, and is mentioned in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Dead Money.