Initiate Dodge

"A deserter like me doesn't deserve to just stroll up and pretend all is forgiven. I'll face my redemption in exile."

- Dodge when encouraged to join Fort ATLAS

Initiate Vernon Dodge is a member of the original Appalachian Brotherhood of Steel under Paladin Elizabeth Taggerdy, located at Watoga Towers in Appalachia.

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. Vault Dweller: "Sounds pretty rough." Initiate Vernon Dodge: "It was rough. Nothing I couldn't shrug off, but the younger recruits were bending too far, and sometimes snapping. One kid...(sigh)... Damn it, sorry. One kid got a lot more stick than carrot. Went AWOL in the middle of the night. The old fool I am, saw it as my duty to chase him down before anyone like Wilson took notice. By the time I caught up with him, we were a day out, completely lost our bearing. We got waylaid by a group of passing Raiders. Guess they saw us fit enough for their fighting pits... but weak enough to get the drop on." Vault Dweller (Fallout 76): "You were just trying to help that recruit. That's hardly deserting." Initiate Vernon Dodge: "I abandoned my post all the same. Should have told Wilson right away, instead of running off like some foolish hero. Spent the next decade or so slitting throats, caving in skulls, and doing anything I could to not be a corpse on the arena floor. Lost an eye... Lost the kid, too... It was a long, hard life to live. That is, until my latest handler brought me to the Watoga Civics [sic] Center fight pits. The smell of being so close to home got my blood boiling. Strangled the poor bastard with one of those collars. Then... ran like hell. I took a bullet from a search party, but I've been free of 'em since. Now I just been limp around, [sic] looking for any Brotherhood tech I can fix. Trying to make things right with a bunch of ghosts, while I still can. But that's enough of the past. Hope you've heard what you wanted. Leave me be for a spell, would you?"

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.
 * After completing the quest, the Vault Dweller can ask Dodge about his past. Inquiring about his desertion requires Strength 12+, Intelligence 12+, or Luck 10+ by pointing out his scars, the inconsistencies in his story, and sarcasm, respectively.
 * With the release of Steel Dawn, one can now inform him that the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force has arrived at Fort Atlas. Dodge will be reluctant to join them due to his status as a deserter, insisting on redeeming himself in exile. One can use Strength 15+ or Charisma 10+ to convince him, either by calling him out on cowardice or convincing him that they need the help of a veteran. Dodge will relent, collect his personal items, and move to Fort Atlas to reconvene with the group. Upon arriving, he will don the special operations suit and be greeted with a variety of reactions. Talking to Shin will reveal that the knight is dismissive of him as a "slovenly deserter", but doesn't mind his presence if he keeps up with his daily ops (or playing with his radios, as Shin calls it) and bathroom detail. Scribe Valdez, on the other hand, will be ecstatic for two reasons: One, showing compassion to a fellow veteran, and two, gaining access to a font of knowledge on the Appalachian Brotherhood's proprietary technologies.

Other interactions
Initiate Dodge is the main point of contact for the Daily Ops feature, guiding the player character through 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.

Behind the scenes
Lead level designer and product owner of Daily Ops Steve Massey created the initial concept for Dodge, though a different quest designer crafted Dodge's appearance and wrote his character. Massey asked for a "badass grizzled chain smoker" in the design, and later joked that he may have mentioned the 1996 film Escape from L.A., whose protagonist, Snake Plissken, bears a strong resemblance to Dodge.