Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2, abbreviated as "FBOS2" in design documents, is the canceled sequel to Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. It would have been the fifth video game set in the Fallout series and was planned to release on PlayStation 2 and Xbox video game systems. It was in development and would have been published by Interplay Entertainment.

Story
It would have incorporated story elements from Black Isle Studios' second canceled iteration of Fallout 3, Van Buren, (Caesar's Legion in the form of the Caesar Raiders, the Jackals, the Nursery) and the irradiated G.E.C.K. from the canceled Fallout Tactics 2. It would have taken place in Texas, like its predecessor.

On March 11, 2009, the game's design document, which was authored by one of the original Fallout designers, Brian Freyermuth, was leaked online.

Non-player characters

 * Cyrus: A Brotherhood paladin.
 * Haig A paladin and commander at the Brotherhood of Steel base of operations at the Alamo. If the player character sided with Keats in Austin, they will be sent to help fight off the Twisted Hairs assault on the Brotherhood, where Haig will report on the situation and give the player character a good weapon once the attack is over. If the player character sided with Shale in Austin, they will be sent to help the Twisted Hairs invade the Brotherhood compound. Once there, Harpy will charge the player character with getting into the compound and taking out Haig.
 * Nadia: A Brotherhood paladin.
 * Fey: A who owns fields of giant corn and giant vegetables. She is currently under threat from mutant rattlers that have taken over her garden. The player character can find the source of the rattlers by searching the fields. They will eventually encounter an albino rattler being controlled by Harry the Rattlemaster, a vagrant from Lubbock who has managed to control the rattlers in the area. Once both are taken out, the player character can return to Fey and receive good reputation.
 * Harold: The friendly wandering ghoul.
 * Keats: A super mutant who hopes that humans and mutants can live together peacefully. He is the current leader of Austin and his plans are hindered by an infestation of mutant plants and the loss of power to the city. If the player character has a good reputation Keats will ask them to deal with the mutant plant infestation so that the power can be restored, he would do it himself but he wants to show the mutants that humans can be trusted. If the player character sided with Shale when first entering Austin, he will task them with assassinating Keats during a speech.
 * Shale: Shale is an inhabitant of the city of Austin. He has his sights set on seizing control of the super mutant population from Keats, who has hopes that humans and mutants could live together peacefully. Like Keats, his intentions are hindered by an infestation of mutant plants and a lack of power in the city. Shale will approach the player character in Austin if they have a bad reputation. He wants the mutant plants dealt with so the power can be restored allowing him access to a small weapons depot on the other side of town. After reaching the Corpse, the player character will need to return to Austin at some point where Shale will now be waiting with a group of super mutants under his command, he and his group will need to be killed to progress.
 * Stella: The owner of a truck stop north of Lubbock. It is an old gas station with pumps replaced with feeding troughs. When the player character asks Stella about the Jackals that attacked their squad, she will point them east to the nearby junkyard which was recently invaded in order to scavenge parts. She also warns about the giant naked molerats in the area.

Antagonists

 * Banshee: Leader of the Jackal raiders. Banshee and remnants of the Jackals eventually flee into the Texas wasteland, where they encountered Miles Reese who gave them the means to steal technology from the Brotherhood of Steel. The Jackals, now heavily armed with Brotherhood technology, start ambushing Brotherhood patrols and proceed with plans of enslaving locals and storming Fort Worth. The game starts with a group of Jackals ambushing the player character's patrol. Banshee will show up and personally strip the player character of their armor and leave them for dead, beginning the quest to hunt Banshee down.
 * Bulldog: A member of the Jackals. Once the player character has tracked Banshee to Lubbock they will have to fight Bulldog at the airport. Banshee will escape during the fight.
 * Harpy: The leader of the Twisted Hairs and unwittingly playing a part in Reese's attempts to create a New Eden. He was the cloaked Cipher that tipped Harpy off about the Brotherhood of Steel base of operations at the Alamo. If the player character sided with Shale in Austin, they will be sent to aid the Twisted Hairs in their raid on the Brotherhood compound. Harpy will brief the player on the situation and charge them with taking out Haig, commander of the Brotherhood forces. Once the deed is done Harpy will give the player character a good weapon. If the player character sided with Keats in Austin they will be sent to help fend off the Twisted Hairs raid on the Brotherhood compound. Paladin Haig will charge the player with taking out Harpy.
 * Harry the Rattlemaster: Harry is a vagrant that drifted up from Lubbock. He has managed to control a group of Texas Rattlers and has settled in the area around Fey's Farmhouse. Harry the Rattlemaster is a stage boss encountered when the player character is searching the field surrounding the farmhouse. The player character will first encounter an albino rattler then the controller, once both are defeated they can return to Fey to get a good reputation.
 * Miles Reese: Hates the Brotherhood of Steel, member of a raider group called the Cyphers that opposes the Brotherhood's philosophy. He learns about the G.E.C.K. and steals the prototype from the Nursery. As Miles heads down to the Gulf Coast, the device leaves a trail of strange plant life all over the countryside. He spends the next five years improving the G.E.C.K., and the increased potency of the device has strange effects on the FEV-infected environment, transforming the landscape and eventually even submerging his own base. At the end of the game, Miles Reese would mutate and merge with a plant-filled wall, becoming the final boss.

Creatures

 * Wild mutant coyote: A slightly mutated version of the regular coyote.
 * Giant kangaroo rat: Found in the wasteland roaming the freeway system between Lubbock and Lone Star, where among other mutant critters they are a threat to unfortunate travelers.
 * Giant naked molerat: These molerats are meaner than ever, and ten times as ugly. Standing over three feet at the shoulder and weighing in at around at 200 pounds these critters are fierce and dangerous. The only good news is that their eyesight is poor in the daylight. You just don't want to meet one in a dark, dark cave.
 * Mutant piranha: While traveling through the submerged city of The Corpse in the Underwater suit, the player would have been attacked by these mutated fish.
 * Mutant prairie dog: Found in the wasteland roaming the freeway system between Lubbock and Lone Star, where among other mutant critters they are a threat to travelers.
 * Texas Rattler: They weigh 500 pounds and are six feet long. Their poison has been diluted by radiation, but still causes damage with six inch fangs. Albino rattlers are harder to beat, appearing as stage bosses, such as the one controlled by Harry the Rattlemaster. As the player character progresses they may be encountered in groups.

Factions

 * Brotherhood of Steel:
 * Caesar Raiders:
 * Cyphers: A group that hates all modern technology and are opposed to the Brotherhood of Steel. Miles Reese used to be one of the Cyphers, but was too reactionary even for their tastes.
 * Ghoul Trading Company: They are an organized group of merchants. Those working in Lone Star are harassed by the raiders in the area and are starting to have trouble dealing with them.ref name="Page 26" /> The player character can be enlisted as help to relieve the raider threat, strengthening their reputation with the ghouls if successful. So long as the player character has a reasonable reputation, the ghouls will trade with them.
 * Hand Gang: The Hand Gang is a band of thugs and thieves. The Lawmen haven't launched any major operation to deal with them but would gladly hire someone willing to do so. If the player character has a low reputation they can receive up to three side quests with the Hand, focusing on their volatile relationship with the local factions and the Hand's criminal activities. With a good reputation, the player character can associate with the Lawmen and be hired to rid Lone Star of the Hand Gang.
 * Jackals:
 * Lawmen: A group of peacekeepers centered around Lone Star. They maintain what stability the town has, taking steps to remove antagonizing factors in the community altogether if the right kind of help were to pass through town. If the player character has a good reputation they can associate with the Lawmen and be hired to rid Lone Star of the Hang Gang. With a bad reputation, they will not even speak to the player character besides the occasional warning. They will target the player if their actions become of detriment to their cause.
 * Raiders:
 * Twisted Hairs:

Locations
Truck stop: A stopping place for caravans in northern Texas, owned by Stella. Harold brings the player character here during the opening scene. This location consists of a dozen houses and a truck stop. Instead of gas tanks, there are feeding troughs.

The north and south roads cannot be accessed. It is made up of two small maps; the exterior and interior. The junkyard is east of the truck stop. But beware: there are "giant naked rats that are ugly as sin" out there. It has a shed and an old pink car among other junk. It consists of two medium maps.

When asked about the Jackals, Stella points the player character to the junkyard to the east. Seems the Jackals invaded there a while ago, looking for parts to scavenge. Once inside, a Jackal can be found holed up in the shed with ten mole rats outside. After much threatening, the raider says that the Jackals are heading south. They were supposed to pick up some slaves down in Lubbock. The player character must also find a gearshift to repair the pink car.

Farmhouse: Seen after the player crashes their car. South of the truck stop, the farmhouse is owned by Fey and consists of one small map. The garden yields giant corn and vegetables and has become infested with Texas Rattlers. It consists of three medium maps.

The player character can make their way through the maze of crops to find the source of the rattlers, where they will encounter an albino rattler and Harry the Rattlemaster, a vagrant from Lubbock who has managed to control the local rattler population. Once they have both been defeated the player character can return to Fey for good reputation. There are two medium fighting maps between the farmhouse and Lubbock.

Lubbock: Broken into two parts, Ghoul Town by the airport, and the Square, run by the humans. Ghoul Town and the Square each consist of one medium map, while the airport consists of three medium maps. People have been going missing from both Ghoul Town and the Square with each settlement accusing the other. The ghouls have escalated tensions by staging an attack on the Square. The real cause is the Jackals, who have come from the north to gather slaves.

The player character can intervene by helping either the ghouls, the humans, or both. Once the true cause of the kidnapping is revealed as the Jackals tensions will be calmed. The player character tracks the Jackals down to the airport where they will fight Bulldog while Banshee makes a getaway. They will also uncover Banshee's plan to take on Fort Worth, in which he hoped to use the slaves as fodder. The player character can free the slaves for good reputation, or skip town leaving them there resulting in bad reputation.

Lone Star: A trading center of Texas that stands on what used to be known as Abilene before the Great War. Lone Star is a hotspot with local factions and a place of commerce. Although the various groups remain civil for the most part, they are not beyond hiring those ready to carry out some dirty work. Recently, a strange man came to town bearing seeds, seeds that were planted on the east side and have become a farm. This man remains in the town, and is actually a member of the Cyphers, but he is incomprehensible to near everyone, so no-one is sure of his business in Lone Star. Lone Star consists of four medium maps that make up the town itself, and eight medium maps that make up various "basements." Lone Star is also the home of the old Abilene Vault.

If the player character has a bad reputation they will be ignored by the Lawmen, except for the occasional warning, but will be relatively welcomed by the Caesar Raiders and the Hand Gang who can provide up to three side quests each, these will be related to taking out the local competition. With a good reputation the player character can associate with the Lawmen, who will gladly pay for the extermination of the Hand Gang. Also, the Ghoul Trading Company may ask the player character to deal with the Caesar Raiders, who have been causing some trouble for them.

Vault 39: Also known as the Lone Star vault or the old Abilene vault is one of the Vault-Tec vaults. Recently, due to Reese's experiments in the vault, it has become a jungle with huge mutated plants that thrive there and will provide more than minor obstacles to overcome.

The vault has three levels consisting of three medium to large maps. On the surface, a broken-down shed sits next to the vault, in which a functioning car can be found. A G.E.C.K. can be found on the third level, along with the key to the shed on the surface. On a desk, papers including bios on Banshee and the Jackals and a map showing the origin of the Nursery documenting Reese's movements southwards as well as his next destination, Austin, could be found. Using the key to drive the car away from Vault 39 would have ended Act II. A map showing all key Brotherhood of Steel locations can be found on the third level.

Fort Worth: The largest Brotherhood of Steel outpost in the Texas Wasteland. Fort Worth is a Brotherhood of Steel base. By the time the player character gets there, havoc has already been unleashed by the Jackals.

Dead bodies everywhere, broken and smoldering walls. On the upper level, two huge tanks sit in the courtyard; the player character will have to figure out a way to get past them. This map is a medium size. Once inside, the base leads into underground levels consisting of three large maps rigged with Brotherhood traps.

The base has been overrun by the Jackals and the player character must fight their way through until they reach Cyrus, a Brotherhood survivor and Maxus' father. Cyrus will fight alongside the player character until he is killed by Banshee, leader of the Jackals. The ensuing battle will lead to Banshee's defeat, at which point the player character threatens him into handing over the key to Vault 39, but before he reveals who is really behind it all, he explodes.

Austin: A city inhabited by super mutants and led by the intellectual super mutant Keats. Keats' leadership is not accepted by all. While his goal of uniting humans and mutants is noble, conspirators seek to reverse it. The city itself is suffering from an infestation of mutant plants that have also knocked out the power to the city.

The main areas of the city are divided into five medium to large maps, the power plant consists of two medium maps. In one of the maps of the city the player character will find a gas station with a working pump. At the gas station, a G.E.C.K. can be found by the player character which is used to overload the G.E.C.K of Miles Reese, destroying the facility in the process. The strange data chip can also be found at the gas station.

Alamo: A location which was not damaged as much as the surrounding area in the Great War. Only one bomb fell, blasting the northern part of the town into a crater. The Alamo itself was completely untouched. About fifty years after the end of the War, the Brotherhood of Steel moved in, making it their main base of operations for Texas. The Alamo consists of one medium map of the exterior of the base itself, and four medium maps that take place underground.

If the player character sided with Keats in Austin they will be sent to the Brotherhood compound, which is under siege from the Twisted Hairs. They will meet with Haig and be briefed and charged with taking out Harpy, the leader of the Twisted Hairs. If the player character sided with Shale in Austin they will be sent to aid the Twisted Hairs in their attack on the base. They will meet up with Harpy, be told about the invasion and charged with getting into the compound and taking out Haig. The attack on the Alamo was a ploy by Miles Reese, a crazed Cipher who anonymously tipped off Harpy about the Brotherhoods location.

The Corpse: Known as Corpus Christi before the Great War, now consists of the underwater remains of the Corpus Christi Naval Base in the Texas Wasteland. The city itself is a huge wasteland, with just parts of buildings sticking out of the sand. It consists of one large map leading the new coast created by the rising of the Gulf of Mexico, where the Corpus Christi Naval Base has been submerged. There is now a strange plant sticking up out of the water.

Getting into the base itself requires traversing two medium underwater maps where mutated fish and hostile plants will be encountered. The base is made up of five medium to large maps containing robot sentries and increasing amounts of plant life towards the boss area. It swiftly becomes a jungle like environment very similar to Vault 39. Miles Reese was conducting research into the G.E.C.K.'s capabilities that he had stolen from the Nursery, in order to protect his base, located in the Corpse. However, over five years, the G.E.C.K. began to terraform on a dangerous scale, including within enclosed structures, and occasionally produced carnivorous plants.

It could generate unnatural weather patterns and his experiments created jungles within deserts, and areas previously covered by water re-flooded on an even larger scale. As Miles continued to tinker with the G.E.C.K., its capabilities became sharpened. He worked to focus its power on the specific task of covering the Corpse with a protective, organic shell.

New Eden: A jungle in southern Texas, which Miles Reese hoped to eventually expand across the globe. Miles Reese was a radical Cypher, who longed to rid the world of technology, and return the planet to nature. In his research, he learned of the Nursery, and the prototype Garden of Eden Creation Kit that was housed there. After traveling to the facility and retrieving the prototype, he journeyed to the Gulf of Mexico and set up a base in The Corpse. There he began to experiment with and modify the G.E.C.K., creating a large jungle. The Forced Evolutionary Virus in the environment affected the plant life, creating mutated, carnivorous plants.

It took Miles five years to finish his work. He intended to fully activate his "New Eden device" after destroying the Texas chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel, covering the world in greenery and killing all humans. The player character breaks into the base and overloads the G.E.C.K., killing him before he can carry out his plan.

Weapons

 * Ancient "Dragon Heart" Tang of Quiet Death: Legend says that this ancient weapon could cleave stone bricks and still be able to chop up aluminum cans. The sword was broken into five parts, to protect the world against its destructive power. Components include the Dragon Hilt of Destruction, Crosspiece of Doom, Talon Jewel of Ghastly Rewards, Sword Blade of Death, and the Mononuclear Sharpening Device. It was to be Scarlet's Uber Weapon. Once all of the pieces are retrieved she could pay an NPC to repair it.
 * Dual "Squirts": This dual mini-rocket launcher needs some enhancements before two can be wielded for maximum destructive power. Components include two "squirt" mini-rocket launcher pistols, metal braces, stabilizer, and a mini-rocket ammo feed. The dual "squirts" were to be Liliths "Uber Weapons". Once she had retrieved all the pieces she could pay an NPC to repair them.
 * "Fat Boy" Portable Nuclear Bomb: Described as a "handy little baby" that "packs all the power of a nuclear bomb, with little of the clean up! Batteries required." Components include homemade plasma mine, mail order uranium kit, Pip Boy neutron generator, conductive sphere, and radiation dampener device. Once all of the pieces had been retrieved, Jaffe could repair it himself or pay an NPC to do it, become his Uber Weapon.
 * Plasma cannon: An incredible energy weapon that, when fully charged, fills half the screen with an electrical blast. It takes forever to recharge, but nothing will survive long enough to hurt you while it does.
 * Sniper rifle: Sniper Mode is activated when the player character uses a sniper weapons special attack. The player lies down on the ground and gains control of a targeting cursor. This cursor is used to fire the sniper round, doing upwards of 2x normal damage. The cursor is restricted by line of sight and the Sniper skill.
 * Tesla cannon: A highly modified plasma cannon capable of launching plasma with extreme force. Components required include a plasma cannon, Tesla coils, Pip-Boy bounding glue, unlicensed nuclear reactor core and a steam line. The Tesla cannon was to be Maxus' Uber Weapon. Once all of the pieces are retrieved he could pay an NPC to repair it.

Items

 * Underwater suit - For those days when you really need to walk on the ocean floor. This handy-dandy scuba kit lets you enter the underwater level, where you'll have to fight mutant piranhas.
 * Night-vision goggles - Wearing night-vision goggles creates a green filter over the screen and enemies will glow allowing the user to see them after sundown or in poorly lit areas.

Skills
Two sets of skills were to be applied to the available player characters, weapon skills and regular skills.

Behind the scenes
The image for the Woman's Best Friend skill can be seen educating cyberdogs in the X-8 research center at the Big MT in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues.