Pillars of the Community

The Pillars of the Community is a small cult based in the Charles View Amphitheater, operating in the Commonwealth in 2287.

Background
The Pillars of the Community is a cult claiming to be a new and growing religious movement in the Commonwealth. Led by Brother Thomas, the members of this small-time cult are mostly local residents and drifters seeking hope for a better life, thus they have turned to the cult to find salvation from the horrors of the treacherous wasteland. All new members are required to give up their "worldly possessions" in order to join the organization.

Unbeknownst to the cult's many missionaries and initiates, the religious movement is a scam operation, which many denizens of the Commonwealth unfortunately have fallen for. Behind closed doors, the leader of the cult, Brother Thomas, is actually a conman and thief who steals belongings from people who join his cult, holding them hostage until they agree to be relieved of their possessions. In private, Brother Thomas will openly admit this fact.

Interactions with the player character
Upon approach, Brother Thomas, under the name of Brother Andrew, Brother Simon, Brother James or Brother Matthew, will initiate the Sole Survivor in dialogue. Whether the player character accepts to join or not, at the end of his dialogue he will ask the player character to follow him to his office. In his office, Brother Thomas will tell the Sole Survivor to give him all of their belongings, to which they can either give them to him or opt not to.

On non-compliance, Brother Thomas will drop the act and inform the player character that their belongings can either be given voluntarily or be taken by force. Choosing not to will result in being attacked by the group, but threatening him through a hard difficulty speech check will allow the Sole Survivor to leave peacefully.

If one agrees to hand over all their possessions, Brother Thomas will take every item from their inventory (excluding companions) and store them indefinitely in his. At this point, the player character is free to go, but the only way to retrieve their items is to pickpocket or kill him. Interestingly, he leaves the Silver Shroud Costume and Silver Shroud Hat in your inventory. This appears to be the only set of items that has this property.

Emogene Takes a Lover
The Pillars of the Community are part of the quest Emogene Takes a Lover. Magnolia at The Third Rail tells the Sole Survivor that Emogene Cabot has gone to join the Pillars. If Brother James has already been killed, there will be a chance to threaten Brother Thomas by mentioning that the Sole Survivor killed the last leader. One can completely avoid this confrontation by picking the lock to Emogene's room. This quest can also be completed by simply having a high Charisma and convincing Brother Thomas to avoid any violence.

Appearances
The Pillars of the Community appear only in Fallout 4.

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