Fallout Tactics : Brotherhood of Steel Fallout Tactics : Brotherhood of Steel , better known as Fallout Tactics or abbreviated as FOT , is a tactical role - playing game developed by Micro Forté and published by Interplay Entertainment for PC . Released on March 15 , 2001 , " Fallout Tactics " was the third video game to be set in the " Fallout " universe . The game is the first non - standard RPG and the first to feature a multiplayer mode in the " Fallout " series . The game chronicles the adventures of a Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel initiate and their squad . Because of some minor inconsistencies with previous " Fallout " games , " Fallout Tactics " has been declared as non - canon by Bethesda Softworks except for its pivotal events . Some nonpivotal elements do not contradict canon , though , and as such , the game ' s content can be used as " flavor " material . " Fallout Tactics : Brotherhood of Steel " is not to be confused with the similarly named " " , released in 2004 . The use of " Fallout Tactics " to name the game in articles is recommended to avoid confusion . Gameplay . " Fallout Tactics " has gameplay similar to ' Real - Time ' Strategy games . The game focuses on squad - based combat and introduces near real - time combat , called " continuous turn - based " by the developers . General . Unlike the previous two " Fallout " games , " Fallout Tactics " emphasizes tactical combat and strategy . Players are not able to respond to non - player characters , but they can still trade and gamble . Instead of towns , " Fallout Tactics " centers around Brotherhood bunkers and missions . The bunkers serve as a central point for the Brotherhood , and players can obtain the services of quartermasters , mechanics , personnel yeomen , and medics . Characters from completed missions occasionally visit the bunkers . After receiving a mission briefing from the general in charge of the bunker , the player ' s squad can then move to the area where the mission will take place . Among these locations are towns , factories , military encampments , or even a Vault . There , the player is given a map of the area marked with objectives and notes . Combat . Unlike the previous two " Fallout " games which featured an individual turn - based system , and more recent ones which featured a real - time game - play system , combat in " Fallout Tactics " operates differently . " Fallout Tactics " features three modes of combat : Continuous Turn - Based ( CTB ) , Individual Turn - Based ( ITB ) , and Squad Turn - Based ( STB ) . In CTB , everyone can act at the same time , and action points are regenerated at a rate based on the Agility stat . ITB is the system used in the original games . STB is a variation of that ; each turn is given to a squad . Other changes include the ability to change stance , modifiers for height , and setting sentry modes which let characters shoot automatically in CTB upon encountering an enemy . Music . The game soundtrack for Fallout Tactics was composed by Inon Zur , which contains only Fallout style background music and is the only " Fallout " game that has no ambient music from the 1940s and 1950s . Options . It should be noted that the game difficulty setting does not affect how much experience your characters will receive . However , when creating a character , there is a Tough Guy setting which awards 30 % more experience at the cost of being unable to save while on a mission . ( This is increased to a 100 % increase in experience points with Patch 1 . 27 ) You may still save the game while inside Brotherhood bunkers . Multiplayer . " Fallout Tactics " has a multiplayer option of creating a squad and or person based on a value of how many points you can put into your person or squad . The game can be played on Gamespy Arcade . It can also be played online via Steam with its multiplayer option , using Steam ' s very own servers . Character system . Despite not being a traditional RPG , " Fallout Tactics " used the SPECIAL character system . Skills . " Fallout Tactics " largely used the same skill s as " Fallout " and " Fallout 2 " . The only exception is the removal of Speech and the addition of Pilot . Traits and perks . " Fallout Tactics " featured the same trait s as the original " Fallout " with a few race - specific additions . The arsenal of available perk s was expanded . Races . Although the main character on the single player game had to be human , recruits from the brotherhood and characters in multiplayer matches could be of any of the six races featured in the game . These are as follows : Story . Background . In the years leading to the nuclear apocalypse that would eventually destroy the world , a network of vaults were constructed to contain the best and brightest of humanity . By being shielded from the imminent death , the offspring of these people could reclaim and repopulate the Earth . However , before the entire network could be completed , nuclear war broke out . In California , a unit of military men were forced to take shelter in a scientific installation as the bombs fell . These men found out the scientists they were " bunked " with were performing immoral experiments on human subjects . They deserted the army , put an end to the tests , and bunkered down until they believed the outside to be safe . Emerging relatively unscathed and with ample supplies of pre - War technology , they soon developed into a regional power called the Brotherhood of Steel . Over the years they tamed the land of raiders and mutated threats as they searched for more technology , which they were dedicated to preserving in order to rebuild their civilization . Although the Brotherhood was one of the most powerful forces in the wasteland , attrition was still an issue , and the group found itself at odds over the need for new recruits . One faction supported allowing tribals ( human outsiders ) to join the organization and bolster their ranks , while others wanted to keep the Brotherhood pure . In the end , the majority supported keeping the Brotherhood exclusive , and the minority supporting outside expansion was sent across the mountains on great airships to destroy the remnants of the super mutant army . However , a catastrophic lightning storm struck the convoy during the journey , destroying many of the ships and taking the leaders of the expedition with them . The survivors were forced to land outside the ruins of Chicago , unable to contact their main bases for assistance . Despite the grim situation , the Brotherhood forces found they had much to offer the native population , many of whom had never seen such advanced equipment . They developed a working relationship with the locals , offering protection and medicines for food and labor . New recruits were eagerly welcomed . Free from the restrictive ideology of the main organization , the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel was free to forge its own identity , which reflected the inclusive ideals they had fought for all along . Plot . The plot of the game takes place in the American Midwest . When the game starts , the Brotherhood is trying to claim territory surrounding Chicago . By offering protection to villages of tribals , the Brotherhood is able to draft recruits from among the tribals . At the beginning of the game , the player character is an Initiate , a new recruit to the Brotherhood , tasked to lead a squad of soldiers made up of available initiates . Raiders in the area are the first challenge to the Brotherhood ' s authority , so the player ' s squad of initiates is dispatched to kill the bandit leaders and mop up the bandit threat . As the campaign against the raiders succeeds in dispersing them into the wasteland , the player character is accepted fully into the Brotherhood and learns the eventual goal of the Brotherhood : a campaign west across the Great Plains towards the Rocky Mountains in search of Vault Zero , the one - time nucleus and command center of the pre - War vault network , where the most senior government , scientific and military leaders were housed and the highest technology available was maintained . The next challenge in the Brotherhood ' s campaign are the beastlords , humans who are able to control the animals of the wastes , and who have come to use deathclaws as their servants . Once again , the Brotherhood fights the menace , and once again the Brotherhood emerges victorious . Before the Brotherhood can rest , however , they encounter a new foe as they push into post - war Missouri , an area known as " the Belt " : the remnants of the mutant army they were sent to destroy . The initial battles are costly to the Brotherhood . Outgunned and outmanned , the Brotherhood is overwhelmed outside of St . Louis . There General Barnaky , head of the Brotherhood , is captured by Toccomata , the leader of the mutant army . Although the Brotherhood is able to withdraw , they remain under constant attack . A squad dispatched to destroy a munitions manufacturing plant instead finds a laboratory dedicated to curing mutant sterility . The Brotherhood claims the lab in order to use it as a future bargaining chip . A few days later , at the ghoul town of Gravestone , in the ruins of Kansas City , Brotherhood scouts find an intact nuclear bomb . The Brotherhood defends the town from several mutant encroachments , and they are soon able to remove the weapon to a safe bunker . Brotherhood scouting reveals the base of the mutants to be at Osceolla , near the ruins of one of the wrecked Brotherhood zeppelins . A squad fights its way into the base . Inside , they find Toccomata , who is dying . He reveals that General Barnaky had been lost to an unknown menace from the west that was too powerful for even the mutant army . As the squad enters the room where the mutant leader was hiding , they find Paladin Latham , one of the leaders of the Brotherhood air convoy . He tells the squad that after crashing , he fought Gammorin in hand - to - hand combat for leadership of the mutants . Latham won , but a head injury from the battle became infected , and he soon became delusional . Latham assumed the identity of Gammorin , and led his new army against his old allies . The squad kills Latham before he can endanger the Brotherhood even more . Soon , the menace from the west reveals itself : a robot army is sweeping across the American Midwest . The Reavers , a cult dedicated to technology worship , is caught between the Brotherhood and the robots as the two armies clash in Kansas . Although the Reavers try to wage a two - fronted war , they are soon beaten , and seek sanctuary among the Brotherhood in exchange for an electromagnetic pulse weapon . The Brotherhood agrees , and a squad armed with the new technology destroys a robot repair plant as they push into Colorado , towards Vault Zero . It is revealed that the robots are originating from Vault Zero , and are being directed by an enigmatic enemy known as the Calculator . Evidence uncovered by the Brotherhood points to a catastrophic experiment in the Vault that created the Calculator from a fusion of computers and human brains . The robots regroup , but the Brotherhood is able to use the momentum to destroy a robot manufacturing plant . The robots disrupt this plan when they capture Bartholemew Kerr , a merchant who had roamed among the Brotherhood bunkers . If the robots could gain this information from him , they would be able to destroy the Brotherhood . The squad arrives in time , however , and they put an end to the merchant ' s life . While there , they also discover the lobotomized body of General Barnaky . As the robots press hard , the Brotherhood creates a plan to destroy the robots at their base at Vault Zero , located in Cheyenne Mountain . Using the captured nuclear warhead , the Brotherhood hopes to blast an entrance into the vault . After a tough fight up the slopes of Cheyenne Mountain , a Brotherhood squad places the warhead . The explosion does its job , and two squads enter into the bunker . The power was disabled by the blast , however , so one of the squads must find the auxiliary power so the elevators can be used . Meanwhile , the robots are attacking the Brotherhood ' s bunker . At the vault , the power is soon back on , and the squad proceeds to the bottom level . There they encounter the last of the robot army , led by a cyborg General Barnaky . The General does not attack , however , when he is reminded of his promise to make the world safe for his wife , Maria . The squad then makes it to the Calculator . Endings . After defeating the last robots that guard the bunker and destroying the brains that kept the Calculator alive , the squad is asked by the Calculator to join minds with it in order to end the war and bring peace to the world . The squad is given the choice to either destroy the Calculator , sacrifice a character to join with it ( although ANY squad mate can be used , the story assumes that the Warrior was the one who joined with the Calculator ) , or ( if he has been kept alive ) allow General Barnaky to join with it . Allowing the Calculator to self - destruct allows the Brotherhood to capture Vault 0 and use it as its primary base of operations . However , the Calculator was in fact the most valuable asset the Vault housed - without its databanks , the vault is just another cache of old technology , not a new industrial resource . Nevertheless , Vault 0 becomes the new Brotherhood of Steel base . From here , the Brotherhood rebuilds by deepening its technology and information trade with tribals and other settlers gaining new recruits and survival techniques in return . While at first the Brotherhood is damaged and unable to fight raiders as well as they could previously , guerrilla tactics and swelled recruit ranks eventually allow the Brotherhood to bring some order to the Wasteland . Unfortunately , despite the recovery and improvement of the environment , the Brotherhood has to put any plans on going back west to reunite with the original Brotherhood of Steel on indefinite hold ( this may be the canon ending as it has been stated that by 2277 the Midwestern Brotherhood is only a small detachment , though this could be just the brothers loyal to the West Coast Brotherhood ) . Repairing the Calculator with a character ' s brain means the Vault ' s resources are fully available to the Brotherhood , increasing its power exponentially . The Midwest will be restored to its former glory in decades , not centuries . However , that character ' s ethics now guide the Calculator ' s actions . If the character in question had committed unethical acts throughout the game , the new Calculator outlaws discrimination against mutated species ( mutants , ghouls , deathclaws and humans ) in the name of expediency . For the same reason , it has the Brotherhood ' s elders quietly assassinated and takes control , planning a similar fate for the Brotherhood in California . However , if the person in question acted with distinction ( a difficult feat , as the Calculator ' s former brains are considered innocent ) , discrimination is still outlawed , but no harmful acts are committed . Mankind , both Prime and not , prospers greatly at the hands of the benevolent Brotherhood and the Warrior - Calculator hybrid ' s machine legions . However , both the Brotherhood Elders and the Warrior - Calculator wonder how things will turn out when this great expanded sphere of justice and control meets with the dogmatic original Brotherhood . If Barnaky becomes the donor , the new Calculator will start a campaign of genocide against all " unpure " humans , eventually driving them back to the West Coast where the original Brotherhood of Steel awaits . Nevertheless , Barnaky will lead mankind to a brighter future , giving humanity a second chance at civilization . Inconsistencies and canon status . According to Bethesda ' s Emil Pagliarulo , high - level events of the " Fallout Tactics " plot are considered canon for Bethesda Softworks . There are two references to the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel : In " Fallout 3 " , where Scribe Rothchild states that there is a small , rogue detachment of Brotherhood of Steel in Chicago , and in " Fallout 4 " , where Lancer Captain Kells tells the Sole Survivor that the Brotherhood has built airship s in the west long ago which are likely to be destroyed . Some story elements that cause the game to be considered semi - canon include :