Steel Plague

The Steel Plague, alternatively known as the Brotherhood of Steel to its members, is a techno-religious dictatorship operating in California as of 2241. They are the largest faction in the New West and one of the most technologically advanced groups in the wasteland.
==Background==
===Origins===
The Steel Plague originated from remnants of the United States military immediately before the Great War. After the discovery of horrifying experiments performed on human test subjects in the Mariposa Military Base, Captain Roger Maxson ordered the execution of the base’s scientists. He openly declared his soldiers in secession from the United States by radio, but Maxson did not receive a reply. The nuclear holocaust had wiped out much of humanity on October 23rd, 2077.
Many years passed and Maxson’s soldiers formed a “Brotherhood of Steel" to preserve technology and prevent humanity from repeating its own destruction. They collected technology and traded weapons for supplies from settlements like the Hub. In the 2160s they played a small role in the destruction of a growing army of mutants in California, the very products of the research the Brotherhood believed they had destroyed at Mariposa.
===A Steel Plague===
After the murder of Head Paladin Rhombus by a rogue initiate and the later death of the elderly High Elder John Maxson, the Brotherhood was largely taken over by its Council of Elders. Fearful of another potential threat caused by pre-War science, the council began patrols to confiscate advanced technology from traders and to secure important scientific sites. When resistance grew from wastelanders in opposition to the Brotherhood’s actions, these patrols turned into the full occupation of settlements and the forceful acquisition of any of their technology that was deemed valuable.
These confiscations and shakedowns of wastelanders would reach a climax in 2181 when the Brotherhood came into conflict with the fledgling New California Republic. The NCR was at the time the largest faction in California, a union of several settlements that had banded together to protect their mutual interests of trade and safety. They opposed the Brotherhood’s shakedowns and thefts of their technology, eventually culminating in shots being exchanged between a Republic trading caravan and a Brotherhood patrol. This skirmish left two Brotherhood initiates dead and the NCR traders burned to ash. For the Republic’s aggression the elders issued an ultimatum, they would relinquish all advanced technology in their possession and submit to Brotherhood authority. The Republic refused the demands and organised a defence in its largest settlement, Shady Sands, in preparation for any Brotherhood retaliation. 
The exact events that occurred in Shady Sands were stricken from the Codex, however what is known is that the subsequent conflict between the Brotherhood and the New California Republic led to the near-complete destruction of Shady Sands and the Republic’s submission to the Brotherhood of Steel. This event became known as the Massacre of Shady Sands, an event which combined with the later expansionism of the faction cemented the Brotherhood as the “Steel Plague” to the people of the New West.
===The Schism===
Some time following the Massacre of Shady Sands, a group of idealists arose in Lost Hills. With the Steel Plague now the dominant force in California, these members advocated for the sharing of technology with the people of the wasteland. Cautious of giving rise to a faction that could equal or surpass them, the elders ruled to continue withholding technology from outsiders until they deemed them worthy. The faction would endure as it had since the Massacre of Shady Sands, with settlements being subordinate to the Steel Plague and not equals. Further discussion of the topic was discouraged and the elders ordered the dissidents on a mission across the wastes to chase rumoured remnants of the Master's army in the east.
===Present Day===
By 2241 the Steel Plague has asserted its control over much of central California. The Hub, Junktown, Shady Sands, and other smaller settlements have all become its vassals. In exchange for protection as well as the “permission” to continue living under them, the Steel Plague takes resources, all useful technology, and a portion of their able-bodied children to become squires.Initiation report: "...the Brotherhood has changed over the years in how it sustains and expands its ranks. Unlike before, we take new squires from our vassals in exchange for protection. This removes the fear our outsiders infiltrating us and slowly changing our beliefs over time, while ensuring that the Brotherhood is only made up those who have been trained in our noble beliefs since youth." This allows the Steel Plague to expand and maintain itself while settlements are ensured safety, albeit at the expense of vassals living in conditions comparable to those of the Middle Ages.
The Steel Plague now looks further outwards for more resources, technology, and young "recruits" to expand their mission of preserving technology while protecting humanity from itself. In particular, San Francisco, Vault City, and the Boneyard have caught their attention to pilfer of technology and subjugate. Meanwhile, rumours of gangsters armed with advanced weapons and an army gathering to the north have caused them to begin expanding faster than ever before. 
==Society==
Within its ranks, the Steel Plague follows a strict hierarchy known as the Chain That Binds. It forces instructions to flow in a top-down fashion, with members only being allowed to receive orders from their direct superior. While it gives supreme control to the Council of Elders at the top of the Chain and maintains loyalty within its ranks, this approach has been known to create a frustrating bureaucracy of instructions as the faction expands. The Chain That Binds is heavily enforced with the punishments of lashings, demotion, and up to expulsion from its ranks.
The Steel Plague is a heavily military-centred organisation, all of its members are required to be familiar with combat skills and the handling of firearms. Promotions to the ranks of paladin and elder are based mainly on combat merit, and it is extremely uncommon for scribes to become elders. Failures, military or otherwise, are punished harshly within the Steel Plague as they are seen as a weakening of the Chain That Binds. Those paladins and knights who fail objectives assigned to them can expect similar punishment to breaking the Chain.
===Ideology===
The ideology of the Steel Plague is centred around the deification of the faction’s founder, Roger Maxson, seen by them to be the saviour of mankind and the prophet of their salvation in the post-nuclear world. He led what would become the Brotherhood of Steel to secede from the United States, one of the great powers that doomed humanity to ruin. Maxson was a glimmer of hope in the unforgiving wasteland, his tenets outlining how the Brotherhood would preserve the old world and protect the new one. Following religiously in the original Codex writings of Maxson, the Steel Plague has two main objectives known collectively as the Eternal Quest. The first is to recover and preserve pre-War knowledge and technology. Newer perceptions held by the faction extend this belief to any technology owned by wastelanders that are deemed inappropriate by the Steel Plague, everything from power armor to low-power energy weapons are routinely apprehended.Caravan guard: "Did you hear? Mikey's team got stopped by one of those power armored dicks. Took his shitty laser pistol, you know, the one that was practically falling apart? I doubt that thing could've lit a match." The second of their goals is to preserve humanity from itself. The horrors of Mariposa convinced Maxson that some science was too dangerous for even the Brotherhood to use or safeguard. The Steel Plague follows this belief through the destruction of knowledge and technology which the Council of Elders deems too dangerous or unethical to exist. 
Technology itself is not seen as sacred by the Steel Plague, however its members believe that keeping it out of the hands of the "unworthy" is. They believe that it is their sacred mission entrusted to them by the Brotherhood's founder, Roger Maxson, to preserve the knowledge of the old world and prevent humanity from repeating the mistakes of the past or causing another Great War.The Deeds of Maxson IV'' Some technology, that which they believe they alone are capable of wielding, is used by them on a daily basis or hoarded in Lost Hills. That technology which they deem too unethical to exist, even under their control, is fanatically hunted down and destroyed. Such forbidden technologies include strategic nuclear weapons (as opposed to the tactical mini-nukes they use), sentient machines, and man-made mutagenic serums.
The Codex itself is seen as a holy text by the group. It was written by their founder who they perceive as a prophet-like figure. Unfortunately the Codex does not provide solutions to every single problem, and there has been growing turmoil regarding how to interpret it. If contradictions or a lack of clarity arises, the elders have the authority to make a final decision on how the Codex “should” be interpreted. When these issues appear they interpret the Codex much like how religious leaders of the old world did, quoting their holy text in ways that benefit themselves the most and assert their own authority.
==Relations with outsiders==
Those outside of the Steel Plague are viewed as being either those who should fall under their authority or enemies that must be destroyed in the pursuit of the Eternal Quest. Settlements which agree to become vassals receive protection from the threats of the wasteland while agreeing to give up “dangerous” technology, as well as a portion of their resources and able-bodied children as recruits. 
Large settlements or collections of smaller communities are governed by a "lord" of the Steel Plague, creating a neo-feudal hierarchy. These lords are often retired paladins who have been granted land to govern over, however the duties of a lord are very hands-off. They rarely intervene in local settlements unless restricted technology is found or dangers to the Steel Plague are suspected, typically leaving local governance to loyal puppet leaders. As the Steel Plague has refused to reintroduce even basic electrical technology to those living under it, most settlers under it lead a near-medieval existence.Mariposa garrison terminal: "...have yet to bring technology to those now living under our authority. The elders deem them unworthy for it yet. Regardless, we are so busy with other things that it would be unlikely in the first place..."
While typically leaving law enforcement to local settlement militias, punishment for the possession of "restricted" technology by wastelanders and violence towards Steel Plague personnel is carried out directly by the faction. Lashings and other punishments are performed by Steel Plague paladins in vassal settlements.Paladin Greene: "Marcus Jefferson, you have been found in possession of restricted technology by the Brotherhood of Steel. Your punishment has been deemed to be... thirty lashes. Steel yourself."
==Expeditions==
Several expeditions have been launched outside of Brotherhood of Steel and subsequent Steel Plague territory to identify sites of potential value. Should a site warrant a long-term investigation, a garrison is established to occupy the location.
* First Expeditionary Force: Created to reestablish contact with the Appalachian Brotherhood and investigate the ATLAS Observatory. Contact with this group was lost in the early 2100s.
* Second Expeditionary Force: The first expeditionary force established since the Massacre of Shady Sands. This group was comprised mostly of a minority within the Brotherhood who wished to share their technology with outsiders and open recruitment. They would be sent east towards Chicago on a one-way trip to chase remnants of the Master's army.
* Third Expeditionary Force: Established to secure and destroy the Mariposa Military Base. After its objectives were completed a garrison was established to monitor the site and apprehend trespassers.
* Fourth Expeditionary Force: Sent east under the command of Senior Paladin Andrea Brixley. Information on their exact objectives is restricted to all but the highest ranks of the Steel Plague, although they are known to still be active.
* Fifth Expeditionary Force: Currently investigating the Ancient Order. In an unprecedented act, the Council of Elders have allowed the expedition to work alongside the Guardian Brotherhood, who claim to have knowledge of a secret tunnel entrance into the site.
* Sixth Expeditionary Force: Reconnoitering San Francisco and dealing with its two major groups, the Shi and Hubologists. Originally under the command of Paladin Lyndham, his disappearance has left the more moderate Senior Knight Matthew in charge.
==Technology==
As recovering and repairing pre-War military equipment is the most prominent focus of the Steel Plague, they have accumulated a considerable supply of it since the establishment of Lost Hills. Equipment commonly used by them includes power armor, military-grade firearms, combat robots, and at least one supercomputer at Lost Hills. Exceptional members may also be eligible to make use of the small supply of implants they have.
A fleet of vehicles has slowly been repaired to working order by the Steel Plague. On the surface of Lost Hills a garage has been constructed for their Steel Chariots and other motorized vehicles, scribes and knights work diligently to repair more vehicles to give the faction the mobility to truly rule the region. Their pride is the Gwennan, an airship repaired several years ago to transport paladins across the vast distances of California and extend the Steel Plague's reach. A sister ship, the Kaswennan, is currently under construction.
==References==
Category:Brotherhood of Steel
Category:Factions
Category:Post-War Factions
Category:Post-War Militaries
Category:Competitions
Category:Fallout: Steel Plague content