Road to Freedom

Road to Freedom is a Railroad main quest .
==Quick walkthrough==
==Detailed walkthrough==
There are multiple places to acquire this quest, specifically in Diamond City and Goodneighbor. It can be acquired from listening to the Join the Railroad holotape that can be found lying around, overhearing a conversation between two residents of Diamond City near Valentine Detective Agency, talking to Diamond City security inside Diamond City, or by speaking to NPCs who mention the Railroad over the course of the main story (such as Piper and Amari). Any of these actions will trigger the objective to 'Follow the Freedom Trail' to be added to the Pip-Boy, proceed to Boston Common to find the beginning of the trail. Talking to the Tour bot will provide additional information.
Follow the distinctive red trail of bricks in the ground from location to location. The red line on the ground is largely unbroken but there are a few stretches that are obscured by debris. In these places, the trail is "improvised" using trails of red paint across the street or along with the wreckage of buses and walls. The trail will take the Sole Survivor past several Bostonian landmarks and historical sites, each with a "Freedom Trail" seal outside in the sidewalk, with a letter circled and a number added in red paint. The first seal ("7A") is at Boston Common right near the Tour bot. The second seal ("4L") is in front of the Massachusetts State House. The third seal ("2A") is at the entrance to the Old Granary burying ground. The fourth seal ("6O") is near the entrance to Goodneighbor (the Old State House from pre-War Boston's perspective). The fifth seal ("3I") is in front of the Old Corner Bookstore. The sixth seal ("5R") is at Faneuil Hall. The seventh seal ("8D") can be found in front of the Paul Revere House. The eighth and final seal ("1R") can be found at the Old North Church, the end of the trail. Following the Freedom Trail isn't mandatory, the Sole Survivor can travel directly to the Old North Church if they already know its location.
Inside the Old North Church, kill a handful of ghouls and follow the lantern painting to find a way down into the catacombs. At the end of the catacombs, there's another Freedom Trail marker with a ring that spins, similar in appearance to the eight seals on the trail. Rotate the outer wheel clockwise and counterclockwise to align the letters with the arrow and press in the center to input the letter. Spell the word "RAILROAD" one letter at a time to open the secret door. The word must be spelled without mistakes. If any mistakes are made, the word must be restarted from the beginning.
Once the door opens and is entered, a blinding spotlight will be shone at the Sole Survivor as they are confronted by the leader of the Railroad, Desdemona, and two Railroad agents, Glory and Drummer Boy, who have their guns readied. Speak with Desdemona - the conversation options will have no effect on the Sole Survivor's future relationship with the Railroad. Eventually, Deacon will enter and vouch for the Sole Survivor, listing two of their major accomplishments in the Commonwealth. Desdemona will ask some further questions including why the Sole Survivor has come to the Railroad, if they know what a synth is, and most importantly if the Sole Survivor would risk their life to save them from their plight. 
After all the conversations with Desdemona are done, the quest completes and Tradecraft starts immediately. Hence, to avoid completing this quest and starting Tradecraft, avoid the final conversation with Desdemona. For example, it is possible when contacting the Railroad purely to decode the courser chip, to return to Virgil to obtain the signal interceptor plans without fully completing this quest.
==Quest stages==
==Companion reactions==
Companions react to three dialogues with Desdemona: When she asks why you have sought out the Railroad (only when selecting "Fight Institute," the other choices lead to no reactions and is not available if coming to the Railroad with the Courser chip); when she explains how the Institute treats synths ("as tools"); and ultimately, if you would risk your life to save a synth.
==Notes==
* It is possible to complete the quest without picking it up in Diamond City or Goodneighbor by just going to the Old North Church first. The quest will act normally after inputting the password, albeit with alternative dialogue. Once the conversation ends, the quest is completed without having to be assigned.
* Prior to completing this quest, one can find Deacon disguised in various places throughout the Commonwealth. Examples of this include the Memory Den in Goodneighbor, as a guard in Diamond City, or as a caravan worker in Bunker Hill.
* It is possible to kill any of the named Railroad members before they turn on the light. Doing this will result in quest failure and will flag the Sole Survivor as an enemy of the Railroad.
* When answering Desdemona's question whether the Sole Survivor is willing to risk their own life to save a synth positively, the Survivor will respond with different lines depending on their gender, with the male Survivor mentioning the Oath of Enlistment he made when joining the United States Armed Forces before the Great War.
* If the Sole Survivor leaves while answering Desdemona's question, the Railroad will go hostile.
* When Deacon vouches for the Survivor, he will reference various in-game events based on prior player actions, including helping rebuild the Minutemen, joining the Brotherhood of Steel, clearing the Castle, clearing Fort Strong, killing Sinjin, killing Conrad Kellogg, helping Billy Peabody, helping Ironsides, being the champion of the Combat Zone, bailing out Nick Valentine from Vault 114, or saving Stockton's "daughter" from the Compound. However, he will only do so if the Survivor tracked down the Railroad on their own initiative.
** If Kellogg is dead but Reunions has not been turned in, Deacon will not mention his death.
** If the Sole Survivor hasn't completed any event that can be cited by Deacon, Deacon will still vouch for the Survivor, saying that the Survivor is either smart or tough enough to have made it to the secret door, that the Railroad need friends more than ever, and that he has a really good feeling about the Survivor.
* If the Sole Survivor encounters the Railroad after having finished Hunter/Hunted, the entire conversation between Deacon and Desdemona will revolve around the Sole Survivor having killed a courser instead, without any reference to previous deeds whatsoever. In this case, Desdemona will allow the Sole Survivor right away into the Railroad HQ. However, she will then go back outside along with Deacon and the other agents and wait there to complete the conversation and start Tradecraft. This may be confusing as the player might expect to find them inside the HQ after having been allowed to enter.
* Starting the quest Institutionalized will fail this quest if not completed first. This results in Desdemona denying the Sole Survivor initiation into the Railroad on suspicion they are now working with the Institute.
==Behind the scenes==
The Freedom Trail, including the red (both painted and brick) paths and the embedded seals, are based on the real-world Freedom Trail in Boston, Massachusetts.
==Bugs==
* In some cases, the game will freeze when attempting to enter certain buildings in Boston Common, including Old North Church, making this quest impossible to complete. The console command will teleport the player into Old North Church, past the entrance to the Railroad. The console command must be used to go through and open the door to the Railroad properly. Exiting through the front entrance should work afterward .
* When first approaching the Railroad HQ, Desdemona and the other guards may instantly become hostile, making the quest impossible to complete, and making you enemies with the Railroad. They become hostile right after unlocking the door, making it impossible to start a conversation even if you approach slowly or use a Stealth Boy. 
** They are not susceptible to the Intimidation perk.
* After opening the door and entering, the conversation options will not be shown at all, and it is impossible to answer Desdemona's question or otherwise interact. In this case, there is no option but to kill them all to gain access to Railroad HQ. If on PC one can use the console to move Desdemona to the player after she speaks ( followed by ) which may cause the dialogue options to show without aggroing the Railroad. 
==Gallery==
Freedom Trail.jpg|Tour bot in Boston Common
Freedom_Trail_markers.png|Freedom Trail markers
Category:Railroad quests
Category:Fallout 4 quests
es:Camino a la libertad
fr:Le chemin de la liberté
pl:Droga ku wolności
pt:Estrada Para a Liberdade
ru:Дорога к свободе
uk:Дорога до волі
zh:通往自由