The Brotherhood of Steel (Third Founding)

The Brotherhood of Steel is the name attributed to the group of power armored warriors led by Flynn Taggart. They have seen many founding many divergent chapters over the years, although all remnant forces of the Brotherhood were combined during the Council of Prospero in 2032. With this handful of veterans, a new generation of Brotherhood Knights was formed, alongside a traditional land, air, and naval combat force. Currently, the Brotherhood occupy several cities across the Cascadian Calamity Zone, as well as several scattered territories in Asia.

## Overview

The Brotherhood of Steel’s history stretches back many years, to the days of the Old Wars. Once formed as a peacekeeping force, they rapidly expanded into an organized military government. Though their goals and size have fluctuated rapidly over the years, the core of the Brotherhood has always been about overwhelming firepower and insurmountable armor. The most recent iteration of the Brotherhood, formed after the Prospero Founding, is an army of rapid-strike power armor units, able to strike almost anywhere in the world.

## History of the Brotherhood

### The Bloodbath

As the Old Wars began to subside and the world finally began to prosper, the time of man finally came to its’ pinnacle. Fire rained from the skies as the very stars disappeared overhead, replaced by the infinite Starless Void. The Bloodbath had begun, and Australia became ground zero. The Brotherhood’s remaining Starfleet were wiped out in a matter of minutes, and a great crater formed in the center of Australia; the product of the Song of Abolition’s might. As the Earth’s nations united to wage war against the Triune in Siberia, the Brotherhood of Steel’s once-unbreakable armies fell in a handful of days. The survivors, of which most were military personnel, escaped from New Sydney in a massive fleet of refugee ships, drifting aimlessly up the Pacific and through the Arctic Ocean. Many did not survive the grueling journey, but those who did arrived in the state of Maine. With a whole continent between them, the main survivors-who christened themselves the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force-began to expand their dominion, becoming the New England Commonwealth. However, many ships believed lost from the main force simply went on to found their own small settlements; and as such, the Brotherhood of Steel scattered across the world. Now little more than nomads, the survivors of the Brotherhood followed Cassidy Taggart across the country to the west coast, where the remaining survivors were believed to have fallen during the Empress Chidori’s raid on the Hammer of Dawn in early 2023.

The Expeditionary Force now little more than a few hundred scattered veterans, the only organized Brotherhood of Steel force left was the fledgeling Nepal Chapter. The Nepalese were forced to hide out in underground bunkers as the shadow of Kyotia loomed, and the survivors of Nepal planned their next moves. Over the course of nine years the survivors of the Brotherhood grew, eventually building a hidden rig in the Pacific Ocean. During this time the Chapter Lord of the Brotherhood drafted his plans for the future of their order.

## Knight Recruitment and training

New recruits of the Brotherhood of Steel are raised from the territories controlled by the Brotherhood. The process of initial training varies strongly by Chapter, though it is commonly grueling regardless. Rigorous crucibles are present at every major Fortress-Monastery, allowing initiates to spar and hone their combat prowess. After roughly a year’s worth of training, a batch of Initiates is ready to graduate: this group of roughly 300 recruits move on to become Knights. A lucky few may immediately train to become Paladins, solo operatives or squad leaders trained in elite combat forms-and even some magic. After rising through the ranks, a Brother or Sister may ultimately choose to become a Marshall, who leads a regiment, or a Lord, who commands an entire chapter.

Alongside traditional military training such as rigorous physical and mental exercises, military tactics, and firearm operation, the Prospero Founding introduced somewhat outdated traditions for the Brotherhood, such as traditional sword duels, in-depth military history classes, armor maintenance, and even very light amounts of fine arts. Specialist training is offered for specific combat occupations such as Techsmiths.