All major factions in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, Enclave & more

The Fallout universe is home to some incredible factions, let’s look at the main movers and shakers of the Wasteland.

With the Fallout TV show already exploring various aspects of the Fallout universe, and likely to introduce many more, here’s a rundown of all the major Fallout factions and their relationships to each other. For this list, we’ll be looking at factions in Fallout 1, 2, 3, 4, New Vegas, and 76, that the player can team up with or take down, depending on their choices.

While there are some clear good guys and bad guys in Fallout, many factions are morally grey, having redeeming features as well as moments in their history that are pretty dark.

Here’s every major faction in the Fallout universe. Naturally, spoilers for the Fallout games lurk below.

The Brotherhood of Steel

The Brotherhood of Steel is essentially a militaristic cult, obsessed with hoarding and controlling technology found across the Wasteland. The group was formed out of the remnants of the US Army and as a result, they often become embroiled in most conflicts eventually, either to help the people of the Wasteland or to pursue their own agenda. The Brotherhood hates synths and considers them an abomination, something which has led them into conflicts against both the shady Institute and the synth-protecting Railroad.

Based on their bloody history, the Brotherhood of Steel considers the Enclave to be their oldest and most deadly enemy and often works to counteract that organization’s sinister plans. This came to a head in Fallout 3 when the Brotherhood assisted the protagonist in thwarting the Enclave’s plot to kill nearly all life in the Wasteland. So while the Brotherhood of Steel is often ruthless and zealous, they can usually be persuaded to do the right thing – as long as it serves their purposes.

The Enclave

The Enclave serves as the main antagonists of Fallout 2 and Fallout 3. They are the remnants of the woefully corrupt and inept government in the Fallout universe and seek to assert their control over the Wasteland even after the bombs drop through any means necessary. They are led by President Eden, who eventually turns out to be an AI who’s directing the Enclave down what it believes is the most logical path to save the human race.

This involves wiping out all life in the Wasteland that’s irradiated, meaning 99% of people and animals are likely doomed if they get their way, forcing humanity to start again. After being defeated in Fallout 3, the Enclave Remnants return in Fallout: New Vegas in a redemptive story and can be recruited by the Allies to aid in the battle against Caesar’s Legion.

The New Califonia Republic

The NCR or New California Republic is a faction trying to bring democracy back to the Mojave Wasteland while also trying to rid it of the brutal slave trade being prosecuted by Caesar’s Legion. The group once wrestled control of the Hoover Damn from the Brotherhood of Steel, but now needs their help to defend it from the increasingly vicious Legion, while attempting to also unite the Wasteland against what they see as a common enemy.

To this end, the player in Fallout: New Vegas visits several other factions with the NCR’s proposal and attempts to convince them to aid in the fight against Caesar’s Legion. If successful, the player can build an alliance between the Brotherhood and the NCR and even give the Enclave Remnants a new purpose. There are also lots of smaller factions who can join the battle and help in their own way.

Caesar’s Legion

Caesar’s Legion are the primary antagonists of Fallout: New Vegas and essentially cosplay as Roman soldiers under their brutal Emperor Caesar. In reality, Caesar’s Legion is nothing more than a well-organized group of slavers and thugs. Their promise to bring order to the Wasteland comes at the end of a blade and those who don’t bow to them are either murdered or enslaved. Should the player choose an evil path, they can join the legion and even usurp Caesar.

While Caesar can be assassinated mid-way through Fallout: New Vegas, he’ll simply be replaced by the even more brutal Legate Lanius, meaning the march of the Legion will carry on until they’re defeated utterly. To this day, Caesar’s Legion is one of the most frightening villain factions in all of Fallout.

Mr House

My House may just be one man, but he has an army of goons and robots at his disposal to ensure his iron grip on the city of New Vegas is never challenged. Conscious of the NCR’s expansion, the threat of Caesar’s Legion, and the ever-tech-hungry Brotherhood of Steel, Mr House creates the Platinum Chip to secure his overlord status. This chip gives Mr House control over an army of powerful robots that he plans on sending into the Mojave Wasteland and laying waste to all who oppose him.

However, the player learns about the Platinum Chip from the robot’s AI representative, known as Yes Man, and can either return the item to House or keep it to themselves. The player can usurp House, killing him – or forcing him to live in agony – and can then use the robot army to take over the wasteland, wiping out all other factions. Or players can use this power to make the Wasteland a better place and help the factions they deem most worthy.

The Institute

The Institute is a shadowy underground organization of scientists secretly working to save humanity and return it to its former glory. However, like the Enclave, their methods leave a lot to be desired. The group has become the boogeyman of the Wasteland, kidnapping people and replacing them with synths, robot people who look and act identical to the original. Many synths have escaped the clutches of the Institute and actively work to undermine them.

Many people in the Wasteland view synths as a threat, but others see them as genuine living beings who have earned the right to live alongside humanity. However, the Institute views them as property and uses them to strike fear into the Wasteland to assert control. In Fallout 4, most factions can be recruited to take down the Institute, ending their clandestine reign of terror. As the Institute’s research does represent the best hope for humanity, once the organization falls, its scientists can be rehomed in other settlements across the Commonwealth.

The Railroad

The Railroad are a group of freedom fighters working in the shadows to take down the Institute and advocate for the synth rights. They’re also at odds with the Brotherhood of Steel who simply want to catalog and destroy synths. The Railroad works with the Minutemen to integrate synths into communities and protect them from persecution.

The organization has been criticized in the past for prioritizing synth lives over human ones and for its overzealous tactics. However, the Railroad can be considered a force for good for the most part. In Fallout 4, they’ll seek to destroy the Institute and the Brotherhood, but should the player seek a more diplomatic solution, they’ll live alongside these factions in an uneasy peace – at least once the Institute has been defeated.

The Minutemen

Like the NCR, the Minutemen aim to restore stability and civility to the Wasteland, creating a network of settlements that can grow and rebuild society. While they are still mostly a military force, they aim to use their strength to protect settlements and keep supply lines open. The group is on friendly terms with the Railroad and while they aren’t enemies with the Brotherhood of Steel they are weary of them.

However, the Minutemen see the Institute as the biggest threat to the Commonwealth and aim to unite the various factions against this shadowy enemy. Should the player ally with the Minutemen in Fallout 4, they’ll be able to bring about a peaceful ending, ensuring that the Brotherhood and Railroad also survive, although the player will be given the option to destroy the Brotherhood, should they choose. However, they’ll defeat the Institute with minimal violence, and help its members relocate under their watchful eye.

The Master

The original enemy in the first Fallout game, the Master aims to turn all humans in the Wasteland into Super Mutants and bring about a golden age of mutation. While not all Super Mutants are bad, the ones that follow the Master are ruthless and follow his despotic rule with cultlike devotion.

The Master is eventually defeated in Fallout 1 and the player can use a range of allies to take him down, including the Brotherhood of Steel, who would go on to control that section of the Wasteland until the rise of the NCR.

As the Master and his army of Super Mutants are based in California, they could be an enemy we’re destined to meet in the Fallout TV show, at least eventually. The show, as a prequel to the game series, could see the rise of The Master or reference him in some other way.

Vault-Tec

Vault-Tec is a very shady group that profited from the fallout of nuclear war by building bunkers that were designed to shield humanity from the blasts. However, in reality, Vault-Tec simply sought to control the survivors and create a new world order around their ideals once the war was over. Most vaults were in fact creepy human experiments with the survivors being unwitting lab rats – which is why so many people never emerged from their vaults.

Vault-Tec still exists in the post-war era in some form, but their role in the games has often been overshadowed by other factions. However, whatever this malevolent organization is planning can’t be good, but we’re yet to see this play out in the Fallout games. Here’s hoping that forces like the Minutemen, NCR, and Brotherhood of Steel are ready for whatever their nefarious plans turn out to be.

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