Faction Name: The Imperium of Steel
Flag: A cog encircling twin swords.
History: Long ago, a group of men wandered into the area around Washington D.C., weary from travel. They were no ordinary men however, for they wielded amazing weapons, able to cut all manner of man and beast alike, to ribbons. Clad in their metal hides, they strode from the western edge of the territory. With them, a small group of unmutated boys and girls. The man at the head of the group walked with determination, though he was aging. This group of battle-hardened soldiers was a detachment of the fabled Brotherhood of Steel. Men and women like no other, they held the most advanced technology and near all the knowledge of the Prewar world. This group, this worn, tired conglomeration of Knights, Scribes, and Paladins, had just stormed through the vile cesspit of scum that was the Pitt. From that hellhole, they had saved 20 children. The rest of the raiders and barbarians were swiftly dispatched.
So they marched, into the shattered lands of Washington, once the seat of power of the mightiest nation ever known to man. Tired, hungry, and thirsty, they trekked, hoping to come upon something, anything. Upon stumbling into the ruins of the former metropolis, they found what would become their home, their fortress, unassailable by any force: the Pentagon. It had once been the nexus, the nucleus, the hive-mind of the entire United States military, before nuclear Armageddon swallowed the Earth. In the Great War the building had been struck, directly, by a nuclear warhead. What was above ground was utterly destroyed, with perhaps a portion of a wall still standing. However, when the Brotherhood party ventured below ground, they were instantly stricken with awe. Inside the ruins of the Pentagon, under the rubble of the surface, in the sub-levels, lay a treasure trove of advanced technologies. Energy weapons, conventional arms, all manner of technology. The crown jewel lay further still. An armory chocked-full of the very first model of Power Armor awaited the weary Brotherhood and so they shed their worn, near-useless armors and clad themselves in the untouched T-45d Power Armor. Seeing that a fortress could be carved from the husk of the old building, the Scribes set to work planning while the others readied themselves to build.
The leader of the expedition, one Paladin Owyn Lyons, reported the news to his superiors far West; the Elder Council of the Brotherhood. For the discovery of the technology cache and the bounty the Pentagon could provide, the Paladin received a promotion to the illustrious rank of Elder. This rank made him the full leader, in every sense, of the detachment which was quickly becoming its own chapter rather than a scouting party. As Elder, the Council gave him the orders to establish a permanent presence in the Capital Wasteland and scavenge all possible technology from it. With a new title and a new responsibility, the idealistic leader began his work. With a base being restored, the Elder followed up on the notes of his scouts. From their reports, a new foe aside from the raiders and vagabonds had arisen. A new Super Mutant species dominated the ruins of DC and once they were found, Lyons mustered his men and began to clash with the beasts. Though the rearmed and refreshed soldiers struck major blows to the monsters and had them against the wall, the beasts continued to crawl from their lairs and battle back the valiant Paladins.
As time went on, changes began occurring in the Brotherhood. The Knights, rather than engineer-soldiers as they had been, became warriors below the Paladins and the Scribes took the matter of technology and its appliance onto themselves. The Pentagon was continually rebuilt. After a time, it was finally completed and christened the Citadel, home and headquarters of the Brotherhood. A few scientists endeavoring to create a purifier for the Tidal Basin received aid and protection. Although, the project dubbed " Purity ", stagnated for long periods. Eventually, the strain became too much for the Brotherhood to handle, after the repeated onslaught of the ravenous Super Mutants. Technology waned in importance as Lyons devoted more men and supplies to fighting the monstrosities off. Knights and Paladins fell and with them, their weapons and most importantly their armor, were lost to the wastes as the mutants overcame the brave warriors. With resources strained, the Elder petitioned his superiors back West for more men and more supplies. The Elders denied him however, as they were taxed themselves. So Lyons carried on, battling the mutates and becoming weaker for it. Technology eventually fell to the sideline as something to be thought of after. Lyons, following his own goal rather than those given to him, was ordered by the Council directly to focus on the technology. Elder Lyons refused and in doing so, found himself cut off. The Council severed communications and labeled Lyons rogue, having " gone native ". The Elder still considered himself and his subordinates of the Brotherhood and carried on. His men though, some were tired of having to protect wastelanders already and this development did nothing for their spirits. A wedge was driven further.
Years of warring with the mutants finally brought Lyons' resources and men, to the breaking point. After countless rescues of ungrateful, unworthy commoners, a group of Brotherhood Scribes, Knights, and Paladins gathered a hefty load of weaponry and armor and simply absconded with it in the night. Before, they had been willing to continue but with Lyons' dismissal of Fort Independence as a place of worth, denying them the permission to seize it, the group had had enough. When they awoke, the Brotherhood found their former brethren gone and with them a great sum of technology. Angered and betrayed, they labeled the dissenters " Outcasts " and the rogue group gladly took the title. Lyons made no effort on vengeance, though he was fully aware his soldiers would have liked to. He simply continued as he had before near half of his men left his command. So was his style, to simply persist. However, as a new year approached, one good remained, the radio waves being filled with the praises of the Brotherhood thanks to a mutually-beneficial relationship with a man called Three Dog of Galaxy News Radio. These odes to he and his valiant soldiers warmed the old man's heart and gave him hope that he was indeed doing something right.
The year of 2277 began with Lyons' force standing on unstable legs. Due to the Schism, where near half his men abandoned his command, the Elder was forced to begin recruiting from the wastes. Those that came were eager, aggressive, and undisciplined. Woefully so. The recruits provided little more than fodder, with only few being truly worth the weapons and armor put in their hands. Still they clashed with the Super Mutants, the overwhelming horde simply had no limits, it seemed. Hope was waning and the future looked dim at best. Affairs looked very bad and boded only the worst. The small caches of technology that were found provided only brief reprieves from the overwhelming hopelessness that pervaded each day. The worst had yet to come however, when on the horizon, came a horde of black-devils. The Enclave, an organization once fought on the West Coast, rode in upon the winds and began viciously assaulting the Capital Wasteland. While staging an attack to liberate the Purifier from the hordes of mutants inhabiting it, Sarah Lyons, Sentinel and commander of the elite Lyons' Pride, was gravely wounded. At the height of the battle, a Vertibird dropped a strike-team of Enclave soldiers into the midst of the fray and in the confusion, the black-devils wrought her undoing. She was rushed back to the Citadel, bleeding heavily after a minigun volley broke through her worn Power Armor. Her father rushed to her side and for days she lingered near the brink of death. Finally, a week after her injury, she passed in her sleep due to heavy blood loss. Elder Lyons mourned greatly, having her armor patched up and hung in the Great Hall, commemorating her sacrifice. The Pride found itself lost without their Matriarch, though they were regarded as heroes for nearly taking the Purifier and managing to take out a few Enclave men. A funeral was held in the Bailey and Sarah was given a true warrior's send-off, by way of funeral pyre, despite her brethren battling the new menace. Hymns of faith and strength in Steel floated through the air, as well as odes to her sacrifice. A young Arthur Maxson mourned her passing deeply, as he had a bit of a crush and feelings of companionship with her, the first woman to really take care of him, aside from his mother, long passed. He regarded her as a hero to himself for teaching him to fight and soldier, to give him the chance he needed. Sarah's death drove the young lad to honor her memory by becoming the best soldier the Brotherhood had ever seen.
Elder Lyons marshaled his forces, all angered and saddened with him in his daughter's death. More recruits were trained and pressed into service, and finally, a new campaign began in earnest. Infused with purpose, a flame ignited by faith in their leader ushered the Knights and Paladins to make war on the Enclave threat. With this new vigor, they mercilessly attacked the demons, riven by their anger, they even managed to fight the monsters back. The war continued, the Knights and Paladins battling with every ounce of strength they had. It carried on for months. The Brotherhood pressed on, flames still alight for their fallen soldier and at long last, after managing to take down each base of the Enclave, they destroyed them and drove whatever stragglers they found into the wastes. Having hidden an ailing heart for so long and with the final weight of his daughter's passing and the tumult of the war on the Enclave, the beloved and revered Elder Lyons' passed away. His death signaling massive shock-waves throughout the Brotherhood chapter. Everyone mourned, every single person in the Citadel cried and a massive funeral was held, dimming the sense of victory. A casket was fashioned of steel and padded on the inside, the Elder lowered into it and once more hymns were sung and praises given. His soul and body dedicated to Steel, by Scribe Rothchild and then-Sentinel Vargas, the commander of the Lyons' Pride after Sarah's own passing. That they were the highest ranked of the scientific and military branches respectively, afforded them this honor. Every soldier spoke of the Elder, highly at that. Arthur Maxson, the young Squire, spoke as well. He mentioned that Owyn was an idol to him. A man of virtue and goodness and one that did what needed to be done. The lad began to cry midway through the speech and at the end of the ceremony, fires were lit and the casket was lowered into the grounds of the Bailey. Meant to give the Citadel an eternal shield against all foes and to keep the spirit of their beloved Elder close.
As Sarah had been the intended heir to the title of Elder, a power-vacuum was left, only adding to the mess left over after the war. Meetings were held between the highest echelons of the order. Weeks passed while the soldiers in the field simply held the line, their spirits dashed by the death of their leader. To fill the position, a temporary council was formed, comprised of Rothchild, Bowditch, Vargas, and Paladin Glade, second-in-command of the Pride. This council dictated the further actions and for the most part, was too busy arguing to do much of anything. Under their hand, the Enclave technology was cataloged. Simply that. The Brotherhood once more stagnated and for 9 long years, it crumbled. Until one day, a young Knight decided a change was about due. Arthur Maxson, then a young man and full-fledged Knight at only 20, was a superb soldier, outclassing many his age. Stepping into the spotlight, he spoke to the Brotherhood as a whole. Years of seeing his people decay, suffer, and fall around him, combined with his great battle-experience hardened him to the world. He was not a scared child, or a fool with a bleeding heart. He knew what had to be done and he'd been armed with the conviction to do it, even changing so much as to become outwardly cold. Once a warm, friendly lad he'd had to grow a thick shell to deal with the task given to him by the Maxson legacy. Arthur promised a better future, a steady guiding-hand, and to live up to the name he held. The rest of the Brotherhood loved him, while the council denied his pleas, citing that he was too young and not fit to lead. Vargas had voted for him but the others had much less faith, primarily Rothchild, aging as he was.
Snooping around, the Knight later returned and called for a meeting of the Brotherhood, backed by his friend Sentinel Vargas, his request was heard. Arthur revealed a document written to Sarah Lyons from her father, stating that should she be unable to lead, that the title of Elder should be given to he, the last surviving Maxson. Applause roared, for the adulation of Owyn Lyons did not die in the years since his passing. Arthur then drove his argument home, declaring that the man chosen by Lyons and the man with a heart forged of Eternal Steel, was the best choice for a strong, triumphant Brotherhood. The assembled people of the order cheered and demanded his ascension. The council, pleased by the document which proved to be written in the old man's own style, granted the title of Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel to Arthur Maxson. Rothchild stewed, as he was overridden by the 3/4 vote in favor of the the young man.
Once more, a Maxson held the title of Elder, and he lead in exemplary fashion, continuing Lyons' Doctrine and at the same time, he assembled teams of Scribes who went straight to work on mastering the technology of the Enclave, long passed. The soldiery was revitalized by new leadership, with confidence in the legacy the young leader represented. They took the fight back to the mutants and struck fiercely, finally pushing the beasts back and dealing some damage. The Mall was freed continually as the Washington Monument was garrisoned with a respectable force. Recruitment began again and the ranks of the Brotherhood grew. The recruits were no longer given T-45d Power Armor and instead issued Recon Armor, to cut losses, seeing the greenness of the wasters. With a bolstered force shoring up former weak links in the chain, Elder Maxson decided to reach out to the various settlements of the Capital Wasteland. Envoys were sent to Megaton, Canterbury Commons, and Rivet City, the largest settlements in the wastes. These envoys, initially, were received favorably and things seemed to be going well for the first time in more than a decade. Three years passed and seeing that so many of the recruits were too aggressive, undisciplined, and moreover too eager and that the envoys sent word of being abused rather than honored, the Elder took swift action. His envoys returned to the Citadel where a larger, more powerful Brotherhood stood. Even with many unskilled recruits, the ranks had grown and were able. With the mutants pushed back, Elder Maxson began his solution to fixing the wastes.
The Purifier, left dormant for years after the failed assault, was stormed by the Brotherhood. They eradicated all Super Mutants inside and a contingent of Scribes was placed there. In a few short days they restored the old machine to working condition, with the help of Pinkerton from Rivet City, taken from his home in the bow of the ship. A standing force established a base in the Jefferson Memorial and with the Purifier cleansing the water of the Tidal Basin, wasters flocked to the site. The cities that had abused and mistreated the Brotherhood's envoys petitioned Elder Maxson, then begged him. His Brotherhood in control of the largest source of clean water in the land, Arthur had the entire wasteland by the throat. Rivet City, being the closest, was delivered an ultimatum: submit to Brotherhood demands and become the first settlement to join it, or thirst forever more. Rivet City was silent for a time, then it gave in. It became the first city of the Brotherhood of Steel and the entire security detail was conscripted to the ranks of the Brotherhood, given Power Armor rather than Recon. Knights from the Citadel were sent to oversee the transitions and so it was, Rivet City belonged to Elder Maxson and his people. Megaton followed and soon after Canterbury did as well. Settlements fell in dominoes, submitting to the Brotherhood and giving their able away to become soldiers or Scribes. Water then ran freely to them and the amount of land land and people under Maxson's rule grew. Eventually, all settlements came to heel, the Republic of Dave being the last, dissolved and absorbed after Dave's brutal beating. Knights and Paladins were sent along to each city and all who opposed them, were put down, swiftly.
With this event did the Brotherhood transform into a group of ' white knights ' into something entirely different. They became larger, more powerful, less restricted by codes of goodness and soon they did whatever they needed to, to bring order to the wasteland. Grayditch, a city infested with giant ants, was purged. Two squads in T-45d Power Armor were responsible, cleaning the entire settlement out and the metro system shortly after. After it being cleansed, a new settlement came into being, without the changing of a name. The National Guard depot north of the Citadel, on the outskirts of downtown DC, was the next target. All technology taken, logged, and Combat Armor made the standard issue for recruits. Hubris Comics to the south found itself taken shortly after, and was retrofitted to become a newspaper headquarters of the newly-coined Washington Herald, printed propaganda for the subjects of the High Elder. To the north, another force of Knights in Power Armor broke down the door to Oasis and placed it under the jurisdiction of Maxson's Brotherhood. The small settlement, unlike the wasteland, stood lush and green and became truly the last to enter the fold of Arthur's domain. The citizens simply relented after a heated discussion that left their leader on the ground, incapacitated.
The Brotherhood ceased its expansion for a brief time, and in that time, while Maxson readied to take the rest of the lands, he received a man at the gates of the Citadel. After being granted an audience, upon the threat of death should his reason be unworthy, the man spoke quickly of his besieged comrades. The man, one Rococo Rockfowl, pleaded for aid. His people were one not liked amongst the High Elder's forces: the Outcasts. Once Rockfowl revealed his allegiance, a Paladin near blasted his head into ashes before being called off by Arthur. Rockfowl explained that the Outcasts, worn from searching for technology and dwindling numbers, was under attack by the raiders driven from the Brotherhood's expansion. These raiders flocked to a stronghold in Fairfax and once there, began a war of attrition and after months of fighting, the Outcasts could no longer stem the tide. The Defender brought a holotape from one Henry Casdin, leader of the splinter-group. In it, Casdin expressed seemingly-true regret for Lyons' passing after Sarah's own demise. He also stated that tension had died off in the decades since the Schism and that the Outcasts needed the aid of their former compatriots. The Protector offered that if the Brotherhood saved Fort Independence, that the Outcasts would offer themselves unto Maxson's order for reintegration. He made it quite clear as well, that he respected the direction Maxson had taken the Brotherhood, hearing of its takeover and its focus on technology, most impressive was the defeat of the Enclave, which he also admired. The High Elder realized that the addition of more manpower, experienced at that, and the return of the lost technology, would aid immeasurably in the consolidation of the Brotherhood's power. For the final push and to control D.C. entirely and thus begin to recover and do the right thing for humanity, he would need exactly what Casdin offered. Maxson agreed and so eight ten-man squads of hardened Paladins were mustered and marched off to liberate the Fort from the raider scum.
The Paladins stormed the ruins, reducing all that stood before them to ribbons, goo, or ash. Their armor shrugged off the firearms of the brutes and whatever blunt instruments they used. After what was a bloody and swift skirmish, Fairfax stood clean of raider trash. The weary Outcasts trudged from the Fort to greet their saviors, thanking them and acting as if the Schism had been but a fantasy. Though the Paladins knew that this friendliness would never have come if the Outcasts had not been overwhelmed. After a signing of a document and a ceremony, Casdin ceded his men, his land, and his technology to Maxson and so the Brotherhood was unified once more. This even would stand as the Reunification and it strengthened the order immensely. Fort Independence, now being apart of the reunified Brotherhood, saw further fortification and became a major stronghold and staging point. Power Armor and laser and plasma weapons flowed back into the stockpiles of Maxson's people. After setting things in order, the High Elder was once more prepared and in his sights was the entirety of the Capital Wasteland.
Soon after the merger, another wave of Brotherhood forces washed over the wasteland, assimilating all that stood before them. Vaults were taken, anything mutated inside was shot on the spot and any humans were made citizens and pried from their homes. Technology was taken from each and research-centers formed inside their walls. The various relays around the wasteland were commandeered and made the property of the High Elder and his people. The Brotherhood overran any and all forts and military installations, technology and arms cataloged and stored. Olney, a Deathclaw nest was cleansed with moderate loss and founded as another settlement under the Brotherhood. Knights clad in their signature steel shells purged Roosevelt Academy and reconstituted it as a Scribe study and research center, tightly guarded. A crusade against Talon Company began in earnest, swaths of their ilk falling to the blade of the reunified Brotherhood. Months into the fighting, the mercenary company succumbed to the might of the High Elder's forces and after signing a document, was absorbed into the fold of the growing rogue chapter. Their only alternative being complete extinction. The mercenaries were indoctrinated though intense and sometimes deadly rehabilitation, finally being admitted into the ranks of Knights and Paladins among the combat-capable rather than fresh blood. All marks of identity erased and Jabsco executed in the center of the Citadel's Bailey. Once more, Maxson made his people's power known.
Furthering their takeover of the Capital Wasteland, Little Lamplight came under the jurisdiction of the Brotherhood and all children were taken in and cared for under the wing of Scribes, slated for either Knight or Scribe training immediately afterward. Riley's Rangers soon fell onto hard times with the mysterious death of their idealistic leader, whom they found dead after a botched midnight patrol, Donovan beside her, having died the same way. Weeks after, they too came under the flag of Maxson and his order, faced with the same ultimatum given to Talon Company and the first three cities under the same sword-emblazoned banner. With all those competent enough to fight inducted into their ranks, the forces of the Brotherhood went on to raze Underworld to the ground, then send a mass of troops to burn Paradise Falls to cinders. Andale, upon inspection, came to be destroyed in the same manner as Grayditch and absorbed, renamed to its old-world title of Annandale, and resettled. While all this continued, the Mall saw reconstruction by Scribes and any who dared to oppose the new regime of the Brotherhood. The Washington Monument, a glorious symbol of power even in decay, began to be reshaped into the wondrous edifice it had been. With its rebirth it was rechristened as the " Maxson Monument " in honor of the High Elder, the man who ruled with an iron fist over his domain. Arthur's drive and reasoning only strengthened, however, his compassion continued to wane.
Deep within the bowels of the GNR radio station, Three Dog changed. His programming, at the behest of the Brotherhood, morphed from the ' Good Fight ' into the constant and unceasing praises of the High Elder and his forces. Threatened with a fate worse than death, he had no choice but to simply submit and champion a people he had lost faith in. Still, the rule of the Brotherhood far surpassed the lawlessness of the years before, in the eyes of many. Not far off, Hubris Comics roared back to life, pumping out propaganda to solidify the intensifying hold the Brotherhood had on the region.
After each measure had been taken and the entirety of the Capital Wasteland came under the fist of the Brotherhood, the final transformation occurred. High Elder Arthur Maxson, having waged a war of change for two long years following the desperate years before, forged a new entity in the flames of a new age. He, in a gathering of all the Brotherhood, proclaimed the new power to be the Imperium of Steel and he, the Lord Harbinger, a being without peer. In a display of what was to come, great numbers of Paladins clad in a cruel dark grey coloration of the T-45d and T-51b power armors marched into the Bailey, where the meeting had been held, and knelt before the High Elder, chanting ' Strength in Steel, long live the House of Maxson, love live the Imperium! ' in an endless mantra. They rose, chanting, almost a metallic roar coming from their voice-modulators. They turned to the gathering of the highest echelons and beat their armored fists against their steel chests, calling their oath into the wind and eventually, the Citadel erupted into the chant.
A church was erected, being built into the side of the Citadel for a place to worship the Lord Harbinger. A number of devout and pious people, mainly Scribes and other intellectuals, were appointed head of the office and gathered the citizenry to the cause. The church grew, though it was a symbol rather than a true faith. Hailed as divine by some, Maxson never took to the moniker, rather he maintained that he followed the Will of Steel. Maxson disregarded the fanatics and did not revel in his power. He seemed cold, hard, and distant rather than arrogant in his position. Arthur simply looked outside, to expand his holdings and secure his people's place against foreign aggressors, like those more than a decade ago. He knew them to be out there, somewhere, likely having formed their own domain some time ago. And so it began, the Imperium began to strike swiftly out into the hazardous wastelands beyond the Capital and gain footholds in the inhospitable territories, teeming with raiders and mutates. The advanced technologies gained years ago, such as the advanced power armors of the Enclave and their plentiful plasma weaponry, aided immensely.
Years passed and the Imperium grew to encompass parts of Maryland and West Virginia, down to the northern borders of South Carolina. Their armies of steel men instilled terror in their enemies and became folklore overnight. All trash and scum came to learn of their strength and at last, after years of conquest. Maxson had his nation. A nation, perhaps the most technologically advanced ever to be, that protected those it ruled but at the same time, was a rigid and militaristic state of uniformity and harshness. An enclave came to be around the reborn Washington DC, within its walls the government of the Imperium and those who had come from the true, pure Brotherhood years ago. Those born of others were settled everywhere else with strict, brutal efficiency and policed by some of the best trained men to come of the time after the Great War. Technology advanced still, the Scribe order renamed to the Artificer, becoming researcher and engineer, had familiarized themselves with the Enclave technology. Individuality became something of a memory, all made to serve the Imperium and the Lord Harbinger.
Those who defy his wishes are rounded up and thrown into work-camps and mutates that survive are made to do the same, or killed. The Outcasts stand apart of the Imperum, no longer what they once were. A council made up of the Paladin-Marshal, Knight-Warden, and Grand Artificer sits below the Lord Harbinger. An empire stands around him. Entire armies, equipped with the most advanced of technologies march at his whim. Science flourishes under his reign, though the Codex has slipped away into obscurity as Maxson's humanity and compassion wither. His people are safe and among the most bright, although they are not entirely free, they have nothing to fear of the outside world. Despite this, Maxson's goal still has not come to be.
Government Type: A totalitarian, autocratic, Dictatorship. The Lord Harbinger rules absolutely, with a council as his advisors. Regional rulers called Dukes, as lords of old, are appointed to enforce the will of Maxson in holdings farther off. Matters are attended to by them and only pressing issues reach the ear of the Lord Harbinger directly. Courts are not needed for disputes and usually, the Dukes settle them, in a rather unemotional and gruff, though proper manner.
Economy: The sale of advanced conventional arms and medicine, industrial supplies and products. The economy is strictly state-controlled and no business are established without the express consent of the government . All hospitals, factories, ports, are operated by the men above. The sea and fishing are integral parts of the economic machine for the Imperium, they also feed much of the nation as well. Arable land is in short supply, as much is still contaminated and thus unsuited for farming, hence the even heavier reliance on the sea for sustenance and capital.
Small mines and some quite large factories have been retrofitted and pressed into service. The Imperium is quite industrious and can produce a good many things with haste, automating a fair amount of said factories and staffing the remainder thoroughly with productive citizens.
Culture: It is predominantly Brotherhood-like, despite the Codex no longer binding the Imperium. Though the government controls all with an iron fist and is oftentimes brutal and uncompromising, culture pops out. Although militaristic, there is a sense of oldness, of dress and the like hearkening back to the Medieval era. The castes are divided into three separate branches: the military, scientific, and the citizenry, disregarding the government. With Dukes and other such terms pervading the structure of the government, a sense of neo-feudalism creeps in.
Each city is kept prim, cleaned for the most part and oddly orderly, with peacekeepers eyeing the streets. Architecture consists mainly of simply repaired buildings, with some flare tossed in every which way. Gargoyles have become a common fixture, with thick, angled walls composing many structures. Overall, a sense of grimness does seep into the atmosphere of the nation as a whole, with the sterile yet foreboding cities and such.
The Imperium is extremely motivated by technology, of all forms, after having branched into medicinal sciences and advancing their knowledge of them. The men of the Imperium are always searching for offensive technology as well, weaponry and whatever can be weaponized, as well as armor. A treasure-trove of historical teachings are housed within the Archives.
Order of the Quill ranking:
Artificer-Errant
Artificer
Senior Artificer
High Artificer
Technology-Tier: Tier 1
Military:
- Army: Extremely advanced, yet quite small compared to most. Manned by 60,000 highly-trained, fierce, fanatically loyal soldiers armed with the most advanced technology in the small world the Imperium knows, it is truly a force to be reckoned with. Each soldier, man or woman, is taken from their parents at birth and trained from an extremely early age to serve as a Knight, then Paladin, while some come at later ages after testing. The standing army, while unusual, is maintained with the knowledge of the hostile wastes and only given credence by the incessant, yet petty raider-attacks staged from an unknown land. Enclave technology has been integrated into the ranks of the Imperium over the decades since their defeat, though it is not commonly seen unless the situation requires it. In most cases, the Knights and Paladins are given either T-45d Power Armor or T-51b, both of which handle nigh on any situation.
Before official initiation, candidates for Initiate-status are called Prospects and trained in the usage of energy weaponry and maintenance of such weapons and later armor. Once they have been trained thoroughly and survive actual battle, they are ready to advance. Initiates are those already inducted into the Order of the Sword, the military and are sent on actual field-operations to prime them for full service as a Knight. They survive many battles and even at this early stage, stand as very competent warriors. Initiates advance to the rank of Senior Initiate and then unto Knight proper. As a Knight, Imperium soldiers are given their first suits of T-45d Power Armor, before having been garbed in Imperium Combat Armor, similar to the advanced combat armors made by the original Brotherhood back West, differing greatly in aesthetics. Knights are the backbone of the Imperium's forces and the front-line troops. After serving for many more battles and proving themselves once more, Knights are promoted unto Knight-Proctor and later, Knight-Overseer. A Knight-Overseer is the most skilled and experienced of all his brethren save for the leader of the Knight order: the Knight-Warden.
Once a Knight-Overseer passes a grueling initiation, they are able to become Junior Paladins, given suits of T-51b armor and even more advanced weaponry. These Junior Paladins, reinstated after the reforms of Lord Maxson, are a step below full-fledged Paladin yet they are still fearsome combatants. Eventually, Junior Paladins become full-Paladins, the pinnacle of Imperium military perfection and some of the most deadly warriors ever to see combat. They then see some of the most deadly weaponry available, as well as the best armors. including Advanced Power Armor, modified to remove resemblance to the Enclave. Paladins then, with even more fighting behind them, advance to the rank of Elder-Paladin and given access to all that the Imperium can offer, ranging from Advanced Power Armor and a P94 Plasma Rifle, to Advanced Power Armor Mark II and a Gatling Laser. The top of the Paladin ladder is the esteemed and revered rank of Sentinel, an inspiring sight and the greatest leaders the Imperium can offer. Only the most seasoned, experienced, and deadly of Paladins attain this rank and they are given the best of the best when it comes to equipment. The head of the Paladin order is the near-mythical Paladin-Marshal, answering only to the Lord Harbinger.
Order of the Sword ranks and typical armament:
Prospect: Usually given recon armor and laser rifle and/or pistol
Initiate: Imperium Combat Armor and assorted laser weapons
Senior Initiate: Imperium Combat Armor and laser weaponry
Knight: A dark, grim gray set of T-45d Power Armor and plasma weaponry, or heavy convnetional arms
Knight-Proctor: The same
Knight-Overseer: A suit of T-51b Power Armor, colored the same dark gray, along with assorted heavy ordinance
Junior Paladin: The same
Paladin: A quarter are given Advanced Power Armor, modified to resemble other Imperium armors and Gauss weaponry, as well as Pulse
Elder-Paladin: Half are armored in Advanced Power Armor Mark II, heavily modified to look similar to T-51b, along with the most advanced weaponry
Sentinel: All are given a choice of either the extremely rare and extremely advanced Hellfire Armor, Tesla Power Armor, or Advanced Mark II, all painted the same signature gray. The Tesla and Advanced Mark II are uncommon certainly, while the Hellfire is more a myth, and given only to the best.
http://static2.nexusmods.com/120/mods/120/images/16882-1-1318341557.jpg of the Imperium has this same coloration, with the cogs and swords of the Imperium emblazoned onto their pauldrons. All armors gained from the war with the Enclave are modified to remove the appearance resembling the Enclave and essentially resemble even more advanced T-51b.
- Special Forces: A group of the most experienced soldiers, all having survived death times over, are given the best equipment and honor and life-bound to serve and protect the Lord Harbinger wherever he should go. Their name: the Watchmen. Among the most fearsome sights available to man, they inspire a cold dread in their wake, and by their mere presence.
- Air-Force: A very small collection of retrofitted fights and bombers along with a small number of Vertibirds captured and reverse-engineered during and after the war with the Enclave: 500 men.
- Navy: Relatively large, made up of repaired fishing boats, old yachts, small freight ships, a cargo-craft or two, all mounted with heavy machine guns and the like. An ad-hoc, makeshift navy that is somewhat large and experienced, able to make voyages on the sea. Due to the reliance on the ocean, Maxson thought it prudent to assemble what could pass for a navy in the post-War world and get them to sailing: 5,000 men.
Religion: By most of the population, the Lord Harbinger is revered as a god-like figure, wielding supreme power and in their eyes, those that disobey him are fit only for death and suffering. His figure, portrayed in propaganda, along with his odd cult-of-personality, enables him to effectively control his followers.
Views on Mutation: The Imperium, even among those sort that hate the Lord Harbinger and his ways, despise and revile any and all mutants. Ghouls, Super Mutants, Deathclaws, are all gunned down or burned with cleansing flame. No mutant-labor is tolerated within the core lands, only in the far-off outskirt territories.
Views on Slavery: Human slavery is not widely used, however it is the punishment of choice for dissenters beside the firing-squad. Work-camps dot the lands of the Imperium, though sparsely, spread quite far from one another and away from the view of cities and the regular citizenry. Dissidents and those who speak ill of the government find themselves here, worked to a state not quite death and not quite life.
Foreign-Relations: The Imperium is very aware of the remnants of the Enclave and their proximity. No olive-branches or communications have been extended. Raids are fended off from their direction however and suspicion of the government's involvement has increased among the higher echelons.
Population: 1,000,000
» Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:53 pm 
