They believe synths have free will. That does not mean they respect all choices that synths make. Just like acknowledging that humans have free will does not mean that you need to be nice to humans that decide to become raiders.


The Railroad believes the Institute to be an Evil organization, just like the BoS. For all of the same reasons as the Minutemen do but they think that the synths that escape deserve to be treated like refugees and not destroyed because of what they are.


I guess Bethesda needs to simplify their writing again is the take away from the forums.

The Railroad believes the Institute is an evil organization because they enslave synths. Institute synths are nothing like Raiders because they don't cause anyone harm - their only 'crime' is not wanting to risk and change their own lives, and the Railroad displaces and kills them for it. That, to me, is vile. Those synths did nothing wrong. Accepting them as collateral damage is morally unacceptable.

I think Bethesda's writing here is fine enough, for them, anyway. They did attempt to create 'morally gray' factions after all.

The Railroad believes that synths have a right to self determination should they so desire.

The Institute disagree and are willing to use force to prevent what they regard as their property from passing out of their control.

The Railroad are willing to use force to defend themselves and those synths that desire a future that does not include the Institute. Conflict ensues.

On topic:

Desi, definitely. Delphine is annoying, but I don't have to put up with her for nearly as long as I do Desdemona.

So you think that the Railroad believes the Institute are okay guys other than the synth thing meaning they have a different opinion then every other Non-Institute person in the Commonwealth. The Railroad also happens to see the Institute as slavers in addition to everything bad everyone else complains about.


The Railroad assumes all Anti-Institute synths are part of the Rebellion. Any that side with the Institute chose to side with the Institute (because of Free Will), meaning that they are an enemy combatant (because they have free will so they get to make that choice). The Railroad doesn't view synths as better than people, they view them as equivalents and treat them as such. So the mission isn't save every synth no matter what or even to make more synths, it's to free every synth (person technically because they were originally an anti-slavery organization that helped humans) that wants to be free.


The morally grey part is the fact they view humans and synths as equivalents (which many may disagree with) and hide synths in civilian populations. Not because the synths are necessarily dangerous, but knowing the synths are being hunted by the Institute which puts that settlement in danger through association.

Delphene.


For all her faults, Des at least lets you know what she thinks of you AND what she expects of you. You're a newbie, and you're going to free Gen 3 synths at any cost, and support Railroad operations as need be.


Delphene strokes your ego, tells you that she is sworn to support you... and then promptly demands you fall in line once it becomes convinent.

Without a doubt Delphine. When she told me to kill Paarthurnax, that's when she got put on my [censored] list. Never liked her since....

I accidentally pick up an empty trashcan off the trash bin and the entire town tries to kill me. Now, stealing an expensive robot, I think would warrant 10 times the death penalty if Fallout logic were anything to go by.

On the other hand, I've never had the urge to brutally murder Delphine because she sassed me at the wrong time. The Railroad have been eradicated three times because of her attitude. (OK, it was Drums who pushed me over the edge that one time). And I say this as a Railroad sympathiser.

I think the worst I've done to Delphine is grab Jurgen's Horn, say "kthxbye" and run off to High Hrothgar leaving her stood there with her mouth open. Actually, I do that pretty much every time these days...

What I think is that the Railroad dgaf what the Institute does beyond enslaving synths. If they didn't enslave synths the Railroad wouldn't fight against them, it probably wouldn't even exist.

I don't want to keep repeating myself, I understand what you're saying about the Railroad's motivations, but like I said, I find their methods vile. And then there's the fact Desdemona told me to go kill a Courser and referred to him as an "it". That's some heavy hypocrisy the Railroad's got going there, and I want no part of it. X6-88 has just as much right to a safe, clean and comfortable home in the Institute as a rebel synth has to a life of scrounging on the surface, and I won't be the one to deprive X6 of his world in order to give one to, say, Z1-14. That's not my call to make. But since it's the Railroad that acts as the aggressor, not the Institute synths, they force my hand and have to be put down.

Well, said MeanSzuszu.

If you want to be a good guy AND help Synths, following Desdemona ain't the way to go about it. The Railroad are not noble liberators, they are violent revolutionaries who will use a person and cast them away like garbage when it suits their purpose.

If you want to help Synths, side with the Institute. While they aren't perfect I found myself much less morally compromised and with far more future potential to do good.