It seems that 200 years after the Great War, the largest part of the Brotherhood of Steel is still collecting and hoarding all the tech they can find for themselves "for the future of civilization", completely ignoring everyone around them who could possibly benefit from that tech. No, sorry, there's none to go around; we have to gather it all up and lock it away in our vaults for... someday.

At what point is this rebirth of civilization supposed to happen? When do they switch from gathering and conserving to using? Do they even care about anything but themselves and their traditions anymore? Has the whole thing become self-perpetuating, and is the Brotherhood doomed to irrelevancy or being an actual obstacle in the eventual recovery? Or will more leaders like Lyons look around and remember why they started collecting all of this cool stuff in the first place?

Considering in Van Buren there was a open war of the NCR and the BoS ... you can see were Interplay was going with it (according to Van Buren the BoS eventually joins the NCR because they could not win).

The BOS giving technology to the NCR would probably fuel their expansion into northern california. War.... War never changes.

There really isnt any group they feel their could "trust" with it and not start a war.

I guess They'll start doing it when they think mankind is ready, and wont use it to slaughter each other. They're like the Vorlons in Babylon 5.

IMHO they're probably going to be waiting a long time... Humans are a terribly stubborn lot, refusing to learn from societys mistakes and all that.

I agree, I think the Brotherhood's traditions are now it's main reason for being. With a few exceptions like Lyons, who wants to use the tech to help people. The Chicago Brotherhood operates along similar lines. But the old California Brotherhood (and the Outcasts) are just living in the past..

Fallout 1 Good Brotherhood Ending:

The Brotherhood of Steel helps the other human outposts drive the mutant armies away with minimal loss of life, on both sides of the conflict. The advanced technology of the Brotherhood is slowly reintroduced into New California, with little disruption or chaos. The Brotherhood wisely remains out of the power structure, and becomes a major research and development house.

So is this a possible plot line or something for FO4? I could see it, but it probably wouldn't come off good somehow?

In Van Buren they were at war with the NCR that the BoS itself initiated but its a bit odd considering how they had no type of "wresting all advanced tech from the hands of lesser people by any means necessary" mentality are were just neutral about most things (besides the Enclave were they certainly had a interest) back in Fallout 2 and Jeremy Maxson was High Elder of both F2 and Van Buren time according to Van Buren.

There was a lot of things in Van Buren I do not like and there are a lot of things in Fallout 3 I do not like, the BoS presence happens to be both since they are just putting the BoS and Super Mutants for one thing ... to please the fans and I agree with Yahtzee said about that in his Silent Hill Homecoming review.

I wish they ditch out that in the next games ... the BoS was supposed to be the descendants of a military garrison and so a small group of maybe 5,000 soldiers (I am assuming they assigned a Regiment for Mariposa Base on the fact the commander was a colonel) so its not that big as Super Mutants should have kicked the bucket at this point (and no more FEV, it was supposed to be researched in just ONE location, not be to given out as candy) as the Enclave should have presented little to no threat now as not only they had their main base and leadership killed but also they could have not been as many to start with.

Simple. The 200 was never more than a randomly picked number. FO3 is just a rehash. Raiders, Slavers, FEV, Super Mutants,Enclave, BoS. And ... As if the Emperor, Skynet, and San Fran's BoS machine were not enough on that topic.

An "intro" type of thing for the mass of FPS fans :sadvaultboy:
The new things include the Outcasts and, to some extent, the Chineese - no longer the Shi (descendants of a submarine crew), but ghouls.



Nicely put. I hope a FO title never to contain more Enclave, an obscure mention on a computer terminal and maybe some material remains - a crashed Vertibird that noone knows what it is or some armor and other gear accessible through a quest would suffice.