I've been mulling over doing a Legion play through, but despite having done one in the past I just can't bring myself to do it now. Despite all the slavery, sixism and general atrocities which have already been discussed at length - I think we all know they're bad - I can't see a single reason why anyone would want to follow them. To list the pros and cons:

Pros:

• Stability as a nation (no corrupt bureaucracy, an iron-fisted rule).

Cons:

• Stability will be short-lived, unlike some real ancient roman emperors (Augustus namely) Caesar hasn't made any plans of who could feasibly adopt the mantle of leadership after he dies - a glaring oversight especially with his death looming large at the start of the game. If anything he's made it such that the Legion is centered around his own cult of personality, outright telling the player that the Legate has no loyalty to the Legion - a very dubious choice of command for a sustainable future.

• Caesar has zero plans for the future; sure he may prattle on about Hegelian dialectics but he makes no comment of what the "synthesis" following destruction of the NCR will entail. It seems like a completely shallow argument - there's zero proof anything will change at all. Besides, doesn't Hegelian dialectics also apply to the NCR - wouldn't they benefit from destroying the Legion in a similar manner? His philosophical ramblings are a mark of his intellectual vainglory, nothing more.

• Revelling in atrocities, the slavery, the sixism. A Luddite backwards society, who actively avoid technology they could use to their own benefit (only up until the grand "synthesis", of course).

I can't see any reason to logically follow Caesar over Mr House - who has all of the benefits yet none of the cons. That only leaves characters who would follow the Legion out of a personal bias, which is fine but it's not particularly fun to play someone who is blindly following a fool. Does anyone have any reasons as to why the Legion is a better faction to follow relative to the others?

Also from a metagaming perspective the legion offers much fewer missions, so as a legion follower you end up 4-5 levels behind a NCR follower who completes all the NCR quests.

There′s very little to do around the legion, few lands and camps to explore and people to talk to, all in all, it's just a worse deal than any of the other options imo.

Stability, security, safety, law and order (as despotic as it is), a prosperous economy... Plenty of reasons.


Which is why saving Caesar when you are supporting the Legion is so important, as it allows him to implement his vision and prevents Lanius from taking over. Caesar isn't planning to die, which is why he hasn't made any contingencies. Hey, he's human, not an omniscient robot, and he does make mistakes.


http://fallout.gamepedia.com/Legion#Ideology

Hegelian dialectics are the basis of Caesar's ideology that drives him to create the Legion and lead it to war against the Republic. However, that's just the justification, providing basis for his greater plan for the future (which exists).

Caesar's goal is not the wholesome destruction of the NCR, as it's ridiculous. It's the conquest of the Republic and the abolition of the democratic institutions he sees as corrupt and weakening humanity's chance for survival, while adopting and merging useful elements into the Legion, the synthesis.

As for "zero proof" anything will change, the game provides absolutely no proof that anything will not change. Caesar's word is law, if he says the Legion transforms, then the Legion transforms. Those that fail to follow are hacked apart, crucified, or fed to the dogs.


Uh, no. The Legion uses atrocities and slavery as tools, nothing more. sixism is pretty ridiculous, as neither gender has it better when they are conscripted into the Legion. Men are made into fighting machines whose sole purpose in life is combat and inevitable death on the battlefield. There are no retired legionaries or esteemed thinker legionaries. All are tools in Caesar's hands. Women provide support and make new legionaries. If you think a life where your only purpose is killing for your master, with no rights of your own or a prospect of a better life or lighter duty, is better than a woman forced to provide support and bear children, knock yourself out.

Finally, Caesar is not creating a Luddite society. Emphasis is put on sacrifice and martial fitness, yes, while advanced medical and stealth technologies are frowned upon, but the Legion doesn't shun technology on the basis of it being technology. The point is to make Legionaries versatile and able to fight under any conditions, armed or unarmed, wounded or healthy. The provisions banning chems are a method used to weed out the weak and cull the herd to make the army consist only of the baddest and most terrifying humans in the wastes. It shows, given that Moore compares the average Legionary to a Ranger.

No such restrictions are placed on subjects living in Legion lands, provided they don't try to sell banned items to the Legion. People enjoy water, food, and electricity, while traders don't have to pay for security (and enjoy higher profit margins).

More: http://fallout.gamepedia.com/Caesar%27s_Legion#Legionaries


People who believe Caesar's pitch can be inclined to join him and his cause. The game is unfortunately biased towards the NCR due to the narrowing-down of the project scope, but there's basis for a rewarding roleplaying experience. People from outside the NCR, people that suffered at the hands of raider tribes, people who migrated from the East, people hurt by the NCR or the Brahmin barons, plenty of options.