Has Bethesda Rewritten the Canon to Put the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 76?
If you pay very close attention during one of Fallout 76‘s E3 trailers, you might spot something familiar; the emblem of the Brotherhood of Steel. The only problem with that is that the Brotherhood of Steel wasn’t founded until decades after the events of Fallout 76. Is it possible that Bethesda has rewritten the canon of the Fallout series? Or, could it be that Fallout 76 will delve into a previously unknown past of the Brotherhood?
The Brotherhood of Steel
If you watch the multiplayer trailer for Fallout 76, look very closely at 1:45, as several players walk through the ruins of West Virginia. A downed vertibird can be seen in the area, and close by are several metal barricades bearing an emblem; an emblem which looks suspiciously like that of the Brotherhood of Steel. Although perhaps a coincidence, the Brotherhood is also known for using vertibirds, like the one crashed nearby.
The Brotherhood of Steel didn’t reach its peak until the 2200s, over 150 years after the events of Fallout 76. However, the faction was actually founded around 2077. The problem is, much of their early history after 2077 was spent sealed inside the Lost Hills fallout shelter, until 2134, when a splinter group left their vault. The main Brotherhood didn’t begin to expand into the wasteland until the 2150s. Fallout 76, on the other hand, takes place in 2102. There’s one other problem, of course; the Lost Hills shelter was located in California. Vault 76, of course, is in West Virginia, on the other side of the United States.
The Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 76?
One major difference between Fallout 76 and previous Fallout titles is that there are no human NPCs in the game. Every human in Fallout 76 will be an actual human player. As such, it seems unlikely that the players will encounter any living members of the Brotherhood of Steel. (Although, Bethesda has not clarified whether their “no human NPCs” policy extends to sane ghoul NPCs.) The game could delve into a previously unknown chapter of the Brotherhood’s history, however. What if elements of the Brotherhood decided to abandon the group before entering Lost Hills? Perhaps the Brotherhood’s leaders dispatched scouts to investigate the east coast? Whatever the case, it seems that Bethesda could plan to add a previously unknown chapter to the Brotherhood of Steel’s backstory with Fallout 76…