Brotherhood of Steel (Mojave chapter)

I recall the Fallout wiki saying something about a courier can't gain "Idolized" rep with the BoS unless they play Lonesome road and stop the launch.

I did all the quests for the BoS, including joining the BoS, and I'm Idolized but I never started LR yet.

Is the wiki wrong in some way?

-TLDR- no bcuz perfect ending bad

In Fallout: New Vegas, there was always something that bugged me a little bit. Not having the opportunity of a Mr. House/BoS alliance. It makes sense why it was not included, since if it were possible, then the Mr. House ending to the game would be basically flawless. But it was something that was originally in the game, and was cut. Obsidian’s goal with New Vegas definitely was not to provide the player with the perfect outcome. They probably thought it was too out of character for Mr. House to compromise with the BoS, given that he clearly makes it a point to the Courier that he thinks very negatively of them and that leaving them alive would only serve to impede progress, since he deems it an inevitability that they would interfere with his plans because of his advanced tech. House disapproves of the BoS, describing them as “unstable techno-fetishists who think all Pre-war technology belongs to them”. Very reasonable, since Mr. House and the Brotherhood clearly have very conflicting ideologies.

However, an alliance or more accurately, a contract with the BoS could be very beneficial. Assuming the Courier has already done all of their quests, including Veronica’s, and having kept Elder McNamara in control of course. This stands to be a substantial improvement to the Brotherhood in terms of being more open to working with other factions. With the Courier acting as a mediator, it could become possible to reach an amicable agreement where the BoS and Mr. House benefit from one another. The Brotherhood continues their missions in locating and seizing technologies, while providing contributions to House if needed, while he agrees to supply the Brotherhood with high quantities of power and resources. I imagine it to be enough for them to be able to go through some significant upgrades and expansions. The BoS could possibly renovate and restore the other bunkers that are scattered around Hidden Valley into a state that they could be made use of again. Of course, this would take a lot of work, and that’s an understatement. A large amount of time and effort would certainly be required in order for them to actually pull this off. It does help that if the Courier sides with House, the major stability in the region would be at an all-time high. This could enable the BoS to be able to recruit new members to build up their ranks if need be. Alternatively, they could also broker a deal with some other group, and have them renovate the bunkers. Again maybe it wouldn’t even be possible, but I thought I should mention it. Obviously, at the beginning of the the game, the BoS has a very narrow outlook on the people of the Mojave, they didn’t want any outsiders entering the bunker, and for good reason. However by the end of the game, I believe they’d become a lot more open to it, due to the Courier’s involvement, and the impact he/she had on them, especially if they’ve become idolized by the Brotherhood. So, with their bunkers and technology, they could set up more operations. This sort of cooperation with the Courier and Mr. House would guarantee and result in not only the goals for the future that House already had planned, but also the ideals of the BoS still being brought to fruition. It would lay down the foundation for victory and unstoppable technological progress/innovation, for both sides. One could argue that the Codex wouldn’t allow for any of this to take place. But given the circumstances and what the Mojave chapter of the BoS has gone through, it’d be in their best interest to become more content with the state of affairs.

Anyway, Mr. House and the Courier, being that they are of a different stripe, have enough foresight to know that the Brotherhood may become a liability eventually. In that case, the Courier would simply go and deal with them, same as he would normally. A level 50 Courier after the 2nd Battle of HD working under Mr. House would certainly be able to do so, given how overpowered the Courier has become. He/she would inform Mr. House of this, letting him know that this contract with the BoS he’d be forming wouldn’t be problematic, and instead would stand as a fruitful opportunity for the Brotherhood of Steel to be of use to him, rather than as an enemy. And that if they did become an enemy, the Courier would wipe them out. Besides, the Securitron army has already been upgraded. It’d be almost impossible for the Brotherhood to win in a fight against them. But this is the Brotherhood we’re talking about so maybe they’re totally down with waging a war against indomitable enemy, if it means following the Codex. T-51b power armor and gatling lasers versus the overpowered mailman and an army of highly advanced killer robots. Would be fun to watch at least.

Assuming that wouldn’t happen, and despite Mr. House’s insistence to eliminate them, this should hypothetically be enough to convince him to negotiate and come to an agreement. After all, there’s a reason for the cut content existing that once had made this possible. Mr. House knows that the Mojave chapter of the BoS are not at all equal in power to him, but instead through this alliance they’d be an asset to him. Even while unknown variables and the potential to lose power and influence tend to frustrate Mr. House greatly, he concedes with the Courier and the BoS. When it comes to Veronica, I’m almost certain that she’d approve of the whole situation, given how at odds she was with the Codex, and her expression of frustration with the Brotherhood. Maybe it isn’t exactly what she had in mind, but the peace with NCR and Mr. House would serve to ease Veronica's worries about the Brotherhood's future, and come as some relief, given how determined she was to lead the Mojave Brotherhood down a better path.

Afterwards, this new Mr. House/BoS alliance would prove to be the dominant force in the Mojave, and maybe even the rest of the Wasteland. Robert House could act out his grand plan for civilization (expanding from the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas), and the Brotherhood could still uphold their ideals to some extent. Brotherhood patrols would begin patrols along major roads, monitoring trade along I-15 and 95, seizing any items of technology they’d deem inappropriate. Unless Mr. House intervenes, though I don’t know if he would. I don’t know what he would do tbh.

Later on, I think it’s also possible that they could eventually ally the Enclave Remnants and integrate them into the alliance (with the Courier’s help of course). The Enclave Remnants have lots of technology in their bunker, which could be mass-produced or otherwise used for improvements for the factions. Plus, that’s yet another bunker that the BoS could thrive and establish itself in. After all, their tech has lots of similarities to BoS and so naturally it’d work. Everything considered, the Mojave Wastleland would be forever changed for the betterment of society. The people would flourish with civilization, and New Vegas becomes a bigger community. Caesar’s Legion is driven out of the Mojave, and the NCR would have to come to terms with everything that’s going on. They’d just have to deal with it and accept that the region isn’t under their control. The Courier can still be idolized by the NCR before siding with House inevitably. Being that Mr. House has no hostility towards the NCR, he allows NCR citizens to remain and sells the water from Hoover Dam. Perhaps it’s better for the NCR to focus on consolidating their own territory, effectively stopping their imperialistic ways, resulting in a sort of, win-win situation. And due to their temporary truce, the Brotherhood would allow the NCR to retreat from the Mojave Wasteland without incident. Even after everything that’s happened, the NCR should be able to thrive. They could benefit from a change in leadership.

Admittedly, this whole thing sounds very implausible. It’s just a wishful vision I came up with when playing F:NV. Reason being that, while I really like the Mr. House ending, having to destroy Veronica’s family, and subsequently her as well (unless you make certain decisions to allow her to stay as your companion), really turns me against it. I don’t want ruin Veronica’s life, I want her to be happy. And I’d just rather not destroy the BoS. There might be other things about the Mr. House ending that aren’t perfect, but this in particular is what makes me avoid it. Despite the fact that outside of this, House is probably the best choice for the Mojave, and for humanity itself. This is why I prefer an Independent New Vegas, although that may be a bad choice, even if I complete all the quests in the most morally good way. The NCR ending is also preferable, but killing House in both of these endings isn’t something I’m proud of. Sure he’s smug, inflexible, arrogant, and even ruthless, but he’s still a technological and economic visionary. The Mojave, and all the infrastructure that makes it so appealing, would not exist if not for House. Plus, he did technically save the Courier’s life with Victor, so deposing him either for the NCR or to support the ideals of independence just really doesn’t sit right with me. What do you guys think?

Welcome everyone to the very first edition of What If Wednesday, a weekly post I’ll be doing about an alternate version of an event or characters fate and how it would affect the Fallout universe and timeline.

In the years leading up to Fallout: New Vegas, the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel attempted to repair a power plant called HELIOS One, and activate its hidden offensive weapons. Unfortunately for the Brotherhood, the expanding New California Republic fought the Brotherhood for control of the facility and ultimately won due to superior numbers.

With that in mind, here’s today’s scenario:

What if the Brotherhood of Steel was able to maintain continued control of Helios One? How would that affect the political state of the Mojave and NCR–Legion War?

My thoughts:

The NCR military would’ve likely regrouped and tried to take it again. However, because of the reduced morale, it is likely they would’ve lost again. Ultimately, as the threat of the Legion became more pronounced, the NCR would probably sign a truce with the Brotherhood so they could focus on fighting the Legion.

The Brotherhood would’ve probably begun an military operation to cleanse nearby tech-rich areas like the Repconn Facility of ghouls and mutants. Black Mountain would also be a target, as the Brotherhood hates mutants and it would seek to control the working radio station there.

How would this affect Fallout New Vegas?

The Brotherhood would likely have its own main questline, as it would be stronger in this scenario. If it did not, it would have more significance, as it is possible Caesar would want to turn them against the NCR, only to betray them after the war of course.

What are your thoughts?