The Fallout series is famous for its varied and complex factions that appear throughout the irradiated post-apocalyptic United States. From the medieval-structured, technology-driven Brotherhood of Steel to the Roman-inspired, totalitarian dictatorship Caesar’s Legion, organizations and societies of all kinds have filled the vacuum left by the United States’ government to mold the lives of survivors continent wide. In recent Fallout entries, Bethesda Game Studios has created several new factions for players to join and interact with, such as the Minutemen, the Institute, and multiple raider clans. However, with Fallout 5 eventually being produced, Bethesda should consider featuring one particular faction in the next mainline entry to showcase a multi-game-long evolution: the Railroad.
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Fallout’s Railroad Faction Explained
In Bethesda’s first entry to the Fallout series, 2008’s Fallout 3, the majority of Fallout fans were introduced to the irritated east coast for the first time in Maryland and Virginia. Here, players encounter some familiar franchise factions, including the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave, but early hints at new factions were additionally introduced, such as the Church of the Children of Atom. If players explore the aircraft carrier turned commune Rivet City, they’ll eventually encounter two representatives named Dr. Zimmer and Victoria Watts. Both derive from the Massachusetts-based region known as the commonwealth but represent the opposing factions, the Institute and the Railroad.
For the quest The Replicated Man, players can choose either to aid Zimmer in capturing a runaway bio-synthetic humanoid from the Institute known as A3-21 or help Watts protect the Synth, renamed Harkness, from Zimmer’s intentions and ensure his freedom. This was initially the only direct interaction with representatives from the Commonwealth, but both factions eventually received time in the spotlight as two primary factions in 2015’s Fallout 4. Here, players can discover the headquarters of both factions, with the Institute being below the Commonwealth Institute of Technology and the Railroad being built underneath the Old North Church. Both factions oppose one another, with the Institute striving to advance pre-war science and the Railroad striving to liberate Synths from servitude.
The Possible Fates of The Railroad
In Fallout 4’s base campaign, players have the option to join either the Brotherhood of Steel, the Institute, the Minutemen, or the Railroad. If players primarily align themselves with the Railroad, they’ll be able to either coordinate with rebellious Synths within the Institute to stage a revolt, or they can simply stage an invasion of the Institute to free Synths. Siding with the Railroad will eventually lead to the destruction of both the Brotherhood’s Prydwen airship and the Institute’s headquarters. However, if players align themselves primarily with the Brotherhood or the Institute, they’ll eventually be dispatched to wipe out the Railroad.
The Railroad is based on the real life Underground Railroad network and movement to free enslaved African Americans from the late 18th century to the late 19th century.
The Railroad’s Potential Future in Fallout 5
Given the appearance of the Prydwen airship in Amazon Prime’s Fallout series, which is considered canon with the Fallout games, the Railroad’s fate may seem definitive. Based on the Prydwen’s appearance, the canon ending of Fallout 4 is either the Minutemen’s, which can keep the Brotherhood and Railroad relatively intact, or the Brotherhood’s. However, considering Elder Arthur Maxson’s disdain for the Synths, it’s unlikely the Prydwen would leave the Commonwealth without subduing the Railroad in some form. No matter Fallout 4’s definitive ending, parts of the Railroad’s organization and escaped Synths must have survived beyond the extermination of the Railroad’s headquarters. These remnants could easily go underground and continue helping remaining Synths more secretly.
Fallout 5 may not feature the Railroad in a major role as it did in Fallout 4, since the Institute will likely be confirmed as destroyed and the production of new Synths will cease. However, the Railroad could still act as a Synth civil rights organization even if most of its leadership is destroyed. The protagonist of Fallout 5 could potentially work with some Railroad remnants to help a threatened community of Synths from being destroyed or even help rebuild the Railroad to the somewhat powerful force it once was. This would continue the throughline concept of Synth liberation seen in recent Fallout games and continue pondering the question of what makes a person a person in a world filled with monsters, mutants, and robots.
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, invite you to the ambitious open world of Fallout 4. Do whatever you want in a massive Commonwealth with hundreds of locations, characters and quests.
As the sole survivor of Vault 111, only you can rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Join multiple factions vying for power or go it alone – the choices are yours.
From a Power Armor-toting soldier to the charismatic smooth-talker, be whoever you want with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. character system and develop your own playstyle from hundreds of Perks.
Experience exciting first- or third-person combat with the dynamic Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or V.A.T.S., targeting enemies for maximum tactical advantage (and cinematic carnage!) Collect, upgrade and build thousands of items with Fallout 4’s crafting system. Weapons, armor, food and with the right materials, even entire settlements are possible. Welcome home.
- Released
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November 10, 2015
- ESRB
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M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS