Though Fallout certainly leans far more heavily towards the fiction side of science-fiction media, some of the things players – and watchers, now – come across are truly wild to behold. One of them is the incredible Brotherhood of Steel airship, the Prydwen, which is prominently featured in Fallout 4.
Certainly, the jury is still out on whether the existence of the Prydwen is more ridiculous than that of Liberty Prime, but it’s an incredibly impressive sight nonetheless. Whether you first learned about the Prydwen while playing Fallout 4 or watching the Fallout TV show, you’re bound to be interested in what the airship actually is, how it works, and possibly most of all, why on earth does it even exist? On all of these fronts (and beyond!), we’ve got you covered.
The Prydwen, and its connection to Fallout 4, explained
The Prydwen is the mobile headquarters, operating base, and staging ground for the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 4 and the Fallout TV series, taking place in 2287 and 2296 respectively. Named after the mythical ship of King Arthur, the Prydwen is actually a post-War invention designed and built solely by the Brotherhood of Steel. An immense 40,000-tonne dirigible, the Prydwen had its maiden voyage in 2282, and though it can land if needed, that doesn’t ever happen unless the player decides to work against the Brotherhood in Fallout 4 to take it down.
As one would expect, the Prydwen is essentially the centerpiece of the Brotherhood’s efforts during the events of Fallout 4. The dirigible arrived at the Boston Airport, based on reports supplied by Paladin Danse, which suggested that the Institute was within reach.
Specifically, as the Brotherhood of Steel seeks out advanced (and pre-war) technology to prevent another catastrophic event such as the Great War, the presence of the Institute is an obvious threat to the organization’s mission. The existence of Synthetics, specifically, was a problem for the Brotherhood of Steel Elder Arthur Maxson, and upon learning of the Institute’s general whereabouts, he directed the Prydwen to Boston to serve as a forward operating base for the faction.
Though the Prydwen isn’t armed itself, it plays host to an entire fleet’s worth of modified Brotherhood Vertibirts, making it a powerful force multiplier for their efforts in Boston. As it moored at the Boston Airport, specifically, the Brotherhood had access to reliable pre-war energy infrastructure to keep it topped-up and airborne without unnecessary fuel expenditure. This, in turn, meant that the faction could easily deploy forces wherever needed during its engagements with the technologically advanced Institute, as well as have a safe place to rest between sorties.
As the Prydwen seems to appear during the events of the Fallout TV show, dropping off a platoon of knights to seek out Dr. Wilzig, an Enclave defector, it seems that the Brotherhood’s decisive strike against the Institute is canonized as successful, and the dirigible remained operational for years to come following the War of the Commonwealth.
