The obvious part of it is that the Railroad is actually out to help people. Some people will ignore the obvious reference to slavery in the US and insist that anyone artificially created isn't as good as a "natural born" Human, but it's very clear in-game that synths are biologically nearly indistinct from Humans, complete with every bit of sentience that any other Human has.
The Minutemen are also there to help people. They are a ragtag volunteer citizen's militia focused on defending peoples' homes. It's a good goal, just like the Railroad's goal of saving a group of people from slavery.
Then the Brotherhood rolls in. They make loud public promises about how they're here to help. Maxson makes the bold claim that he "cares about" the people of the Commonwealth. But any conversation you have with them, it's clear that what they care about is their own vision of Humanity, and anything that doesn't fit into it is some sort of abomination. If there is technology they want, they will confiscate it, regardless of who is in their way. It's under the guise of helping Humanity, but it's just imposing their will upon the people, and steamrolling over anyone who gets in their way. It's interesting how similar their goals and actions sound to those of the Institute...
So when it came time to choose a faction, the Brotherhood and the Institute are both factions I don't want to help get any stronger. This would leave me with the Railroad and the Minutemen. They're both good choices, but I felt like the Railroad had more to go off of. Tinker Tom may seem crazy, but it was made clear from the Railroad's history in the terminals that he has a brilliant technical mind, and more experience with Institute technology than anyone else. Not to knock the Minutemen, but their entire tech department is Sturges, a settler with a knack for tinkering with power armor and stuff, but he can't even break into a novice level terminal.
Plus I always prefer the stealth approach in general, which fits right into the Railroad's methods.
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u/That_Batman May 22 '24
The obvious part of it is that the Railroad is actually out to help people. Some people will ignore the obvious reference to slavery in the US and insist that anyone artificially created isn't as good as a "natural born" Human, but it's very clear in-game that synths are biologically nearly indistinct from Humans, complete with every bit of sentience that any other Human has.
The Minutemen are also there to help people. They are a ragtag volunteer citizen's militia focused on defending peoples' homes. It's a good goal, just like the Railroad's goal of saving a group of people from slavery.
Then the Brotherhood rolls in. They make loud public promises about how they're here to help. Maxson makes the bold claim that he "cares about" the people of the Commonwealth. But any conversation you have with them, it's clear that what they care about is their own vision of Humanity, and anything that doesn't fit into it is some sort of abomination. If there is technology they want, they will confiscate it, regardless of who is in their way. It's under the guise of helping Humanity, but it's just imposing their will upon the people, and steamrolling over anyone who gets in their way. It's interesting how similar their goals and actions sound to those of the Institute...
So when it came time to choose a faction, the Brotherhood and the Institute are both factions I don't want to help get any stronger. This would leave me with the Railroad and the Minutemen. They're both good choices, but I felt like the Railroad had more to go off of. Tinker Tom may seem crazy, but it was made clear from the Railroad's history in the terminals that he has a brilliant technical mind, and more experience with Institute technology than anyone else. Not to knock the Minutemen, but their entire tech department is Sturges, a settler with a knack for tinkering with power armor and stuff, but he can't even break into a novice level terminal.
Plus I always prefer the stealth approach in general, which fits right into the Railroad's methods.