Paladin Danse is a member of the Brotherhood of Steel and a potential companion in Fallout 4. He’s rigid in his adherence to the Brotherhood’s tenets, but this proves to be his undoing later in the main quest.
To find Danse in Fallout 4, the player must venture to the old Cambridge Police Station. There, they’ll find the Paladin and his crew fighting off a horde of feral ghouls. Once the ghouls have been dealt with, the player can talk to Danse and trigger Brotherhood-related quests. To unlock Danse as a follower, the player must join the Brotherhood of Steel faction and complete the quests “Call to Arms,” “Fire Support,” and “Shadow of Steel.”
Danse’s Early Life in the Capital Wasteland
Danse lived in the Capital Wasteland when he was a child. He got by through scavenging, searching through old structures and buildings, then pawning off the scrap. Eventually, he saved up enough money to open a junk stand in Rivet City. There, he met a man named Cutler, and the two became fast friends. They stuck together and watched each other’s backs.
Sometime later, the Brotherhood of Steel arrived in Rivet City, looking for new recruits. Danse and Cutler felt it was an opportunity for a better life, so they joined. Both became Brotherhood Initiates, sponsored by one of the higher-ranking officers. Danse’s sponsor was a Paladin named Krieg. According to Danse, he was a model Brotherhood soldier.
Joining the Brotherhood of Steel
Despite his admiration for Krieg, the Paladin didn’t make his training easy. He pushed Danse harder than any of the other Initiates. Danse didn’t understand why, but he never questioned it, instead taking it in stride. Under Krieg’s care, Danse managed to climb the ranks of the Brotherhood, eventually landing the role of Paladin.
Throughout Danse’s time in the Brotherhood, he and Krieg fought alongside each other as allies. Though after Danse was promoted to Paladin, he received word that Krieg was killed fighting against Enclave troops at the Adams Air Force Base. Only much later did Danse realize why Krieg was so harsh. It was because he didn’t want Danse’s potential to go to waste.
Unfortunately, Danse’s troubles don’t end there. At some point, he and Cutler were assigned positions within the Prydwen. About a year after this assignment, Cutler went missing during a scouting assignment. Though it took some convincing, Danse got permission to spearhead a search operation.
It took nearly three weeks of searching before the team arrived at a super mutant camp, where they found the entire scouting team dead — all except Cutler. Danse’s friend had been kept alive and exposed to the Forced Evolutionary Virus, causing him to morph into a super mutant. Believing he had no other choice, Danse killed Cutler. Since then, he started hating super mutants for taking away his closest friend.
Arriving in the Commonwealth
Much later, Danse was assigned as the commanding officer of a recon team and sent to the Commonwealth to investigate the mysterious Institute. The dangers of the Commonwealth proved too much for the team, however. Before long, his team of seven was reduced to just three people — Paladin Danse, Knight Rhys, and Scribe Haylen.
One of their former teammates, Knight Worwick, suffered multiple gunshot wounds from a raider attack. When the team got to a safe place, Scribe Haylen tended to him. According to Danse, she stayed by Worwick’s side for two nights straight, refusing to sleep so that she could keep him alive. Despite this, Danse knew Worwick wasn’t going to make it, so she ordered Haylen to administer an overdose of painkillers. Haylen obeyed without question, but Danse knew she was going against her own wishes.
Later that night, Haylen went to Danse while he was on watch and wept. Danse was unsure of what to do, so he simply held her as she cried. After a while, Haylen stepped back, kissed Danse on the cheek, and headed back to the police station. Since then, Danse has questioned his own authority, wondering whether he was making the right calls.
This insecurity followed him as he continued to travel the Commonwealth. It’s even affected his physical condition. A terminal entry written by Haylen reveals that Danse has been suffering from constant headaches and the inability to sleep. She writes that this was likely caused by stress and fatigue. Haylen recommended that he rest but Danse refused.
Recruiting the Sole Survivor in Fallout 4
The Sole Survivor first meets Danse in the Cambridge Police Station, where he and his remaining teammates have holed up. After unlocking him as a companion and raising affinity with him, the player can learn his entire backstory. However, to trigger his personal quest, the player must progress the Brotherhood of Steel questline and finish the “Liberty Reprimed” quest.
Once this is done, Elder Maxson will summon the Sole Survivor and reveal that Danse is a synth. In the Institute’s records, Danse’s model is listed as “missing,” meaning that Danse was likely a rescued synth. Given this, most of the memories of his childhood were likely fabricated. The memories he actually experienced probably began with him meeting Cutler and joining the Brotherhood of Steel.
The player can find Danse in Listening Post Bravo. Upon arriving, they’ll be given a choice — either execute Danse or let him live. Killing him will reveal a synth component and his holotags on his dead body. After retrieving these, the player must return to Elder Maxson, and the quest ends.
Alternatively, the player can convince Danse that he isn’t a threat to humanity and that he should leave the Commonwealth instead. This will make Elder Maxson appear at the entrance of the bunker, where he’ll chastise the Sole Survivor for disobeying orders. The player will be given more options that will lead to Danse’s death. However, to keep him alive, the player needs to convince Maxson to let Danse live. Succeeding this leads to Danse’s exile from the Brotherhood.
After this, the player can then unlock one last affinity dialogue tree with Danse, where he openly talks about his internal struggle. He expresses how confused and distraught he is, knowing that everything he knew to be true was a lie. But even though he doesn’t know what to do, he reassures the Sole Survivor that he’s not giving up. In the end, he comes to terms with this new beginning and would happily travel with the Sole Survivor through their adventures in the wasteland.
Fallout 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.