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Fort Hope Survivors
Cleaners
As a whole
- Deadpan Snarker: Many of their atmospheric lines are quips of some sort. Holly is particularly sarcastic.
- The Immune:
- Most of them are immune to the Devil Worm and its mutating effects, explaining how they can be bitten or beaten to a pulp by the infected and not turn.
- Subverted for Mom, who Doc comments at one point that she is not truly immune, but rather is not a viable host for the Devil Worm. And the Worm, having the ability to detect this, simply chooses not to infect her.
Doc
- Voiced by: Michelle Wong
A former physician who works as a doctor in Fort Hope. She has been instrumental in keeping Fort Hope up and running with her medical skills, though this was far from the life she expected when she came to America. She is fiercely independent but allowed herself to sacrifice her social life in favor of her career. When the Collapse came to be, her no-nonsense attitude and pragmatic outlook served her well. Though her bedside manner can take some getting used to, no one denies she's one hell of a doctor and a mean shot to boot.
- Combat Medic: She isn't afraid to go out onto the front lines and go on missions, although she frequently admits to having no idea how her life turned out like this. Her special ability allows her to recover 25 hit points to a cleaner once per level.
- Does Not Like Spam: If her dialogue is anything to go by, she highly dislikes canned tuna.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Her real name is Sue, which you only ever hear if Doc and Mom are in the same team.
- I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: Despite being a doctor with little combat training, none before the Collapse (So much so that she admits that before, the only time she ever saw a gun was in movies and she previously didn't know the difference between an "SMG" and an "LMG"), she is often sent out into combat-related missions. She even says this word for word to Phillips, only for him to retort that "This is War.". It's heavily implied that before Act 2, Phillips has been conscripting people who are immune to the Devil Worm to be cleaners, even if they are ill-suited for combat or otherwise better off elsewhere.
- Labcoat of Science and Medicine: Wears a long white coat fitting her medical background.
- The Medic: Doc serves as one of Fort Hope's doctors, and she has the ability to heal teammates, even without the aid of healing items.
- Not That Kind of Doctor: Inverted. She theorizes about Ridden properties, but when asked if she can do further research, she explains that she's a medical doctor, not a scientist.
- My God, What Have I Done?: A minor version. She gets very upset when she realizes that she sent patients to a refugee center, which has since been overrun with the Ridden.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Parodied - one of Doc's lines for throwing an explosive is somewhat-non-sensical "Grab your asses goodbye!", complete with her voice having a shaky delivery.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: It's not a coincidence that the one out of the team who logically would have had the highest education from their past occupation is also the only one who wear glasses.
- Sour Supporter: Seems to have little faith in the the higher ups' orders, has no issue voicing her reservations, and honestly seems to think she was crazy to have acted as a cleaner. Nevertheless, she's a loyal-if-grumbling one.
- Sweet Tooth: As it turns out, Doc has a bit of an appetite for pre-collapse foods, especially candy. Picking items up will lead to her frequently rambling about candy or about wishing she had a steak or similar food.
- Doc: "Anyone see any candy bars?"
- This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: One of her responses to hitting a headshot has her declare "Here's my prescription, bitch!"
Evangelo
- Voiced by: Alan Ayala
The youngest and least experienced of the Cleaners, however, he has proven to be quick to pick up talent. He has proven himself to be good in a fight and loyal and reliable to his team. He does however talk a lot and is quick to express fear. But he is extremely eager to show that he has what it takes to be a Cleaner.
- The Baby of the Bunch: The youngest of the group, whose mind often wanders and can't help himself but make dumb quips or get rescued. The other cleaners find him endearing.
- Escape Artist: If Evangelo is pinned somehow, his special ability lets him break free on his own without the aid of his teammates.
- Happily Adopted: Holly has taken him in as her younger brother, he reciprocates as both lost their families and have come to lean on each other.
- The New Guy: He's new to the team and a bit panicky.
- The Pollyanna: He is infectiously cheerful despite it arguably being in a second zombie apocalypse.
Hoffman
- Voiced by: William Salyers
A meticulous individual, enthusiastic prepper, and conspiracy theorist. When the infection hit, he and his mother hunkered down and rode out the storm as the rest of the world fell into chaos. After his mother passed away in her sleep and his supplies ran out, he left his boarded-up house to face the world of the Devil Worm. Howard Robert Hoffman is genuinely skilled and good-hearted, with an earnest desire to be a useful part of the team. As part of the Cleaners, he's finally come across the family that he's always wanted - he just had to wade through the zombie apocalypse to find it.
- Abusive Parents: Hoffman apparently learned how to swim when his father took Hoffman out on a boat, pushed him into the water, and his father rowed back to shore himself. His mother's parenting style is less clear but presumed to have been less abusive which is why Hoffman mentions feeling some relief that his deceased mother died naturally and doesn't have to live through the hellish struggles that humans now face against the Ridden.
- Ascended Fanboy: As a doomsday prepper, the thing he'd always imagined going through actually happened and he faired much better than most of everyone else. In the trailers he seems to see fighting the Ridden as fun.
- Affectionate Nickname: Called Hoff by the other cleaners.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Believes in apparently all of them up to and including Reptilian Overlords.
- Crazy-Prepared: Being a prepper gave him the skills to ride out the apocalypse. The Ridden he kills has a chance of dropping ammo. He can also carry an extra use of offensive items.
- Cultured Badass: Some of his lines involve quoting Shakespeare and Tennyson. Though sometimes he gets the specifics confused...
- Innocently Insensitive: He claims that people aren't comfortable picking up a gun and following orders are too weak for this world. Mom tells him her son died following orders, to which he immediately backtracks.
- Loot-Making Attack: His special ability is giving the Ridden he kills a chance to drop ammo.
- Never Found the Body: He is adamant that his father is still alive and routinely goes on patrols in an attempt to find him.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Bears a shocking resemblance to Dan Aykroyd, albeit without his fascination with the paranormal. If you take that into consideration, it makes Hoffman a whole character reference to the conspiracy theorist played by Aykroyd in Film/Sneakers.
- No Social Skills: He was picked on ferociously throughout his childhood both by his peers and by his father. Eventually this escalated to the point where he simply stopped trying to connect with people and started keeping everyone at a distance. Ironically despite being Crazy-Prepared for every potential doomsday scenario, he was utterly unprepared for what would happen after, never realizing he would no longer be able to maintain his distance from society. As a result, he is extremely awkward with a tendency towards Too Much Information and general trouble relating to his fellow cleaners.
- Properly Paranoid: His doomsday prepper lifestyle means that he and his mother remain safe for quite some time and allows her the dignity of a natural death.
- He also highly distrusts the idea of going into the water. If Evangelo comments on the idea of simply swimming across the river in Act 1-4, Hoffman will react by asking if Evangelo knows what is in the water. As it turns out, the devil worms breed in the water and likely devour any unlucky cleaners who fall in.
- Too Much Information: Holly's favorite pastime is trolling Walker by asking Hoffman about either his conspiracy theories or his hygiene practices. Each time Hoffman does not get the joke, and answers both seriously and in depth often to Walker's frustration.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: His father never accepted him as Hoffman was not the outdoors-man that he was. Eventually his Dad's disdain turned to abuse, and their relationship was badly frayed by The Collapse. Despite this Hoffman secretly craved his father's approval and respect. Additionally, now that he is the only family Hoffman has left, he is desperate to find him.
Holly
- Voiced by: Danielle Judovits
After losing her family to the Devil Worm, Holly Forrester learned to channel all her energy into being a Cleaner, becoming the glue that keeps together in the process. Armed with her trusty nail spiked baseball bat she affectionately calls "Dottie", Holly's resilience and never-say-die attitude helps boost the team's morale and is often seen as a ray of light in the darkness of the apocalypse.
- Action Girl: While it's a requirement when you're a woman who's a part of the Cleaners, she stands out in being a close combat expert.
- Batter Up!: "Dottie", her trusty bat with a large amount of nails stuck in it. She regenerates stamina with melee kills, encouraging her to keep swinging.
- Although they changed this, most likely to keep her from being considered the only melee option, she still starts with a bat and gives increased stamina to help her keep swinging.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Has a little scar on her nose, but is otherwise an unblemished and beautiful young woman despite a life of constant melee combat with horrific monsters. Some of her in-game art doesn't even have the scar at all.
- Close-Range Combatant: Her special ability recovers stamina every time she kills a Ridden with a melee weapon, encouraging her to get up close and personal.
- As above, however, this was removed. Instead 'Adrenaline Rush' had instant stamina recovery added on to it in place of her original skill.
- Cute Bruiser
- Depending on the Artist: Holly's nose scar is clearly missing on a banner background that's named after her
and the B Positive background. - Expy: She's a comically upbeat bat-swinging maniac, evoking Harley Quinn. Even their first names are similar.
- Fitness Nut: One of her perks is based on her superior cardio, and many of the game's fitness-based cards feature her in various forms of exercise.
- Headbutting Heroes: With Karlee, who resents Holly's upbeat nature and more privileged background before the Ridden took over.
- The Heart
- I Call It "Vera": Holly starts every game with a baseball bat that she calls "Dottie."
- Jumped at the Call: Was largely directionless before everything collapsed, but quickly found purpose (and incredible talent) in being a Cleaner.
- Life Drain: Her new skill causes all kills she makes to give her 1 HP. This ties in to her appreciation of her new job helping others by removing Ridden and her general toughness.
- Lightning Bruiser: Her most common playstyle, where she smashes through hordes of Ridden with her bat like a tornado and has Life Drain and extra stamina to keep her going non-stop.
- Lovable Jock: Although Karlee would disagree.
- Meaningful Name: Her last name is Forrester, and she wears a shirt celebrating Allegheny National Forest which served as a location in Left 4 Dead.
- Plucky Girl: She tries to stay positive whenever possible. Her optimism does break down a couple of times, most frequently in conversations you can have in-game if she's on a team with Walker. One seems hardwired to always happen in the library in Act 1.
- The Pollyanna: Like everyone else, she's lost a lot to the Ridden, but she keeps up a sunny disposition regardless.
- Rugged Scar: Holly has a neat scar over her nose to assure you that she's not been untouched from wading into Ridden with a baseball bat.
- Sad Clown: Normally very cheerful and happy, but periodically the mask slips. When the collapse happened, her family was attacked and she fled for her life. As a result, she suffers from Survivor Guilt, wondering if she could have saved them, and hates her self for running in the first place. This is shown in her diary, which reveals a strong sense of self-loathing. Thankfully, she is starting to heal as being a cleaner has given her purpose.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Her default firearm, which pairs well with her bat when there's a Ridden (like a Reeker) that's best dealt with from a modest distance.
- Shout-Out: Her bat "Dottie," which is a reference to 'A League of Their Own'.
- Sincerity Mode: Asks Walker if he thinks the apocalypse will ever end, prefacing that it's not a set-up for a joke.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: A non-comedic example. She has a particular dislike of Hoffman, often calling him out for his callous remarks and not cutting him any slack. Hoffman, meanwhile doesn't mean to upset, he's just awkward around people.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: While she's comfortably within the tomboy archetype, some of her outfits, especially Plucky In Pink, show off her girly side.
- Tomboyish Baseball Cap
- Tomboyish Ponytail: In keeping with her overall tomboyish aesthetic, she keeps her hair in a noticeable ponytail.
- Troll: Likes to mess with Walker by asking Hoffman about his sanitary habits when he was in his bunker. Walker REALLY doesn't want to know anything even vaguely related to that.
Jim
- Voiced by: André Sogliuzzo
Nobody knows Finleyville and the surrounding country like Jim. From an early age, he would head out into the countryside with his father, hunting and trapping with the best of them. After a stint in the military, he returned home, only to see it ravaged by the Collapse. Now he's found his place among the most trusted cleaners. When not fighting back-to-back with his team, he's scouring the countryside of his beloved Pennsylvania routing out the Ridden infestation.
- American Accents: Has a thick West Pennsylvania accent, dropping the occasional "yinz".
- Attack Its Weak Point: Precision kills increase Jim's damage by five percent, stacking up to 50% more damage until he's hit.
- Hard Truckin': He occasionally (and unprompted, to the initial confusion of a cleaner responding to him starting) mentions that he used to drive trucks for a living.
- Hunter Trapper: He used to hunt and trap when he was younger, and also fished.
- Lost Pet Grievance: Occasionally mentions he caught so much fish around somewhere in Finleyville that he had to freeze them and give them to his dogs, who are what he misses the most from the Collapse.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: His starting weapon is a revolver.
Karlee
- Voiced by: Abby Trott
Having survived on the outskirts of Fort Hope since the Collapse, the only person Karlee trusts is herself. No one knows much about her, and she's fine with that. Though originally seen as a nuisance at best and a looter at worst, her actions have proved time and time again which side she's on. Now with the Ridden on the rise, she's made the choice to fight alongside the survivors. She may not be a Cleaner by name, but she more than makes up for it in attitude.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Is the only other cleaner receptive to (some of) Hoffman's theories, if only because they line up with her sense of cynicism.
- Hates Being Touched: Reacts poorly to other people healing her. She struggles to thank them and will anxiously ask them to stop and back off when the healing animation is done. No explanation is provided for this, though this theme to her character is quite clear.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Karlee's unique ability is that she can sense the presence of special Ridden, even through walls and even if the rest of the party hasn't seen them yet.
- Mysterious Past: Was a criminal before the collapse, and after. However, the extent of her activities are unknown as she is completely hostile to any questioning. All that can be determined is she ran with a smuggling ring at some point, was detained before, and previously supplied Dr. Rogers' experiments. However, paperwork found on a desk◊ in The Handyman mission describes her as guilty of possession of illegal weapons and substances, disorderly conduct, assault and battery, unlawful discharge of weapons indoors and extortion.
- Never My Fault: While all the other cleaners (generally) apologize for friendly fire incidents, Karlee refuses to take any responsibility for any friendly fire incidents she causes ever, always deflecting blame back onto the victim.
- The Cynic: Her bread and butter. Reacts poorly to being healed, chastises herself for using supplies to help others, and is very sarcastic when being revived or reviving others. When she does thank her teammates, she does so very tersely and awkwardly.
Mom
- Voiced by: Barbara Crampton
The only person surprised that Mom became the voice of the survivors in Finleyville is Mom herself. She's never shirked from a challenge and always puts the needs of others over her own. Still, for one who's used to bucking authority, her newfound responsibility sometimes weighs uneasily on her. Although she has faith in her Cleaners, Mom has questioned other leaders' strategies on more than one occasion, especially since the death of her son. Mom's goal is simple: make the Ridden pay.
- Captain Ersatz: Not herself at the base, but her Battle Hardened outfit is pretty obviously designed after Sarah Connor in Terminator: Dark Fate.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Her full name's actually Christine Tuttle, but no other cleaner besides Hoffman or Doc calls her that. Evangelo doesn't learn her real name at all until the cutscene for the first mission in the game.
- Expy: She's a distaff Bill Overbeck.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Her Pre-Apocalypse costume shows how she looked back in the day, and she was quite beautiful.
- Outliving One's Offspring - By the time of the start of the main story, her son, Jason, is dead. According to promotional material, he died when Phillips sent him off on an unknown mission. It's only by grace of Doc's support that she managed to keep it together and overcome the grief well enough to continue fighting.
- Rugged Scar: A scar over her lips clearly indicates that Mom is used to more than just caring for her team.
- Seen It All: She's survived plenty of monsters even before the Collapse, and when healing, sometimes says that she's seen worse.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Her starting weapon is "The Belgian", a sawn-off double-barrel shotgun.
- Team Mom: Mom is the effective leader of the team and makes sure they get out alive. She grants her entire team one extra down, has an extra support item use, and can instantly revive one of her teammates for free once per level.
- Swapped around to an ally getting downed giving the rest of the team 25 temporary health as well as a team wide increase in revival but no longer granting extra lives. This helps make her more of an all rounder rather than than a somewhat specific support, as well as making the the revival to Doc's healing.
Walker
- Voiced by: William Christopher Stevens
The oldest of five siblings, Elijah Walker was born in Evansburgh to a hardworking, blue-collar family. The former Army Ranger and war-torn veteran is highly skilled with a wealth of front-line combat experience. Walker is a man of few words, but when he speaks, he commands the attention of his fellow Cleaners, who all respect his commitment to the fight.
- Boom, Headshot!: His abilities grant him additional weapon accuracy for making precision kills (i.e. headshots and weakpoints).
- Removed in the major update and instead implied by his callouts making the highlighted take 10% more damage implying some instruction on good spots to hit.
- Depending on the Artist: Walker's obvious scar on his left cheek is missing on a banner background named after him.
- First Friend: An exchange Walker can have in-game with Hoffman reveals that he didn't lose anyone in the Collapse, because he didn't have anyone in his life at the time. He'd simply never bothered to form those kinds of bonds until after civilization fell.
- Heroic Build: The most muscular of the Cleaners, and by far the most determined and least confrontational of the cast.
- The Leader: Among the eight cleaners, Walker seems to be the guy that everybody looks up to and respects.
- Ranger: As his background says, he was an army ranger and naturally about as a good a fit one could find to fight and lead against relentless zombies.
- Rugged Scar: He has a large scar from his left cheek that has three parts and goes up to his nose. As the one with the most combat experience out of the cleaners, he correspondingly also has the largest scar out of them.
- Right Man in the Wrong Place: His training as an army ranger is a key factor in how he was able to survive and act effectively as a cleaner.
Sharice
A former Pittsburgh firefighter.
Introduced in the first expansion, Tunnels of Terror.
- Homemade Inventions: Downplayed - when she's around, that's why "makeshift armor" can be dropped from Ridden whose armor has been knocked off before death or found around the environment. While it definitely does beggar belief she can somehow prepare these as the cleaners go about their grisly business, the idea of cobbling together mere metal plates for protection isn't too outlandish of a concept and knocking them off of Ridden is really just reappropriating armor anyway.
- Sole Survivor: She's the last one remaining from her former-firefighting team, and may be the last survivor from the Evansburgh settlement which is overrun throughout the first act.
- Tomboy: Even more than Holly - Sharice has shorter hair and far more muscular arms, mentions having spent many summers in her youth repairing vehicles and other heavy equipment, and was in the heavily male-dominated career of firefighter (statistics in 2019 project around 8% of firefighters in the United States are female).
Heng
An elderly man and former restaurant owner.
Introduced in the first expansion, Tunnels of Terror.
- Big Eater: His character abilities all center around eating food left out around the map. He even gets the benefits of food his allies eat.
"Prophet" Dan
A faith leader of some kind, weather it be a minor cult or a strange contemporary religious branch is unclear, but when the Children Of The Worm took his congregation he joined the cleaners to help get back his flock. Introduced in Children Of The Worm.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's not readily clear if he has any actual power or not but his character effect, giving bonuses for picking teammates back up, is the most strange and unexplained out of the bunch.
