Characters for Dead State so far:

Splendid School Survivors.

Agatha "Aggro" Moss

A laid back musician found in a distant bar. She's on her own and waiting for someone named Alan Who was her ex-husband and manager, divorced after he was caught in bed with a bandmate of hers, but is willing to join the player. She isn't bothered by zombies at all, or the apocalypse itself for that matter.

Alpha Bitch: To a degree, in the beginning. She's dismissive of the player and the Shelter (“It could be less lame. Also not in Texas.”) and responds to all questions about her personal life with irritation, most likely due to the culture shock in which she went from semi-famous musician to 'just another survivor'. She warms up to the player if given enough time, though.
Celebrity Survivor: Aggro was a relatively well-known local musician.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: She is a bit, well... detached, especially considering the situation she is in.
Erudite Stoner: Aggro enjoys anything smokable, from pot to cigars.
Nature Lover: Not just as a euphemism for pothead. Aggro is one of the best farmers in the game, and often comes to talk to the player about how she loves farming.
Nerves of Steel: She has the “Unfazed” trait, meaning the infected can't scare her or make her panic.
Optional Sexual Encounter: She makes the advance on the player for an one night stand, makes it VERY clear on that you don't press the issue with her.

Aimee Sysko

A tattoo artist found in a coffee house after living alone for weeks.

Granola Girl: Less vegan, more hipster. Smokes weed, does tattoos, worked in a coffee bar that had a tattoo parlor in back.
Iron Woobie: Had to stay in her coffee shop/tattoo parlor for weeks, was surrounded by the undead, was Driven to Suicide with her boyfriend but backed out at the last minute forcing her to watch her boyfriend die painfully from the botched suicide, and live with his corpse stuffed in a back room until you got there. Despite all that she's still trying to keep it together.
Plucky Girl: All things considered (her boyfriend got her to agree to a suicide pact, which she backed out of at the last moment and had to watch him die, forcing her to spend weeks living alone in a bar with his body dumped in a back room)she has a very good attitude about things. She's also relatively capable in combat.

Anita Cass

Mother of Renee Cass. Truck driver. She starts the game automatically recruited.

Action Mom: Anita is the most combat-worthy of the starting allies.
The Alcoholic: Formerly. Her Husband helped her quit.
Happily Married: She was happily married to Renee's dad before he died, long before the events of the Game. She even mentions for the first time she's glad he's dead as it means he doesn't have to live in the Zombie Apocalypse.

Olaf "Bud" Larsen

Vietnam War veteran. Has to be talked into finally realizing that his wife is turned and that there is no cure for her. After putting her down he follows you back to your Shelter.

Cool Old Guy: He's in his 60's, can pick off a zombie 200 yards away, and is one of the calmer members. Also doesn't care about the fact Paul is openly gay.
Do Not Call Me "Paul": Bud's real name is Olaf.
Glass Cannon: He has lower HP and dodge than other combat built characters. However he has one of the highest ranged skill and perception.
Long-Range Fighter: His low health and emphasis on Ranged make Bud a bad choice for close combat.
The Lost Lenore: His wife was bitten and turned some time before you wake up. He puts her down once he finally accepts she's dead and can't come back. He is shown to be really sad about it, but he's coping.
Older Than They Look: He looks pretty good for a 60 year old veteran. Word of God is that he's modeled on an actual 60 year old Vietnam veteran.
Old Soldier
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Played with and averted. When you first find him he's rather disoriented, defensive, and irrational. Turns out it's because for the past few weeks he's only gotten a few hours sleep while defending himself from zombies. Once he gets to the shelter and gets some sleep he's one of the calmer survivors.

Carlton "Sir Charleston" Harriets

A man who acts and dresses like a medieval knight.

Crazy Sane: It seems that his delusions of knighthood may be the thing keeping him going.
Epiphany Therapy: How you can potentially cure his knighthood delusion. He will at one point demand that you take him to "reclaim the kingdom of Mingolf". When completing this objective, Sir Charleston will notice that something isn't right; at this point, you can push him to confront his delusion, causing him to remember his real identity as Carlton Harriets.
Knight in Shining Armor: Literally.
The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Inverted. Mechanically, his knighthood delusion enhances his strength and vigor stat, and it appearently also grands him Ideal Illness Immunity. If you manage to bring him back to his senses, Carlton will instead gain boosts to his perception and agility, and can become sick again.
Mighty Glacier: He's completely melee oriented with perks that make him kill zombies faster. This is combined with the fact he has the second-best armor in the game.
Shout-Out: He's effectively Don Quixote during the Zombie Apocalypse.
Snap Back: A somewhat depressing version. You can cure Carlton of his delusion, but if his morale bottoms out, he will leave the shelter, having reassumed the indentity of Sir Charleston.

Clifford Ghaffey

A Bullseye clerk found near Abilene. He's locked himself inside his store and has been surviving on his own until the player rescues him.

Attempted Rape: If both him and Aimee are recruited, he will at one point attempt to rape her. Whether he succeeds or not may depend on conversation choices. Also, if your character is female, he he feels she owes it to him to let him touch her boobs.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Clifford has plenty of less gratuitous sides; including having a bad temper, being very selfish, and prone to frequently making both vicious and creepy statements, and having him hanging around the Shelter gives a moral penalty of 5 every day. He is, however, a very good fighter.
Hate Sink: Of the shelter, unlike other timebombs in the Shelter, Clifford is completely unlikable and barring his combat skills offers next to nothing to shelter in universe except "suggestions" on how the girls should be prettier so he can hit on him. His less than stellar relationship with others only drives it further that if not for his combat skills he would left to die outside the shelter as he has virtually nothing to offer
Icy Blue Eyes: Quite fitting with his brutal and selfish personality.
Incidental Villain: When you recruit him, Clifford admits that when the apocalypse first started, his coworkers came to the Bullseye for shelter, and he locked them out and laughed while they were eaten. His justification is that he never liked them much anyway.
Token Evil Teammate: The only one without a genuinely redeeming personality. The best the player can hope for is to keep him reeled in but he will never become more sincere unlike some other less savory characters.

Craig Sullivan

A Hospital tech found wandering around Texas with Karen after they escaped the fall of a state shelter.

Genius Bruiser: For a lab technician he knows how to fight, his high science means any melee weapon he uses has poison damage. Given his past as part of gang who did drugs, it is proven to be an asset
Panicky Expectant Father: Craig is very excited, and somewhat nervous, about the thought of becoming a father during the apocalypse.

Davis Cray

A former firefighter who worked in the school now used as a shelter by the player and his group. As a wheelchair user, Davis cannot be deployed in the field, and as such he serves as an organizer around the school and monitors the radio broadcasts.

Beware the Nice Ones: He's very polite and all around nice guy. But if you prove to be a terrible or incompetent leader, he'll be the one who shoots you.
Career-Ending Injury: Davis was a firefighter whose spine was broken during a roof collapse.
Crutch Character: Bad pun aside, the fact he can't be taken into the field serves a gameplay purpose; so that no matter what happens there is at least one person at the shelter and can repair the fence.
Didn't See That Coming: If your morale is too far into the negative by day 30, Davis will execute the player, which means game over.
Handicapped Badass: Despite being bound to his wheelchair, Davis is helpful around the Shelter, building upgrades and organizing items and people.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Davis acts as a guide for the player, making helpful suggestions and organizing meetings between the various factions around the Shelter.

Darlene Lumpkin

A waitress with a hidden mean streak. She served as Ulysses' personal protector during his stint as the leader of his own group of survivors.

Berserk Button: Don't let Ulysses die or she will be perpetually pissed off at you.
Romance Arc: Eventually falls in love with Vic
Team Mom: If Ryan is still alive, Darlene becomes this for Ryan, serving as a surrogate mother who stands up for him.

Doug Shultz

20-something geek who was trying to fly to the Caribbean to rule over an island until the Zombie Apocalypse was over. Instead the plane crashed in the middle of Texas and he's stuck in a school with no Internet.

The Friend Nobody Likes: This to the group, really. His abrasive personality comes with a 3 point morale penalty each day. However, he has decent starting stats, runs the decryption system that allows you to discover the game's lore and backstory, and is responsible for most of the games' Funny Moments.
Jack of All Stats: His stats are pretty average all around and he dabbles a bit in most skills, which makes him a decent addition for most shelter tasks and scavenger teams.
Jerkass Has a Point: As abrasive and rude as Doug is, he brings up a number of good ideas to the player.
Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Doug is rather smart, have decent science stats, and knows a great deal about IT technology. Problem is that he thinks he knows a lot more than he really does, such as fancying himself a Cunning Linguist. Case in point; his attempts at speaking Japanese to Michiru can be described as Epic Fail.
- He also doesn't know the difference between the military internet and civilian internet. (He goes on a rant about how the internet was designed to outlast the collapse of normal society, questioning how can it be down).
Occidental Otaku: Doug learned all his Japanese from watching anime.
Ungrateful Bastard: You'd think he'd be a little thankful to the survivors for saving his life (and using a significant number of rare antibiotics to do so), but instead, the moment he wakes up, he starts ordering everyone around. When this doesn't fly, he considers them to be the ungrateful ones for not appreciating his genius.
Undying Loyalty: Will stand alongside you during the final encounter if you put up with his antics.

Effrem Montague

A former con artist who the player recruits during a random event.

Con Man: His former lifestyle.
Con Men Hate Guns: He outright says he doesn't like them and refuses to use them except to hold up people. He thus won't put any points into the Ranged skill.
- On his deathbed he will confess, his best friend was killed in front him while he was a wheelman by a gun. This made him scared of actually using a gun. He wouldn't mind pointing it at someone to steal something however
Dirty Coward: Claims that he'll pull the pin on the grenade he has and take you both out when you meet him. You can call his bluff rather easily and he runs away fast if you don't recruit him.
Everything Is Racist: Everything, no exceptions. There isn't a single situation that Effrem won't blame on racism, even if your character is also black.
Gentleman Thief: Claims to be this, but his abrasive attitude and short temper says otherwise.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Not only does Effrem have a limitless supply of race cards to play, but he's pretty angry about it.
Token Evil Teammate: For Paul's group of survivors, he is the only not to bat an eye if you kill neutral survivors given his previous experiences involving looters.

Elaine Martin

A flight attendant who survived the plane crash at the beginning of the game, although the experience has left her traumatized and unable to contribute to the Shelter at first.

Combat Medic: While she doesn't max out medical and have the speed perk Renee has she still has a high medical and is combat capable.
Doom Magnet: She considers herself one, because she unwittingly caused a plane to crash by trying to get into the cockpit where her boyfriend was. Only three people survived the crash, including her.
Shattered Sanity: Elaine starts the game traumatized and needs to be talked into snapping out of it.
Xenafication: Through certain dialogue choices, Elaine can emphasize combat skills and abilities rather than being a counselor, and ends up one of the better fighters.

Fiona Parks

Dark and Troubled Past: Grew up with a happy family. At least until she saw her mother walked out on them and her father entering a depression before a botched suicide attempt that left him unable to take care of himself. He died just before Fiona's graduation and the apocalypse causes all the trauma to come back.
Driven to Suicide: If imprisoned for a murder of another Shelter inhabitant, Fiona will commit suicide in her cell.
Not Quite the Right Thing: It seems like the best thing you can do is to be supportive and to open to her feelings. But, you have to be dismissive to her to avoid her becoming Yandere for you.
Informed Ability: She is a skilled fighter, medical and survival skills thanks to her father's training as a soldier.
Yandere: Fiona becomes obsessed with the Player, to the point where she's willing to murder other members of the Shelter because they were a perceived threat. She will also fight alongside the player during the final battle

Gillian DeVries

A woman found surviving alone in the city.

The Artful Dodger: Gillian gains an evasion chance if her panic level increases
Give Me Back My Wallet: She will only join if you retrieve her cigarette lighter back from the mercenary leader
I Work Alone: while she's willing to be part of the scavenging team if the player tells her to, she prefers sneaking out and scavenging on her own. Initially, in fact, she is so secretive about it she has the entire shelter worried about where she's gone.
Token Good Teammate: The only one in Lloyd's group to object to killing neutral survivors and the least abrasive of the bunch

Grant White

A man recruited from a house found distant from the Shelter. He's a smooth talker and bribes his way into the group with an offering of food.

Affably Evil: Grant is recruited under very suspicious circumstances: You find him alone in a house, with a full bag of food and a dead elderly couple still in their bed. He swears they were like that when he found them.
The Charmer: He seems to have a special knack for talking his way out of problems.
Crutch Character: Grant is one of the better melee fighters available early on, has well-rounded stats (notably he can handle a gun in a pinch, unlike many other characters), provides useful information and supplies, and isn't troublesome to keep happy. However, he becomes outclassed over time by specialist fighters, and eventually proves to be an active detriment to the group thanks to his murderous tendencies.
Cynicism Catalyst: As a banker, he had his share of dealing with people who would ask them for a loan even when it is clear they have no credit for it as they beg him for it when he says no. When his daughter gets killed by zombies and his wife gets infected trying to save her. He kills her so he doesn't have to put up with her constant moaning and whining.
Despair Event Horizon: If Grant gets infected, he snaps and kills himself the day after.
Expy: Of Patrick Bateman. Problem is that there is no society to blend back into.
The Sociopath: He murders Mia, Jennifer and Lane by beating her head in because she's not useful enough according to him, and doesn't show a shred of guilt or remorse if confronted. This is is made extra worse because Mia and Lane are also Lloyd's supporters and he doesn't even bat an eye about killing allies.
There Is No Kill Like Overkill: When an infected Grant commits suicide, he makes damn sure he won't reanimate by point blank annihilating his own head with a shotgun.

Harold Kyun

An Aeronautic Engineer and Eagle scout who thought he would be safe out in the wild. When the apocalypse came full circle, he tried to head back only to see the world has gone to hell and was able to escape with Darlene and Ulysses' help

Crazy Survivalist: Subverted, like Nathan. He is an Eagle Scout who knew how to survive out in the wild.
Killed Offscreen: If you do not recruit Ulysses group of survivors during the first encounter He will die along with Isobel
Non-Action Guy: He isn't much good at combat and suffers a penalty to hitting living targets and his low strength counters the fact that he can carry more. He does have the best survival and mechanical skills however.

Isobel Dee

A science teacher who's family is safe in Vermont and planned to evacuate from San Antonio when she was saved by Ulysses and Darlene. She can be recruited along with Harold during the negotiation.

Killed Offscreen: If you do not recruit Ulysses group of survivors during the first encounter She will die along with Harold
Work Hard, Play Hard: Gains a morale boost if she has a job and makes more items than anyone else. She also enjoys Bourbon and whole bean coffee and explain how her uncle made her a bourbon lover and her husband a coffee lover.
Workaholic: Isobel gives morale just from doing any kind of job due to her industrious trait.

Jenifer Strong

A young woman who locked herself in a hotel supply room when the apocalypse started and hasn't left since. When she meets the player, she isn't even aware that the dead have started walking.

Foreshadowing: Variety of her earlier interactions will hint on her true mental state.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Jenifer is a very kind person, who treats everyone thoughtfully, helping where she can. She seems very innocent and trusting, and somewhat naive. She tells the player that the bellboy went outside to barricade the windows a few weeks ago and never returned; she thinks that he went for help.
Mission Control Is Off Its Meds: She needs anti-psychotics or she starts to lose it.
The Paranoiac: The main symptom of her psychosis.

Jodie Hopkins

A mentally handicapped man found in a car repair shop. He seems barely aware of his surroundings and can be easily convinced to leave his shop.

Gender-Blender Name: Jodie doesn't like when people point out that he has a girls name.
Grease Monkey: All he wants to do is work on cars.
Hollywood Autism: It's not exactly clear what's wrong with Jodie, but this trope played straight for the most part.

Joel Oswalt

One third of the Splendid police force. Somewhat slow, but well-meaning, Joel is one of your starting allies.

Apologetic Attacker: He tends to shout apologies to whoever he's attacking. Even if they're zombies.
Bumbling Sidekick: Vic tends to see him as this. He is not entirely wrong.
- Can be played straight or subverted in his perk choice. You can tell him that while he's useless in the field he's great at jobs. This will lead to him helping to complete upgrades faster. Or you encourage him that he's still a good fighter. This leads to a combat perk.
Clueless Deputy: Joel is kind of an idiot, and generally unlucky as well. About two weeks into the game, he nearly shoots Davis by accident while cleaning his gun. Lloyd mockingly calls him Barney Fife because of his ineptitude.
Dare to Be Badass: One of the two perk choices is telling him to get back into the field and try harder.

Lane Vibesit

A radio DJ who was surviving in his remote studio. His broadcasts can be listened to every day, and he can tell you about locations on the map. It's possible to find his studio and bring him to the Shelter.

Amazon Chaser: When his advances towards Aggro go un-reciprocated, Lane mentions considering going after Regina instead.
Broken Ace: He has some of the highest stats in the game, but he's not the best person. However, he's nowhere near as bad as some of the other potential members of the shelter.
The Cynic: Lane does not feel very optimistic about the future, so much in fact, that he gets irritated with the player for staying positive.
Dirty Coward: Calls himself that. He straight ups admits during a broadcast that he's too afraid to even open the window in case a zombie hears him. Problem is that it's the middle of a Texan summer.
- His combat quotes also shows as he would mope about how he is going to be killed.
Disc-One Nuke: If you know exactly what to do you can get him pretty early on and he has some of the highest stats.
Mission Control Is Off Its Meds: Heat exhaustion, isolation, fear, and anger at the looters causes some of his announcing to turn strange. He's usually better the next day but it can be a bit surreal.
Stalker with a Crush: For Aggro. He won't take no for an answer (if the player doesn't have enough points in dialogue skills), and eventually gets the shit beat out of him.
- If you recruit Lane with Aggro, he will notice and Aggro makes it clear that she will not put up with his antics. However he would leave with Aggro if you somehow piss her off during her recruitment and it takes a leadership/negotiation check to keep him
Too Dumb to Live: Makes the mistake of mentioning Grant during his rants. Ends up as the last murder victim if you chose to keep it a secret
Voice of the Resistance: Well, Voice of Survival but it still counts. He gives out info, plays music, links a bunch of the other survivors groups together.

Karen Landey

A survivor who left a military shelter along with Craig after it got overrun due to increasingly harsh conditions.

Ace Pilot: Can pilot helicopters.
Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Averted. She's been having some mild complication, plus the concerns of bringing in a baby into the Zombie Apocalypse.
- It is possible to convince Karen to keep the baby if you have the right skills. Unlike typical examples in other media, this is not an all-good thing to do.
Pregnant Badass: Karen is a surprisingly good member to take into the field, to the point where the player is forced to decide between her position in the scavenging party or the baby.

Lightning

A dog who arrives at the Shelter on day 22. He won't panic in battle, has an insane 19 AP, and can draw enemies out with his bark action.

Action Pet: Lightning can be used in combat, and can also be assigned to guard duty back at the Shelter.
Evil-Detecting Dog: Lightning can detect nearby undead, with a dialogue line appearing over his model.
Good Bad Bugs: In an early build he could be sent out to retrieve the car. In the current build of the game, dogs can no longer drive.
Post-Apocalyptic Dog

Lloyd McCroskey

A former mercenary who has been preparing a plane to get out of Texas.

Ace Pilot: Lloyd can fly planes, and can get the player and allied survivors out of Texas at the end of the game.
Crutch Character: His stats and his skills are incredibly high across the board, making him the best person you can have on your team...assuming you're willing to pay his exorbitant price to work for one day.
Entitled Bastard: Not only does he refuse to help out around the shelter for free, but he also thinks he deserves a leadership position and a voice in telling the protagonist how to run things.
Hated by All: Not very well liked by the people in the shelter and his supporters are prone to infighting and even murder.
Jerkass: Work for many warlords in the past, as mercenary as they come, and generally an all around ass. However he's one of few ways to win the game.
Karma Houdini: Outside of killing him during scavenge runs, he avoids a plot related death unlike the other subleaders. They must either play ball with Lloyd or risk losing him for good.
The Slacker: Not because he isn't capable (he is, very much so), but because he refuses to lift a single finger for the group except if bribed with food or coffee, and even then he only works for a single day, knowing that his piloting skill makes him nigh-indispensable. After a while, you can force him to work through community vote, but he's none too happy about it.
Token Evil Teammate: His decisions in the shelter revolves around making the most ammoral decisions and the only one who would approve of culling of the herd if things get desperate enough.
Vetinari Job Security: He's the only survivor who knows how to fly a plane, which would make him indispensable in getting everyone out of the area if they could only find all the parts needed to repair it. He knows this and he knows you know this, which is why Lloyd is content to loaf around reaping the benefits of everyone else's labor.
We Have Reserves: His reasoning for not jailing or killing criminals in the shelter, stating they can be made useful as zombie fodder or as a distraction. His strategy for the Coyote also revolves around this.

Mark Corbeau

A chef rescued from a Truck stop along with Ryan and Michiru. Can boost morale at the Shelter by making meals for people.

Camp Cook: Corbeau was a chef before the apocalypse, and can be one in the Shelter as well.
- Depending on the Perk choice he can become even better at this.
Cordon Bleugh Chef: Less about the chefs skill and more about the ingredients he has to work with. Notably, his meals are considered excellent by everyone else in the Shelter.
"Don't ask what this is, just eat it."
Fire-Forged Friends: The short stay together with Michiru and Ryan in the Truck stop made him extra-protective about them.
Let's Get Dangerous!: Corbeau can emphasize fighting with a knife instead of cooking.
Team Dad: Refuses to leave Ryan and Michiru behind. And he spent weeks keeping them alive before the Player finds them.

Max Getz

A man who arrives at the Shelter covered in blood and barely conscious. He refuses to talk about what happened to him, and just wants to keep killing zombies.

Ax-Crazy: Arrives with his signature axe, which he's more than proficient with.
Blood Knight: Will complain at you if you don't take him into the field for a couple of days.
Crutch Character: Potentially. He's great when you first get him, and he'll remain that way for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, improving his morale is very difficult, and he'll leave after a few days if it sees no significant improvement.
The Cynic: Just like Lane and anyone who had to firsthand watch their loved one die horribly. He suffers from the Nothing Gold Negative Perk, combined with Unhinged means that he is a constant tax on morale even if he settles his personal issues
Dark and Troubled Past: Unlike most examples, the past was something that happened in the first two and a half weeks of the apocalypse. Something happened that made him into a Death Seeker driven to kill zombies, and who hates schools. If he warms up to you sufficiently, you learn that he was a science teacher at another school which was used as a Shelter. Things went badly, and he had to fight his way out, as well as put down his zombified wife.
Death Seeker: Several characters suspect Getz's desire to slay zombies comes from a wish for death.
Defrosting Ice King: He refuses to say anything about himself, and is reluctant to talk in general. If you can improve his mood, he'll finally tell you his story, and with some counselling, you can rid him of his Unhinged trait, making him a more welcome individual at the shelter.
Disk One Nuke: Max is a physical giant and arrives clutching the best melee weapon you'll be seeing for a long time. His guaranteed appearance within the first few weeks of play significantly alleviates the Early Game Hell you've probably been experiencing up to that point.
Genius Bruiser: His strength and vigor scores are high and he's deadly with an axe, but you'll also notice that he has some skills in Science too. He was a science teacher after all.
Heroic BSoD: Once you learn his backstory it becomes obvious that he's suffering from severe PTSD and needs treatment. Problem is that there are no PTSD counselors left alive anywhere near you.
The Insomniac: Getz has trouble sleeping at night and doesn't use a bed like the other characters. The Player Character mentions that it would put them a lot more at ease if they can just figure out where he sleeps.
Made of Iron: The man somehow stumbled to the Shelter, delirious, dehydrated, covered in someone elses' blood, all without a scratch on him.
Pillow Pistol: Other characters frequently accuse him of sleeping with his axe.
Punny Name

Melina Guzman

Oscar's wife, starts the game infected when the couple is found in the pharmacy at San Saba.

Happily Married: To Oscar. They're so in love that everyone gets a morale boost just from having them around the Shelter.
Informed Judaism: Melina is Jewish, but the only way you find out is because she takes offense to the preaching Todd does in the cafeteria.
Language Barrier: She only speaks a word or two of English and needs her husband to translate. This leads to a reduced accuracy in the field.
The Watchmaker: Literally - Melina comes from a family of watchmakers, and has one of the highest Mechanical scores in the game.
Zombie Infectee: Melina is infected when you recruit her, and need antibiotics every day to keep her from turning.

Mia Seza

An angry young woman who joins along with her sister Sara.

Functional Addict: Mia is addicted to meth. When you first recruit her, she's quick to anger but a strong fighter and relatively reasonable. As withdrawal sets in however, she becomes more of an Addled Addict and requires rehab.
Going Cold Turkey: To get actual use out of her, she has to go through a rehab. It goes as pleasant for her and everyone else in the Shelter as you expect. If she doesn't, you are risking her death to either overdose or hearth attack later on.
Jerkass: She's extremely unpleasant, and sometimes downright hostile. Her sister hints at it being due to previous emotional trauma
The Load: According to Grant. He murders her for it.
The Slacker: Often comes to complain to the player about not being able to work because she's "just not feelin' it". Then again, she's in a middle of Going Cold Turkey.
The Stoner: She hasn't kicked her past drug abuse and will gladly take any marijuana off your hands.
Took a Level in Kindness: If she comes through with her rehab she will would apologize and switch from drugs to asking for spices to start eating. She also would avoid dying if Sara dies

Dr. Michiru Yata

Michiru is a Japanese surgeon who doesn't speak much English. She joins along with Corbeau and Ryan when you rescue them from the truck stop.

The Ace: With a little knowledge of Japanese culture and views on women, you'd know that for Michiru to be as old as she is and a surgeon she must have been really good to get through the rampant sexism.
All Asians Know Martial Arts: Averted. Michiru has no combat experience at all.
Busman's Holiday: Was in Texas as part of a Doctor's Conference. Now she's here doing surgery on the survivors.
Fire-Forged Friends: She's brash and no-nonsense, but should Corbeau die, she will get a massive Mood hit and come to the player character, crying and memorising how much he did to take care for her in the Truck stop.
Inscrutable Oriental: The language barrier has a lot to do with it, but Michiru doesn't put up with any shit, especially from Doug.
Intergenerational Friendship: Forms one with Ryan, even before they can communicate in any way.
Japanese Ranguage: Averted. The only English words Michiru seems comfortable with are "No," "Okay," and "Ryan." Still averted when she is taught English. She can pronounce the letter L but her grammar is all over the place. Which makes sense since she was taught English by a high-schooler in a matter of weeks with the help of a Japanese/English dictionary.
Language Barrier: Doesn't speak a word of English in the beginning, and can't be put to work or taken out in the field, until Ryan has learned her the basics.
The Medic: She is the most skilled doctor in the game, being an experienced professional.

Ken Nash

A former police officer turned militia member in charge of protecting the oil refinery, left because he felt the police force became too corrupt but grew sick of the atrocities of the Sons of Texas Militia. Partners with Vic.

Defector from Decadence: Twice. Left the police force due to excessive bureaucracy and got fed up with the militia's racist and fascist tendencies.
Token Good Teammate: He was this for Sons of Texas. Eventually simply left them, disgusted with their antics.
Turn in Your Badge: The reason he joined the militia was because he was fed up with the force.

Nathan Harris

A real estate agent who drove down to Texas to buy a boat, and ended up getting stranded. He can be found and recruited from a church he took shelter in.

Crazy Survivalist: Averted. He just liked to go hunting, camping, and fishing on the weekends to get away from the city. This in turn means that he has a high survival skill and perks relating to fishing.
The Gambler: Nathan is a card shark and regularly wins other Shelter members' rations in games of poker. Not everyone thinks he's a straight player though.
Hope Bringer: Has a perk that raises morale by 10 points each day. He uses his salesman experience to keep people's mood up.
White Collar Worker: He was a real estate agent.

Oscar Guzman

Melina's husband, he's found with her in a pharmacy in San Saba. They had been surviving in his parents store until looters attacked.

Despair Event Horizon: Get Melina killed and he will fall into a depression. Piss him off and he will leave.
Death Seeker: During the final battle if Melina dies, he will join you as well.
Happily Married: To Melina. Everyone gets a mood boost just from having them around.
Life Embellished: He is based on one of the game's developers.
MacGyvering: His passive ability generates spare Parts on daily basis.
Mr. Fixit: He used to be a handyman. While nowhere near as good as Melina in Mechanical skills, this will be his main job eventually.

Parisa Sharazi

A Virologist PhD working for the CDC trying to find a cure or treatment before everything went to hell. Was captured by the Militia and used as their Doctor. Is glad to be out of there.

Erudite Stoner: Smoked weed in college, wouldn't mind some weed in the shelter.
Jerkass Has a Point: When she ask the player not to send her out scavenging, she makes it clear she doesn't want to be sent out and that even the Militia was smart to keep her in the cage instead of being their medic.
Not That Kind of Doctor: Well she kinda is. However she states that she not that good at field medicine or treating people. She's really good with immune systems though.
Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Somewhat played with and averted. She does have a medical degree but she states that she's not that good at the actual physical part of medicine. She got it mainly to help her virology studies.
What the Hell, Hero?: If you try to push her around she will not take it and leave the shelter. Justified as she just managed to get away from one group of survivors that were using her as a slave. She's not going to stay with another such group.

Paul Rainier

A military officer who was traveling with his boyfriend when they got into a car accident, where the boyfriend died.

Blood Knight: Averted. Despite serving multiple combat tours in the worst of it as a Ranger, he doesn't go out of his way to fight. Justified in that is the mindset that the Armed Forces really want.
Good Is Not Nice: He would not allow the Coyotes to continue attacking others and he advocates a violent solution to the Coyotes threat
Heroic Sacrifice: In a sense. The military returns late in the game and demand that he rejoin them. You can vote to keep him in the Shelter, but it's against his will, despite caring deeply about the people at Splendid.
Straight Gay: Paul doesn't come off as camp or stereotypical at all.
Token Good Teammate: One of the few decent souls in the game.

Pepper

A female dog who can be found in a scrapyard. She can't carry items but she can detect zombies and won't panic in battle.

Action Pet: Pepper can be used in combat, and can also be assigned to guard duty back at the Shelter. She knows more tricks than Lightning, hinting at her being better trained.
Evil-Detecting Dog: Pepper can detect nearby undead.
Post-Apocalyptic Dog

The Player

Your character. Wakes up from a two week coma in the basement of a school in Texas, after surviving a plane crash.

Ax-Crazy: Many, many dialogue options enable you to act like a complete psychopath. Examples include threatening to mount the heads of an attacking biker gang on stakes outside the shelter, and treating a congregation of undead outside the fence walls as a pleasant opportunity for a morning workout.
Deadpan Snarker: Most conversations have at least one or two chances to play as this.
Easy Amnesia: Comes in two flavors depending on your choices in the prologue. You can either have the very rare/soap opera variation where you can function normally but have no personal memories. Or the much more realistic and common with head injuries in that you just don't remember the flight and a few days before it.
"No I mean I remember who I am but I just can't remember getting on that flight."
Hello, [Insert Name Here]
The Leader: What type of leader though, is all up to you.
Multiple-Choice Past: In the first conversation with the group you can choose a lot about your character's past. If they were married, if their family was on board, their sexuality, and if they are native to Texas or not. Or you can just have them not remember anything about their past.
Slept Through the Apocalypse: The player character is rendered unconscious for two weeks in the game's intro. Since this is just before the Zombie Apocalypse seriously kicks in, it means they miss out on seeing everything going to hell.
Warrior Therapist: The player can help quite a few of the other survivors in coping with the apocalypse.

Priscilla Butler

A young woman who joins with Todd, and a devout follower of his. They're the only survivors of their former group.

All Girls Like Ponies: Girlyness aside, it also comes from the fact she's a young woman from a farm in rural Texas.
Book Dumb: Thanks to her age and upbringing in rural nowhere, Priscilla didn't exactly had a chance to expand her horizonts beyond her parents' farm. And she knows that. One of the choices regarding her character is refocusing on studying textbooks and manuals to catch-up.
Born in the Saddle: Really good rider and knows how to take care for the mounts, too. Her presence alone makes horseback travel faster for the entire party.
Dark and Troubled Past: It's hinted her deeply religious parents mistreated her and she eventually run away, only to end up in Todd's group and then entire world coming to a crash.
Farm Girl: Grew up on a remote farm in a middle of nowhere. This makes her excellent at all jobs related with farming and survival, along with providing unique bonus to horseback riding.
Naïve Newcomer: Rather naive about life in general. Due to her own innocence and her family's overly Christan view she doesn't know about a lot the less pure aspects of life. She doesn't understand what pin-ups are, that Todd is not exactly on the up and up, and never saw the in-universe equivalent of Star Wars.
- However she is not so naive as she finally comes to you about the truth of how she arrived in the shelter It was because the limo they were in had been attacked by looters and later on a heroic cop pointed them to the Splendid shelter, while sacrificing himself to stop the undead.

Regina

A tough woman who arrives at the Shelter on day 25 seeking refuge from the Coyotes.

Berserk Button: Do not allow Clifford to be exiled or kept in jail. Even if she respects you, she will take a massive hit in respect if you do not sentence him to death.
Badass Biker: Regina is great at melee combat, which makes sense considering she's the only Coyote who was able to escape from Marshall Streeter's influence.
Defector from Decadence: She is a former member of the Coyotes.
Only One Name: She doesn't appreciate being asked if "Regina" is her real name or what her last name is.
Pet the Dog: If you choose not to sacrifice her to the Coyotes and Marshal, she'll come to your room and be shocked as no one has ever risked themselves for her like that. This gains you point with her and she's more likely to follow any choices you make afterwards.

Renee Cass

Daughter of Anita Cass. Veterinary student. She starts the game automatically recruited.

Combat Medic: Renee specializes in emergency healing during combat.
Closest Thing We Got: Renee isn't trained to work on humans, and the thought of it kind of freaks her out.
- Later on averted and played straight. Averted in that Michiru is an actual surgeon. However, Renee has the best balance of medical and combat skills, plus her combat healing perk makes her the best healer in the game.
Fridge Brilliance: The reason she has two points in firearms at the start? She went to a veterinary school in Texas; it can be speculated that she's had to put an animal down before.
Kindly Vet: Renee was training as a veterinarian before the Apocalypse promoted her to doctor status.

Ryan Michaels

A teenager who saw his entire family massacred by zombies. He was rescued by Corbeau.

Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Corbeau introduces Ryan to alcohol at some point if they're both in the Shelter. The results are harmless, aside massive hangover for Ryan.
Bittersweet 17: Keeps reminding everyone that he's already 17 to play up how "adult" he is, but is still a scared shitless kid inside.
Hormone-Addled Teenager: Tries to be manly and grown-up, which leads to a lot of hilariously childish situations.
Intergenerational Friendship: With Corbeau and Michiru, to surprise of no-one.
Must Not Die a Virgin: Your character can stumble upon a conversation between him and Renee, where he tries to kiss her. When you confront him about it, he explains he's a virgin and doesn't want to die that way. If your character is female, he tries to kiss her as well. The player can choose to reject his advances or to grant his desire.
Pity Sex: If the player character is female, and the player decides to grant Ryan's desire, it's most likely this, given Ryan's young age compared to the player character.
Translator Buddy: Ryan has developed a means of communicating with Michiru, even though they don't share a language. He can be assigned to teach her English.

Samm

An orange tabby cat that shows up at your shelter one day. At the cost of half a ration a day he keeps away rats and raises morale.

Ambiguous Gender: The player admits they have no idea what gender the cat is.
- Most likely male as the genes for orange fur in cats in linked to the X chromosome and both have to have the gene to be orange. As male only have one gene the majority of all orange cats are male.
- When talking to Samm, it's described as female in its actions, but this might be just because the game is written in English.
Deadpan Snarker: Somehow without saying a single word. If you ask Samm if he wants to come in the game says "The cat gives you a look. A look that you feel it would give a slow witted human.

Sandra "Sandy" Doubleday

A woman with a political background found taking shelter in her large mansion. She has a lot of supplies and can become an influential member of the Shelter.

No Sympathy: Unlike most subleaders, Sandy will not ask for mercy for one of her own. Namely Fiona, she will call for the death penalty if any members is caught committing a crime.
Non-Idle Rich: When you find Sandy, she's been surviving on her own for weeks, and could have gone on longer without the player's help. She joins when you remind her your group is the closest thing there is to society.
Rich Bitch: Sandy has a... strong personality.

Sara Seza

Sara is a brilliant scientist whose talents were wasted at the summer camp she was taking refuge in with Mia, so she joins the Player group.

Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Averted! Turn out that the only reason she can cure the zombie plague? She's an immunologist that worked for the CDC and was close to curing the virus before everything hit the fan.
Thicker Than Water: She sticks and puts up with Mia, because she's her sister. She makes it clear that in any other scenario, she would just shrug and let her waste her life.

Troy Cooper

A redneck that somehow managed to get kicked out of his survivor group, the local Texas Militia.

Bigot vs. Bigot: When he and Effrem go at it.
Broken Pedestal: His Uncle, who took the fall for his fellow members so Troy would have somewhere safe to stay in.
Conspiracy Theorist: He firmly believes China is behind the virus and used it as part of a plot to bring the US to its knees.
Doesn't Trust Those Guys: He doesn't have a very high opinion on black people, and he isn't too found of Asians either. In fact he's a downright racist thanks to the upbringing with the militia.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Troy on the other hand is the kind of kid who knew he was a problem child and only became racist because of his uncle's involvement in the militia who trained him to be a survivalist. Show that he is a valued member in the Shelter by showing appreciation for his survival training skills and he will grow to love and trust the shelter more than the militia. He also aligns himself with Todd, the kindest person in the shelter.
You Can't Go Home Again: The reason why he was kicked out of the militia was Due to a fight with one of their members. When they go back, it turns out he has died and they want to torture him to death in exchange for food.

Todd Kantell

A former televangelist who arrives at the Shelter seeking sanctuary for him and Priscilla. He can become a sub-leader in the Shelter, although he's manipulative.

Belief Makes You Stupid: Subverted. He's one of the most level-headed people in the entire game and avoids almost entirely trappings of stereotypical televangelist.
Celebrity Survivor: Todd was a television minister before the apocalypse.
The Day of Reckoning: Invoked. The main reason Todd wants to be the preacher at the Shelter is so he can prepare everyone for their inevitable death.
Dirty Coward: You can get him to do whatever you want if you take him out in the field and he panics. He is willing to do anything as long as it means he doesn't have go back out there.
- It is also fairly easy to browbeat him into backing down the first time he challenges the player's leadership.
Hesitation Equals Dishonesty: His story about finding way to the shelter is what you expect from a teleevangelist - hand of God pointing him direction and keeping him and his followers safe. But when pressed about inconsistency of the story, Todd will eventually confess a brave police officer saved his group and pointed them the direction to Splendid before his Heroic Sacrifice. Can be used to keep Todd in check, as he's perfectly aware how any power he has would vanish instantly the moment people would learn the truth.
Hidden Depths: When he shows up, he's portrayed as somewhat arrogant fundie. He's neither. And despite often using religion for his own power-play, he still provides a badly needed mental and spiritual support, simply because that's what he's good at and that would be beneficial for other survivors.
Hiding Behind Religion: Todd is more than willing to use religion to get his way, usually in the form of thinly veiled threats to preach against your leadership to his followers.
The Medic: Not as good as the others but he gains medical skills quickly due to his work as a missionary in developing nations. That's also why he's the only one to consider fixing the water filter system so the others don't get sick.
Preacher Man: Todd insists on being the spiritual guide of the group and he doesn't exactly take "no" for an answer.
Sinister Minister: Significantly toned down, but he still is actively using his religious "authority" to either gain support to his ideas or shame others into giving him what he wants. The only reason this never goes out of hand is because Todd is a terrible coward and can be subdued with ease.

Dr. Ulysses Ford

A doctor turned survivor leader after his return from his retirement.

Not That Kind of Doctor: He may not be a surgeon but he mentions as a family doctor he has done everything from treating people for illness to stitching up minor injuries.
Erudite Stoner: Loves marijuana like Parisa and Sara. Much better for calming down than smoking cigarettes.
What the Hell, Player?: If Morale is bad enough he would protest about it to you and you have the option to toss him in jail or kill him

Vic Castillo

Along with Joel, Vic comprises the rest of the Splendid police force. He joins the Shelter on day 8 and works out an uneasy alliance with the player.

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though most of the Jerk part seems to be because of the stress of the Zombie Apocalypse. The Gold part is that he wants to keep everyone in the shelter alive and safe.
- He also refuses to abandon the group when offered a place in the cop shelter at Coleman because none of the other allies would be able to join except Joel.
Jerkass Has a Point: Even when he's on a war path with the PC, he still provides valuable insights, seeing the survival and well-being of the group more important than squabbling.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He might not like the Player Character's leadership, seeing how he as a police officer is allowing a civilian to boss him around, but as long as the player prioritizes the Shelter's safety and listens to his advice, he is content with it.
Romance Arc: Falls in love with Darlene and perhaps the only successful romance in the shelter.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The only way to slowly start gaining his respect and support is to suggest such arrangement and then steadily improve it with each solved crisis.

Walter Addison

Non-Ally Characters

Ben

The leader of a group of survivors at a summer camp east of the Shelter. He can give Sara and Mia permission to leave his group to join the player.

Sheriff Reinhart

The Sheriff of Splendid, helps Vic rescue the player from the plane crash, but becomes injured in a fight with Coyotes and has to be put down by Vic.

Dying Moment of Awesome: Died from being bitten while fighting off a gang of Coyotes (not the mammal).
A Father to His Men: It's clear that his death shook Joel up pretty much and that Vic's early Jerkass behavior is that he's reeling from having to kill him. Joel even mentions that he put up with Joel's mistakes more than most people would.

Marshall Streeter

The leader of the Coyotes, and one of the first major antagonists of the game.

Disc-One Final Boss: Him and the Coyotes are the first major organized threat to appear, but you'll soon realize that there are bigger fish out there to fry.
Groin Attack: How Regina finishes him off if brought along.

Jefferson

Leader of the Militia, racist but at least willing to trade unlike other survivors

Hartz

Leader of a small group of soldiers who promise to extract the occupants of Splendid if given a sizable amount of resources.

Con Man: he doesn't keep his word.

DEFCON

A person of unknown origins in Riot Armor and a Sniper Rifle. He warns you away from the strip mall he has claimed. If you stay there he attacks you.

Anticlimax Boss: On a 1v1 basis he would be pretty hard as he has good armor and one of the best guns in the game. Problem is that you usually have four people with you. As long as you can get past his high armor class he goes down pretty fast.

Characters / Dead State

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