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The Holy Nation
The Holy Nation in General
A religious state that lies in the heartlands of the continent. They worship the god Okran and are intensely xenophobic towards all non-humans.
- Fantastic Racism: They consider all non-humans as "unholy" and they believe they have to be all enslaved and worked to death so they're reborn as humans.
- They're especially hateful towards Skeletons, as they consider them the agents of Narko and try to kill them on sight. This extends to anyone with replacement limbs, as they believe them to be Skeleton infiltrators. Even other Okranites who aren't racist are very mistrustful and afraid of Skeletons.
- Fantastic Slurs: They have several terms for those not considered servants of Okran.
- Humans who don't worship Okran are known as "Darkened".
- Women are often known as "temptresses" and "seductresses".
- Shek are known as "Horned Devils".
- Hivers are known as "Insect Fiends".
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Some item descriptions and lore books imply the Holy Nation coexisted with the Second Empire before the latter's downfall. They're also implied to have caused said downfall when they turned on skeletonkind under the leadership of the first Phoenix.
- The Fundamentalist: They're zealous and religious to a fault. All of the Nation's citizens carry copies of their holy book, the Holy Flame.
- Knight Templar: The Paladins are rigid zealots who will kill in the name of Okran.
- No Woman's Land: The Holy Nation is a male-dominated society, treating females as slaves and submissive workers to their society. According to their holy books, women were created in the image of Narko, but are not fully consumed by her darkness like Skeletons are. They believe that by abusing them when they misbehave, they can tame their inner darkness.
- According to some lore books, learning how to read and write is punishable by death for women, Paladins' wives are Buried Alive with them when they die, and the current Phoenix was planning to have women whipped for daring to wear jewelry.
- A lore book titled Book of Grace states to show kindness and never harm one's brothers and sisters, which may imply that the misogynistic nature of the empire came later in its history.
- Sacred Scripture: They have several books. Most important of all The Holy Flame, which is their equivalent to the Bible.
- Satanic Archetype: Narko, the Demoness of Darkness. In their scriptures, she's an evil demon who was banished to the depths of the underworld, who uses her darkness to corrupt and taint all that she touches.
Holy Lord Phoenix
Holy Lord Phoenix, or Phoenix LXII, is the leader of the Holy Nation.
- Evil Old Folks: Mileage may vary on this depending on one's view of the Holy Nation, but he is old enough to be white-haired and one of the world's chief enforcers of misogyny and xenophobia. This trope tends to be true of all Phoenixes; the current Phoenix is the 62nd in about 5000 years, meaning that on average they live for more than 80 years.
- God Guise: Averted in that there is no evidence that the Phoenix and his cohorts are insincere in their belief in his divinity; at the same time, nothing he does or says indicates that he actually has any kind of divine power.
- Old Master: It's not clear how old the current Phoenix is, but he's certainly not young and is easily one of the strongest characters in the world of Kenshi.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Enforced in that every Phoenix is known simply as 'the Phoenix' from birth; indeed, they may not have distinct names.
- Puppet King: Heavily downplayed, but Moll at least considers the two High Inquisitors to be 'probably' smarter than the Phoenix and to have a proportionate grip on the Holy Nation.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Mildly downplayed; Lord Phoenix has the second-highest statistics in the Holy Nation, one of the best weapons in the game, and top-notch armour, but most of his combat stats are still lower than those of his bodyguard, the Protector of the Flame.
The United Cities
The United Cities in General
An empire that rules the northeastern and part of the southern regions of the continent. While they proclaim to have an emperor, the Cities are actually ruled by a council of corrupt and greedy nobles that oppress and occasionally hunt the people like wild animals. Slavery is the lifeblood of the empire.
- Arch-Enemy: The Holy Nation and the United Cities are mortal enemies and are constantly at war.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Nobles are the ones who really run things in the United Cities, often doing whatever pleases them. They hoard all of the food while the peasants starve and annoying their entitled asses is often a death sentence.
- Everything's Better with Samurai: Samurai are widespread in their territory, some acting as bodyguards for the nobles, while the majority of them act as the empire's army.
- Fantastic Racism: Though they aren't nowhere nearly as hateful as the Holy Nation, there's still some racism towards the Shek and the Hivers, especially the latter, who are often enslaved.
Emperor Tengu
Emperor Tengu
The current emperor of the United Cities.- Glowing Eyes of Doom: As a Scorchlander, he has those.
- Hate Sink: Players will typically be on the receiving end of at least one of his derisive jokes, and the rest of Tengu's behavior isn't anything special. Many players choose to enact their own personal punishments against him regardless of whatever consequences the game throws at them.
- Jerkass: Noted to be quite foolish and rude.
- Katanas Are Just Better: He wields a Meitou Katana.
- Puppet King: He is an emperor in name only, placed in power by the nobles that really rule the United Cities. They chose him because he was brash, cruel and stupid, which makes him easy to control.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: averted in that, although Tengu has an excellent weapon and decent combat skills, he is far from the most physically powerful person in the United Cities. Except for his low Strength, his statistics are higher than those of the Samurai that make up the bulk of his soldiers and on par with a Samurai Sergeant, but he is easily outclassed by Samurai Captains, Elites, and Jonin Elites.
General Eyegore
General Eyegore
A terrifying hiveless Soldier Drone, originally from the Southern Hive.- Determinator: Because of his racial bonuses as a Hive Soldier Drone, Eyegore can have a toughness of up to 111, well above what is possible for a player character (and, indeed, higher than any other humanoid character in the game); this makes him very hard to put down. Very mildly downplayed in that he can still be neutralised by taking out his limbs which, as for all Hivers, are a weak point.
- Four-Star Badass: The top general in the United Cities army, and by several measures the strongest non-robotic NPC in the game.
- Frontline General: Downplayed; Eyegore personally leads some United Cities assaults, but only those which are most important (in-game, the player will be attacked by a group led by Eyegore if he or she has severely upset the United Cities). Justified in that Eyegore, in his own person, is viewed to be one of the most terrifying forces in the world of Kenshi.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Played straight with respect to the army; while much stronger than his superior, Emperor Tengu, he is both the leader of the United Cities army and easily the strongest soldier in the whole Empire. In addition to having top-tier combat stats, he is outfitted with a top-quality weapon and Masterwork armour.
The Shek Kingdom
The Shek in General
- Big Eater: Sheks have a 25% higher hunger rate than humans, making them slightly harder to keep fed.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: By disposition and philosophy, the Shek are constantly looking for battle and never retreat when defeated. Deconstructed in that this has led to severe depopulation and the danger of extinction, requiring Esata to restrain her people so that they can repopulate.
Esata the Stone Golem
Esata
The current leader of the Shek Kingdom, having defeated its previous leader, Shager, in single combat.- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Played completely straight. As is traditional among the Shek, Esata is the strongest warrior in the Shek Kingdom, having gained her position by defeating the previous leader.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: With strength, toughness and attack skill edging just above the limit of human ability, the name 'Stone Golem' implies her seeming imperviousness to harm. With her Meitou Fragment Axe, she is able to destroy large groups of enemies quickly.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Subverted in that Esata is willing to listen to rational arguments, even if they go against the traditional path of the Shek. Double-subverted in that her ultimate goal is still conquest.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: At least compared to previous Shek rulers, who were indifferent to the prospect of the Shek facing self-destruction if they could retain their honour.
Bayan
Bayan
- The Face: as Esata does not waste time on 'gum-flapping', she leaves this to Bayan.
- The Good Chancellor: Or at least 'the Rational Chancellor'; Bayan has been able to see that the former Shek policies will lead to their destruction, and is willing to advise Esata to eschew old ways for the sake of Shek survival. Esata describes him as her 'sheath'.
Mukai the Mountain
Mukai
Mukai becomes leader of the Shek Kingdom if Esata is killed or imprisoned. He was probably one of the Five Invincibles before this.- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: while not quite as powerful individually as Esata, he is still one of the strongest warriors in the world, with a suitably intimidating name to match.
The Second Empire
The Second Empire in general (Unmarked Spoilers Ahead)
The Second Empire was a powerful nation ruled by the Skeletons. It collapsed around 1000 years before the events of the game, but remnants of it can be found all over the continent.
- Ascended Extra: The sequel will be set in the Second Empire's final years, around 1000 years before the first game.
- Badass Army: The Skeleton Legion. While badly diminished in modern times due to their rusted equipment, they are still a fearsome enemy by sheer numbers alone.
- Man Versus Machine: This was what brought its downfall. As the Empire's rulers became more repressive and unhinged, a deadly famine drove humanity to rise up against them, driving its leaders away into the ashen southeastern regions.
- The Remnant: A remnant of the Second Empire survives in the Ashlands, a ruined and ash-covered region that's extremely hostile to human life.
- Robot Republic: It was founded in an attempt to allow coexistence between the Skeletons and humanity. It failed in the end.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: A problem that afflicted some of its higher-ups like Rhinobot. They wanted to help maintain peace and unity, but their lack of ethics and restraints brought untold suffering to their subjects.
Mad Cat-Lon (Unmarked Spoilers Ahead)
Cat-Lon
One of the Second Empire's founders and its former ruler. He sought to rebuild the broken trust between Skeletons and humans after the Robot War that devastated the moon, but the passage of centuries made him lose his way and much of his sanity. In the end, his empire collapsed and he exiled himself alongside what remained of his followers to the Ashlands.- Ax-Crazy: A millennium of resentment over his subjects' rejection has corroded his mind to the point of madness. Right before he attacks your party, he'll howl like a Fogman.
- BFS: He wields the only Meitou Falling Sun in existence. He's extremely skilled with it and will slaughter your team if you're unprepared.
- Fallen Hero: He was once a heroic figure, who sought to make up for his people's crimes against the First Empire and rebuild the broken trust of humanity towards skeletonkind. Unfortunately, as the centuries passed, he became more unhinged and oppressive in his efforts to hold the Second Empire together, until it finally imploded. During his exile, he mistrusted his own personal bodyguards and forcefully enthralled all of them, fearing they'd side with humanity against him. By the time you meet him in his base in the Ashlands, Cat-Lon has gone mad with hatred and grief.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: He developed this mindset during his rule and after his exile. He grew to hate humanity, seeing them as Obliviously Evil."Have you tried looking after humans? They're monsters! As they grow in number, so does their capacity for evil, and they won't even notice as they do it."
- Hypocrite: Despite Cat-Lon claiming of how humans are monsters, he himself is shown to be far from a saint given how as the Second Empire dragged on he became more paranoid and strict with his cohorts becoming ruthless as well, such as Rhinobot having child prisons due to his lack of moral processing.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Although he doesn't have a crossbow and there are no turrets in his home in exile, he has 100 in all of their related stats, making him a master in marksmanship.
- Named After Somebody Famous: The main currency used by the world's factions, the Cat, was named after him.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Arguably the strongest character in the game (considered by some to be its 'final boss'), and certainly the strongest character in his faction.
- Really 700 Years Old: Being the Second Empire's founder, he's over 2,000 years old.
- Scarred Equipment: Like the other Skeletons in the Ashlands, he wears rusted Samurai Armor.
- We Used to Be Friends: According to some Skeletons in the Black Desert City, Cat-Lon and Tinfist were once very close friends.
- World's Strongest Man: His mind may be damaged, but his body and fighting experience are not. He's by far the strongest Heavy Weapons wielder in the whole world, with an unmatched skill level of 120 (The maximum anyone can reach without modifying the game is 100). He also has maximum Toughness, Melee Attack and Defense, making him a dangerous foe.
Other
Bandit Groups
Starving Bandits
Desperate groups of bandits that attack the player for food.- Anti-Villain: Starving Bandits aren't malicious save for attacking the player's party, but don't take anything else besides their food and can be given cats for them to remain passive.
- Carry a Big Stick: All starving bandits save for the leaders (who use Horse Choppers) wield iron clubs.
- The Goomba: Starving Bandits are the common and weakest enemies individually, and while having numbers their low stats, lack of armor, and poor weaponry make them just an annoyance when you level up your party's stats and get better equipment.
Dust Bandits
- Climax Boss: Given how the Dust King is surrounded by large groups of Dust Bandits and has to be fought on his territory, he's a difficult boss whose defeat is a steppingstone for your party, but he's far from the strongest character in the game.
- Protection Racket: Dust Bandits will attempt to extort the player's outpost for their Cats, however the player can refuse to pay or stab the Dust Boss in the face causing the entire group to flee, only to come back with more people to attack the base.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: The hierarchy goes from Dust Bandits, to Dust Bosses, to the Dust King, with the latter leading the Dust Bandit faction.
- Sinister Scimitar: All Dust Bandits use Horse Chopper sabers for their weapons, with the Dust King himself using a Skeleton Smith grade Ringed Saber.
- Spikes of Villainy: Downplayed as Dust Bandit attire only has spiked helmets.
Blood Reavers
- Evil Versus Evil: Reavers claim moral superiority over the United Cities and say their revolution will overtake them... while they also enslave anyone they can down.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Reaver Slaves, Whelps, Neophytes, Blooded, Ironclad, and then Valamon himself as the leader.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: They declare themselves a revolution against the United Cities while enslaving and attacking anyone who isn't them.
- Slave Mooks: It's implied most if not all reavers besides Valamon himself used to be slaves before proving themselves. Reaver Slaves may even join you if their masters are defeated.
Skin Bandits
- Ax-Crazy: Being Skeletons that knock out and capture any human they see before peeling their skin off the victim while still alive and conscious, it'd be hard to say they aren't this.
- Carry a Big Stick: Skin Bandits use blunt weaponry in order to stun their victims and bring them to peeling machines.
- Evil Genius: Savant claimed to have studied "skeleton psychology" for three years when he was just ten years old if he is to be believed, created the peeler machines, and became the leader of insane skeletons by convincing them that they need human skin to become a human as well.
- Genuine Human Hide: Their entire gimmick. In order to "become" human, they were manipulated by Savant to peel any other human's skin off and wear it. Naturally, it rots away forcing them to perpetually look for any and all humans that wander into their area.
- Hate Sink: Savant from even a glance is abhorrent, ordering mentally unstable skeletons to hunt down and mutilate humans.
- Manipulative Bastard: The entire reason the Skin Bandits exist is because of Savant's manipulations of the skeletons.
Unique Recruits
Beep
A Western Hiver Worker that can be recruited for free.- All of the Other Reindeer: The Western Hive rejected him due to his unusual qualities, deeming him a "broken" drone.
- Blood Knight: He gets very giddy and hammy in battle.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Has no understanding of money, can't identify female humans within his own party, and randomly says his own name.
- Meaningful Rename: May start calling himself "Cyber-beep" after replacing limbs.
- Odd Friendship: Can build a lovely friendship with Agnu, if they're on the same team.
- Third-Person Person: Always refers to himself as Beep.
- Verbal Tic: He tends to say "Beep" from time to time.
Cat
A male Scorchlander taken prisoner by the Dust King, leader of the Dust Bandits, in his tower. He can be recruited by rescuing him from his imprisonment.- Awesome, but Impractical: He has identical stats to Izumi, meaning he is slightly worse in combat but better in the role of researcher than Doctor Chung. Furthermore, he's technically free so players don't need to fork out 2,500 Cats to recruit him, unlike Izumi. However, he's a prisoner of the Dust King, so recruiting him requires the player to either storm or sneak into the Dust King's Tower; a feat easier said than done. The Tower is filled with at least a dozen Dust Bandits, protected by mounted crossbows, patrolled by Dust Bandit patrols and the Dust King himself is strong enough to be a Disc-One Final Boss. By the time you're able to rescue him, you've likely already have at least one properly trained medic, researcher or have recruited and trained up Izumi and/or Doctor Chung.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: By the time the player finds him, he'll have started to go crazy from his time in captivity.
- The Medic: Alongside Izumi and Doctor Chung, he's one of the best recruits to serve this role due to him starting with 40 in Field Medic. If you then train up his combat skills, he can become a Combat Medic. However, see Awesome, but Impractical above.
- Mistaken Identity: He was taken prisoner by the Dust Bandits because he was wearing nice clothes to a date, causing them to mistake him for someone rich and important to rob and ransom. When no one came to pay the ransom, he was kept imprisoned.
- Recruitment by Rescue: He can be recruited free of charge after freeing him from the Dust King.
- The Smart Guy: He starts with 40 Field Medic and 20 Science, making him one of the best recruits to serve the role of healer and researcher. However, see Awesome, but Impractical above.
Doctor Chung
A male Greenlander surgeon who can be found in either Mud Town or Shark's bar in The Swamp. He offers the services of a surgeon but can be convinced to join you for free.- Combat Medic: Unlike Izumi and Cat, while he still has 40 Field Medic, he starts with 5 less Science but makes up for it by being free and having some skill in combat. Gameplay aside, he's not averse to hurting or killing the Twinblades extorting him if push comes to shove.
- Difficult, but Awesome: While he's easier to reach than Cat, the Swamp is a very dangerous place to travel through, filled with hostile ninjas and predators chasing you through flooded areas that slow you down. Never mind that the areas outside the Swamp are dangerous to navigate on their own, with some of them being home to Beak Things. That being said, if you can navigate the Swamp safely and reach him, he's one of the better early game recruits due to his stats making him a decent Combat Medic and researcher. Furthermore, unlike Izumi, he's free to recruit.
- The Medic: Alongside Izumi and Cat, he's one of the best recruits to serve this role due to him starting with 40 in Field Medic. Unlike them, however, his starting physical and combat stats makes him a more natural Combat Medic.
- Organ Theft: Engages in this to keep the Twinblade Clan, who deals in organs, off his back lest they destroy or steal his tools. This, however, made him relatively unpopular in many towns and why he's eager to join you.
- The Smart Guy: He starts with 40 Field Medic and 15 Science, making him one of the best recruits to serve the role of healer and researcher.
Crumblejon
A retired soldier who is encountered as a stooped, broken-down old man in the city of Mongrel.- Dented Iron: Zigzagged; Crumblejon's combat prowess, although still better than most recruits, is definitely not what it once was (although he remains surprisingly strong). However, it is possible to train him back to his former glory and beyond. A plastic surgeon can even restore his posture!
- Meaningful Rename: From 'the White Ripper' to 'Crumblejon', because of his 'crumbling bones'.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Not 'Crumblejon', but 'the White Ripper', his name as a former Samurai. Subverted in that he has lost most of his martial skill; double-subverted in that he is able to get it back.
- Old Master: Not so much when you meet him, but very much qualifies if you help him to get his mojo back.
- Retired Badass: Emphasis on the 'retired' when the player first meets him (although he can still wipe the floor with most other recruits), but once trained back up, the emphasis will change.
Ells
A simple-minded Shek met in Sho-Battai; he is a wanted person owing to multiple bar thefts.- Acrofatic: Ells is notably overweight, but has a high stealth stat for a new recruit, and can become as good at martial arts, dodging, athletics, and dexterity as any other character.
- The Alcoholic: Ells is wanted for multiple bar thefts. He claims not to be a thief, but just someone who 'just gets thirsty sometimes'. When recruited, he has three bottles of cactus rum on his person.
- Stout Strength: if trained up as a warrior, Ells (who is notably rotund) will fall under this category.
Espher
A Southern Hiver Worker that can be found in Tengu's Vault and rescued.- Defrosting Ice King: He's not in a good mood when first met but mellows out after being freed.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: He's a Southern Hiver, who are very rarely seen outside their homelands, except for the occasional drone captured by the United Cities.
Griffin
A male Greenlander and a former soldier of the Holy Nation, who claims to have seen a vision from Okran that he would encounter a wealthy wanderer.- Mission from God: he believes he has had a vision from Okran that a 'wealthy wanderer' would lead him to the truth about the First Extinction.
- Token Good Teammate: He once was a soldier of the Holy Nation, and given how incredibly hostile the empire is towards Hivers, Sheks, and especially Skeletons, his not being prejudiced against any of them (but still shows slight fear when being healed by any other race besides human), on top of his not believing that the Skeletons were responsible for the First Extinction, makes him an example of a "good" Holy Nation Okranite.
Hobbs
A male Greenlander notable for his tall tales and his presentation as a crazy old man. If the player humours him, he can be recruited for free. For many players, this makes him their first recruit.- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Much of what Hobbs says is fantastical or nonsensical, but that doesn't stop him from excelling in whatever the player chooses to train him in.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Hobbs's most notable feature is his tendency to spout implausible, and sometimes entirely incoherent, stories. It's unclear whether he's insane, high, or just having fun.
- Cool Old Guy: Your mileage may vary, but other characters will call him 'Gramps'; he's definitely older than most of the other biological characters.
- Eccentric Mentor: Can fulfill this trope if encountered at the start of the game; he can often be found very early in the game, and will have higher stats (and better knowledge of the world) than most new characters.
- Old Master: Qualifies if you train him up in combat.
Infinite Wingwang
A Greenlander swordsman who can be recruited in Mongrel.- The Fighting Narcissist: Infinite Wingwang has some of the best fighting stats of any unique recruit, and he is keen for the player to know it.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Heavily downplayed; Infinite Wingwang is an excellent fighter, but he is still not as good as he believes he is, is largely unknown to the world, and is definitely not worth his initial asking price.
Izumi
A young female Greenlander doctor and medic who can be found in the first town you enter controlled by the United Cities or the Empire Peasants. She offers to join you in exchange for 2,500 Cats to "sponsor" her research.- The Baby of the Bunch: Her age is ambiguous but when recruiting her, she's referred to as a kid, implying that she's much younger than the average recruit. Her short and petite stature also makes her resemble a teenager. That being said, the numerous predators, cannibals and slavers prowling around Kenshi do not care how old their victims are.
- Boring, but Practical: Unlike Cat and Doctor Chung, she's not free to recruit and the easiest one to reach who can serve the role of early game medic and researcher, especially if you start in United Cities territory. She also has no extra stats in physical or combat skills like Chung. However, because she's so easy to reach, provided you can afford her recruitment cost, she can join you much earlier than the other two, giving her the best potential to grow into a significantly better party member than the other two by the time you can reach them.
- Child Prodigy: Claims to know about deciphering generator core wiring, salt distillation, wound purifiers and building designs all at the age of ten. That aside, she's one of the youngest recruits in the game, but still has a slightly higher Science skill than Doctor Chung, a surgeon.
- The Medic: Alongside Cat and Doctor Chung, she's one of the best recruits to serve this role due to her starting with 40 in Field Medic. If you then train up her combat skills, she can become a Combat Medic.
- Noodle Incident: When asked why she needs 2,500 Cats for her research, she'll just remark that she broke something in a local shop.
- The Smart Girl: She starts with 40 Field Medic and 20 Science, making her one of the best recruits to serve the role of healer and researcher. However, likely due to her age, she does not start with any combat stats, leaving her very vulnerable until she's properly trained.
Kang
A taciturn male Shek who can be recruited for 6,000 Cats.- Noble Bigot: Kang has a strong desire to be recruited by a 'flatskin' (ie, a normal human) for the challenge of keeping the flatskin alive. If recruited by a human character, he will say, "You're my flatskin now." He is clearly motivated by the belief that humans are weak and helpless, but will defend his employer to the death.
Luquin
A Scorchlander rebel from Catun, who lost his family to the Nobles' machinations and managed to kill one of them before he was imprisoned in Tengu's Vault for 15 years. He can be rescued and will join the party.- Made a Slave: His entire family was enslaved after falling to poverty. His mother helped him escape at the cost of her life.
- Overrated and Underleveled: Although his killing of an Inner Circle noble made him infamous across the United Cities, Luquin seems to have lost much of his strength during his time in Tengu's Vault.
Oron
A female Shek warrior turned retainer who wishes to leave her life of service and return to the battlefield. She can be recruited for 3,500 Cats.- Big Beautiful Woman: Her default appearance.
Pia
A female Greenlander Flotsam Ninja who can be found in Flotsam Village. She serves as the Flotsam Ninja's runner and can join you for 3,000 Cats.- Big Sister Worship: Very much admires her sister and fellow Flotsam Ninja, Naevia. Her sister's death in combat against the Holy Nation left a large enough void of purpose in the Flotsam Ninjas, which is why she offered to join you. That being said, she's loyal enough to the Ninjas that she won't join you until you pay her 3,000 Cats as a donation to them.
- Boring, but Practical: Relatively cheap to recruit and not too difficult to reach, she's simple as far as recruits go. But, as the entries below could attest to, she's one of the best recruits available to the player in the early game.
- Disc-One Nuke: With 20 Strength, 20 Dexterity, 10 Perception, 50 Athletics and 10 Stealth and Thievery, she's one of the best recruits for the early game who can perform many different roles at the relatively cheap cost of 3,000 Cats.
- Enemy-Detecting Radar: She'll warn the party if they're approaching a Holy Nation Paladin, making her very useful for avoiding (or hunting down) Holy Nation patrols.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: She says that she's one of the Flotsam Ninja's runners and that's exactly the role she excels in as a recruit. Her 50 Athletics means she can outrun many threats in the wilds (beware Beak Things, however) and her 20 Strength means that she can carry more than the average recruit without becoming encumbered.
- Fragile Speedster: With 50 Athletics, she's one of the fastest recruits right off the bat but while she has some stats in Strength and Dexterity, her Toughness is at 1, meaning that she'll go down in a fight quickly. If properly trained, she can become a Lightning Bruiser or a full-blown Action Girl.
- Nice Girl: She's one of the nicest and friendliest recruits who, despite opposing the Holy Nation, feels nothing but pity for the Paladins fighting and dying for their religion. And the 3,000 Cats she requested before joining you? She will donate it to the Flotsam Ninja's cause, meaning she pockets none of it for herself.
- Underrated and Overleveled: She's a relative nobody compared to many other recruits. However, her stats make her one of the most competent recruits you can get into your party, especially in the early game.
Rane the Giant
A towering female Shek warrior.Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Rane is as big as her name suggests, and even her starting combat statistics are very good (for a new recruit). Most players train her up to be a brutal heavy hitter proficient in the largest weapons and able to do significant area of effect damage.
Sadneil
A Skeleton recruit who can be picked up for free in Black Desert City.- Expy: As a relentlessly depressed, inconsolable, ancient robotic character, Sadneil has very distinct resemblances to Marvin the Paranoid Android.
- The Eeyore: His depressive personalty is his main defining feature
Shryke
A Scorchlander treasure hunter who has become trapped in Mongrel, losing her brother in the process. She will join the player for free provided the player's squad size is large enough for her to feel safe.Yamdu
Yamdu is the Noble Squire Supreme serving Longen, leader of the Traders' Guild. He can be recruited in the late game after defeating Tinfist.Agnu
A Skeleton Soldierbot imprisoned by the Thrall Masters. They can be recruited for free by rescuing them.- Odd Friendship: Form a hilarious one with Beep, if they're on the same team. Beep oddly seems to be the only person capable of understanding Agnu's screaming.
- The Unintelligible: Agnu speak entirely in screams. Becomes Intelligible Unintelligible if Beep is on the same team.
Soman
Soman is a fisher, tired of running the dying family business with her brother. She'll join the player for 3,500 Cats to find a fresh start.- The Engineer: She begins with an Engineering skill of 50, and a Laboring of 30, making her quite adept at construction and well suited for tasks like mining.
- Family Business: Her brother and her have been running their family's fishing business since their father died. Unfortunately, business has all but died, giving her a desire to leave it behind.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Her motivation for joining the player. She knows the family business is dead and wants to move on and do something else with her life.
The First Empire (Unmarked Spoilers Ahead)
An ancient civilization that once inhabited the world several thousands of years before the events of the game. They had a sudden and painful end. By modern times, their ruins dot the landscape of the land.
- Advanced Ancient Humans: Although many Tech Hunters believe Skeletons were the rulers of the first Empire, the latter heavily imply Humanity were the real Ancients and not them.
- Humongous Mecha: The Behemoths were massive Skeletons the size of skyscrapers. They were used as weapons against an unknown enemy, before they were nearly all destroyed by their own creators at Obedience, who were afraid of their power.
- Monster Progenitor: They were the creators of the Skeletons and the Behemoths.
- Precursors: The Tech Hunters refer to them as "Ancients".
- Riddle for the Ages: Who and what exactly were the ancients? Human? Skeletons? Some extinct alien race? And what wiped them out? A chain of natural disasters? War with chemical weapons? A Robot War?
- Robot War: Nothing is fully explained, but it's heavily implied that the First Empire was destroyed by a brutal war between humans and Skeletons, which nearly led to the first's extinction and devastated the world. Okranite myths refer to the event as "The First Extinction", while the Machinists and Tech Hunters call it "The Chaos Age".
- Techno Wreckage: Their ruins are usually made of rusted metal structures and spires that extend far into the sky. The Ashlands are absolutely full of them, which has led to the Machinists' belief that their capital city was once located there.
Stobe (Unmarked Spoilers Ahead)
The only known Behemoth that survived the destruction of his kin. He's praised by Skeletons for saving the world at the cost of his life.
- Cargo Cult: The myths of Chitrin, the ancient god that sacrificed himself to save the world and the progenitor of Okran and Narko were inspired by Stobe.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He saved humanity and skeletonkind from extinction by stopping a world-destroying missile, at the cost of his life.
- Humongous Mecha: He was a Behemoth. He resembles a gigantic version of a Screamer Unit.
- Last of His Kind: No other Behemoth is known to have survived the mass killing of their kin at the hands of the First Empire.
- Posthumous Character: He died millennia before the game. His remains can be found in his eponymous Garden, resting his back on a cliff.
The Bugmaster
A mysterious Greenlander man who resides in the crater of Arach, he is surrounded by a legion of spiders and is a terror even for a well-armed and trained group.
- Ambiguously Evil: Despite having a bounty of 100,000 Cats, there isn't much to paint him in a negative light, as he appears to stay solely in Arach and only attacking those who intrude on him. Doubly so when he has a map of the Ashlands implying he's going to face off against Cat-Lon, the infamous tyrant, for unknown reasons.
- Ambiguous Situation: Due to his Mysterious Past everything about him is left up in the air as to why or what he's doing.
- A character can have dialogue saying that he's believed to be an insect god or perhaps even the last human of the First Empire, but all that's truly known is that he's hostile to anyone that enters his lair.
- The player can find lots of human teeth in his base, with theories ranging from him being a cannibal to attempting to bring back the ancient race and using teeth as samples.
- The Beastmaster
- Really 700 Years Old: If he is indeed part of the ancient race that ruled during the First Empire, this would make him thousands of years old, the Last of His Kind, and still looking none the worse for it.
