History Characters / DeadByDaylightKillers

** The Hillbilly and The Twins have all suffered from genetic deformations since birth, with the younger Twin specifically loding in a cavity in his sister's chest.

* AxCrazy: All of the Killers, naturally. All of them are quite content to endlessly kill people for their Entity, and their time before coming into its service was violent.

* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Most of the killers were human before they came to the realm; once they arrived in the realm, many of them received varying powers, as shown by The Nurse, The Wraith, The Doctor, and the Twins.

* WasOnceAMan: ''Almost'' every killer was a human before becoming what they are now. The exceptions are the Demogorgon, the Executioner, Nemesis, the Dredge, the Singularity, and the Xenomorph.

* [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart3 Part 3]] [[labelnote:note]]The Skull Merchant, The Singularity, [[Franchise/{{Alien}} The Xenomorph ✝]], [[Franchise/ChildsPlay The Good Guy ✝[[/labelnote]]]]

* CaptainErsatz: Many killers are obviously inspired by more famous horror characters. The Trapper echoes [[Franchise/Fridaythe13th Jason Voorhees]], the Nurse is based on the [[Franchise/SilentHill Silent Hill]] Nurses, the Skull Merchant is based on [[Franchise/{{Predator}} the Predator]], the Legion is a pastiche of [[Film/{{Scream}} the Ghost Face Killer]] and the Hillbilly resembles [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface]] (the latter two were [[ExpyCoExistence eventually added later]]).

* EvilIsBigger: Most of the killers tower over the survivors, though there are a few that are roughly the same size. There are also a couple of inverted examples: Victor (one half of The Twins) and Chucky are both significantly shorter than the survivor characters.

* [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart1 Part 1]][[note]]The Trapper, The Wraith, The Hillbilly, The Nurse, [[Franchise/{{Halloween}} The Shape]], The Hag, The Doctor, The Huntress, [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre The Cannibal]], [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010 The Nightmare]], [[Franchise/{{Saw}} The Pig]], The Clown, The Spirit, The Legion, The Plague, [[Film/{{Scream}} The Ghost Face]][[/note]]
* [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart2 Part 2]][[note]][[Series/StrangerThings The Demogorgon]], The Oni, The Deathslinger, [[Franchise/SilentHill The Executioner]], The Blight, The Twins, The Trickster, [[Franchise/ResidentEvil The Nemesis]], [[Franchise/{{Hellraiser}} The Cenobite]], The Artist, [[Literature/TheRing The Onryō]], The Dredge, [[Franchise/ResidentEvil The Mastermind]], The Knight, The Skull Merchant, The Singularity[[/note]]
* [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart3 Part 3]] [[labelnote:note]][[Franchise/{{Alien}} The Xenomorph ✝]], [[Franchise/ChildsPlay The Good Guy ✝[[/labelnote]]]]

* TimeAbyss: Benedict's entries on the original three killers is dated ''1896''. As more killers were added to the roster, it showed that the Entity had been recruiting killers from various points in humanity's history, with the earliest hailing from the Babylonian Empire, and even as far forward as 2313.

* CaptainErsatz: Many killers are obviously inspired by more famous horror characters. The Trapper echoes [[Franchise/Fridaythe13th Jason Voorhees]], the Nurse is based on the [[Franchise/SilentHill Silent Hill]] Nurses, the Legion is a pastiche of [[Film/{{Scream}} the Ghost Face Killer]] and the Hillbilly resembles [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface]] (the latter two were [[ExpyCoExistence eventually added later]]).

* MusclesAreMeaningless: Every killer (except Sadako, Victor, and Chucky) no matter their height or build, can hunt down, lift, and carry the Survivors using only one arm with ease. In Chucky's case, while the actual doll is unable to pick up the survivors, his spirit still does so just as easily.

* MusclesAreMeaningless: Every killer (except Sadako and Victor) no matter their height or build, can hunt down, lift, and carry the Survivors using only one arm with ease.

* EvilIsBigger: Most of the killers tower over the survivors.

* [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart2 Part 2]][[note]][[Series/StrangerThings The Demogorgon]], The Oni, The Deathslinger, [[Franchise/SilentHill The Executioner]], The Blight, The Twins, The Trickster, [[Franchise/ResidentEvil The Nemesis]], [[Franchise/{{Hellraiser}} The Cenobite]], The Artist, [[Literature/TheRing The Onryō]], The Dredge, [[Franchise/ResidentEvil The Mastermind]], The Knight, The Skull Merchant, The Singularity.[[/note]]

* [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart3 Part 3]] [[labelnote:note]][[Franchise/{{Alien}} The Xenomorph ✝]], [[Franchise/ChildsPlay The Doll[[/labelnote]]]]

* [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart2 Part 2]][[note]][[Series/StrangerThings The Demogorgon]], The Oni, The Deathslinger, [[Franchise/SilentHill The Executioner]], The Blight, The Twins, The Trickster, [[Franchise/ResidentEvil The Nemesis]], [[Franchise/{{Hellraiser}} The Cenobite]], The Artist, [[Literature/TheRing The Onryō]], The Dredge, [[Franchise/ResidentEvil The Mastermind]], The Knight, The Skull Merchant, The Singularity, [[Franchise/{{Alien}} The Xenomorph]][[/note]]

->[[center:[[Characters/DeadByDaylight Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/DeadByDaylightSurvivors Survivors]] ([[Characters/DeadByDaylightSurvivorsPart1 Part 1]], [[Characters/DeadByDaylightSurvivorsPart2 Part 2]], [[Characters/DeadByDaylightSurvivorsPart3 Part 3]]) | '''Killers''' ([[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart1 Part 1]], [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart2 Part 2]]) | [[Characters/DeadByDaylightNonPlayable Non-Playable Characters]]]]

* WasOnceAMan: ''Almost'' every killer was a human before becoming what they are now. The exceptions are the Demogorgon, the Executioner, Nemesis, the Dredge, and the Singularity.

* [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart2 Part 2]][[note]][[Series/StrangerThings The Demogorgon]], The Oni, The Deathslinger, [[Franchise/SilentHill The Executioner]], The Blight, The Twins, The Trickster, [[Franchise/ResidentEvil The Nemesis]], [[Franchise/{{Hellraiser}} The Cenobite]], The Artist, [[Literature/TheRing The Onryō]], The Dredge, [[Franchise/ResidentEvil The Mastermind]], The Knight, The Skull Merchant, The Singularity[[/note]]

->[[center:[[Characters/DeadByDaylight Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/DeadByDaylightSurvivors Survivors]] ([[Characters/DeadByDaylightSurvivorsPart1 Part 1]], [[Characters/DeadByDaylightSurvivorsPart2 Part 2]]) | '''Killers''' ([[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart1 Part 1]], [[Characters/DeadByDaylightKillersPart2 Part 2]]) | [[Characters/DeadByDaylightNonPlayable Non-Playable Characters]]]]

** The Doctor’s mouth and eyes are constantly pried open by some kind of strange apparatus, denying him the ability to blink or hide his SlasherSmile.

* BodyHorror: A lot of them look hideous and horrifying, either because of their scars or natural deformations. And it’s not just about their faces either. Some of them have other things that make them even more horrifying. For example:

** The Blight has a face that makes him look like an undead monster as a side-effect of his power.
** The Hillbilly and The Twins have all suffered from genetic deformations since birth.
** The Doctor’s mouth and eyes are constantly pried open by some kind of strange apparatus. He never blinks and never closes his mouth.

** The Artist had her forearms and front halves of her feet chopped off before being brought into the Realm and has new limbs made of ink.
** Some skins for the killers also make them look even more horrifying, especially the Halloween ones.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: The Entity seems to have a form of mind control over the killers. This can be seen by how it exploits their psychopathy and basing the maps around their respective pasts. Judging by the lore of The Cannibal, The Entity influences at least some of the killers by instilling them with a [[DontMakeMeDestroyYou fear of failure]] and with an [[VeinOVision enhanced predatory instinct]]. It seems to prefer serial killers or the mentally broken because they are far easier to influence and/or control than the likes of an ordinary person.

* ManOfWealthAndTaste: Some of the pricier alternative cosmetics are regal suits or dresses that make the killer look very sophisticated.
* MortonsFork: When the Entity chooses a killer to act on its behalf, sometimes the killer is unwilling to do the Entity's bidding. In which case, there are two options given: one is that the killer can endure all kinds of torture that increases in severity, or submits to its will and hunt survivors. Notably, the more scarred and maimed a killer is (except for [[WildCard the Cenobite]]), the more likely they were tortured into that role; otherwise, the killers that do not submit or are considered a failure are thrown into the Void.

** Exhausted prevents survivors from using powerful escape perks like Dead Hard, Sprint Burst and Lithe until it goes away. While more likely to be caused by the survivors themselves using said perks, killers can also afflict the survivor with it to prevent them from using the escapes to begin with.