Survivor

Survivors are the lens in which players experience the world of Kingdom Death: Monster. Over the course of a campaign, survivors will die, new ones will be born, and others will profoundly change over time. Survivors that endure multiple hunts will be rewarded with increases to their attributes, new abilities, and bonuses. Others will suffer attribute losses, permanent disfigurements, and crippling mental afflictions. Players will take the roles of multiple survivors throughout a campaign. The survivors' settlement is the enduring element that must persevere. Players will create survivors as old survivors die. They may create multiple living survivors to use depending on circumstances and the challenges presented to them. The same players need not control the same survivors between play sessions. The survivors in a settlement should be treated as a common pool that different groups of players can use. Just as survivors come and go, so can the players within a campaign.

Survivor Miniatures

Players use miniatures to represent their survivors on the hunt and showdown boards. Survivor miniatures don't need to accurately reflect the gear a player uses in a game. However, if a group decides to play in this way, it is usually possible to do so using the variety of model kits available. Survivor miniatures use a 30 mm round base.

Survivor Basics

Name

Naming your survivor gives them substance and a connection to the player. Survivors can be named at any time.

Survival

Main Article: Survival
Survival is the desperate desire to cling on to life. Survival is gained and lost throughout the campaign, and may be spent to perform extraordinary feats and change a survivor's fate. When a survivor is named, they gain +1 survival. For a brand new survivor, add a "1" in the survival box on the survivor record sheet when you name them. As a survivor's survival increases and decreases, update the survival box accordingly.

Survivor Attributes

Main Article: Survivor Attributes
Survivor attributes are used over the course of the game's different phases. They include movement, accuracy, strength, evasion, luck, and speed. A survivor may gain permanent increases and decreases to their attributes. As they do, update the appropriate boxes on the survivor record sheet to reflect these changes. If a survivor gains a temporary modifier to their attributes, place tokens on their record sheet instead of changing the sheet. Remove these tokens during the Returning Survivors step of the settlement phase.

Survivor Hit Locations

Hit Locations are areas of the survivor's body that can wear armor and suffer damage. The hit locations are head , arms , body , waist , and legs . Hit locations have a space for armor points (indicated by a shield icon). Without armor, hit locations have 0 armor points. Hit locations have a light injury level (indicated by a light-lined unfilled box) and a heavy injury level (indicated by a heavy-lined unfilled box). The head is the exception. Since the head is more fragile, and can withstand less injury, it only has a heavy injury level. Whenever players fill heavy injury levels on a survivor's record sheet, the survivor is knocked down, as noted below each hit location name. Once filled, a survivor cannot suffer injury levels again during the showdown unless they are healed. Any damage to a survivor's hit locations beyond the heavy injury level results in a roll on the respective hit locations Severe Injury table.

Brain

The brain is a survivor location different from hit locations, and represents a survivor's mental fitness. The brain can only be damaged by brain damage. Since a survivor's mind is fragile, there is only one injury level for the brain (indicated by the light unfilled box). Any damage beyond the light injury level results in a roll on the Brain Trauma table.

Insanity

Insanity protects the brain location in the same way that armor protects hit locations. The more insane a survivor is, the less likely they are to be shaken by the horrors that befall them. Insanity points are gained and lost throughout a campaign. Having 3+ insanity makes a survivor insane, which can stand in the way of making rational decisions during some story events and hunt events. As a survivor's insanity increases and decreases, update the insanity box on their survivor record sheet.

A sane survivor has less than 3 insanity.

Hunt Experience (Hunt XP)

Survivors gain Hunt XP during the aftermath of a victorious showdown. When survivors gain Hunt XP, update their record sheet by filling in the next unfilled Hunt XP box. Some Hunt XP boxes have milestones that trigger story events. The number of milestones filled indicates which rules to apply.

Novice

A novice is a survivor with 1 or less Hunt XP.

Retirement

In rare instances, survivors retire, rather than perish. When the last Hunt XP box is filled, the survivor retires. A survivor may also be forced into early retirement by some severe injuries. Retired survivors cannot hunt or participate in showdowns. When a survivor retires, they still contribute to the total population of a settlement, and may participate in settlement events and endeavors.

Weapon Proficiency

Main Article: Weapon Proficiency
When survivors reach certain moments in their lifetime (e.g. Age), they will be granted the ability to choose a weapon proficiency. The survivor may select a weapon type and start gaining weapon proficiency levels with this weapon. A weapon's type (or types) is a gear keyword below the weapon's name.

Courage and Understanding

Courage and understanding will aid survivors throughout the hunt and showdown. Some events require levels of courage and understanding to participate in them. Courage is a survivor's potentially ill-advised bravery, while understanding is a survivor's insight about the world. Courage and understanding both have milestones (indicated by heavy-lined boxes on the survivor record sheet) that trigger story events the first time the survivor reaches that milestone. Each of these milestone story events may only be triggered once in a survivor's lifetime.

Fighting Arts

Main Article: Fighting Arts
Fighting Arts can be gained from [[innovations][ and events. Some fighting arts are maneuvers that can be activated, or exciting effects that require additional costs or prerequisites to use. When a survivor gains a Fighting Art, record its rules on the survivor record sheet.

Disorders

Main Article: Disorders
The horrors of existence can cause survivors to develop mental disorders. Survivors can gain specific or random disorders. When a survivor gains a disorder, record its rules on the survivor record sheet.

Abilities and Impairments

Main Articles: Abilities, Impairments
In their lifetime, survivors may gain abilities, impairments, severe injuries, ailments, and other painful reminders of their journey. Record these in the Abilities & Impairments section of the survivor record sheet. A survivor may have any number of abilities or impairments. Abilities and impairments are unique rules acquired by survivors that can aid, or hinder them throughout a campaign.

Once Per Lifetime

This can only happen once to a survivor. If it occurs again, it does nothing. In rare cases, it is possible for a survivor to be a part of a new campaign; the survivor still has only one lifetime and anything that has already happened to them (with limit, once per lifetime) cannot happen again. If a survivor somehow dies and is reborn, they may gain the benefits again. Record any once per lifetime effects on the survivor's record sheet.

If a survivor uses a reroll from Survival of the Fittest, fill the checkbox on their survivor record sheet.

List of Notable Survivors

• Adam
• Allison
• Allister
• Anna
• Astri
• Aya
• Badar
• Ban
• Bloodberry
• Braal
• Breccia
• Cyrus
• Erza
• Fade
• Gadrock
• Gnostin Stonesmasher
• Grimmory
• Gunborg
• Hellebore
• Hungry Basalt
• Koshka
• Kisya
• Lenore
• Lolowen
• Luck the Wanderer
• Lucy
• Lune
• Mist
• Moss
• Nico
• Old Joe
• Pasha
• Paul
• Percival
• Rayanor
• Reapokratis
• Rock Knight
• Sen
• Seer
• Skrelle
• Snow
• Talisman
• Vitanvox
• Wendy
• Willow
• Wriel
• Young Rachel
• Zachary

See Also

• Arc Survivors
• Characters
• Saviors