In the nightmarish world of Kenshi there is a limit to how much the player can accomplish on his or her own. Those who want to advance further in the game and carve out their own empire will need to farm out some of those responsibilities by hiring recruits. Each recruit type has its own advantages, but they can also introduce significant problems, and it's up to the player to decide on the most appropriate course of action.
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Then there are Unique recruits, these being non-generic recruits with one-of-a-kind dialogue and better than average stat who will only ever appear once in a given game. While there are a lot of unique recruits—more than 40 at the time of this article—here are the ten most interesting in the game.
10 Agnu
Agnu is unique in that it is the only unique Soldierbot recruit that can be hired by the player. Its metallic body is clothed by a blue skirt and it has basic skills in lots of different things making it an adaptable recruit to build in any direction.
It does have one significant downside; Agnu does not possess the ability to speak. This wouldn’t be so bad on its own, but the robot tries by screeching and screaming at the player and other recruits. Given Agnu is found by rescuing it from bandits, it’s possible they removed its ability to speak or it was damaged. Either way, it’s a unique character in the game, although a little annoying.
9 Stubs Momuso
Stubs is an interesting human recruit who wears shoddy leather armor and metal sunglasses. What makes him unique is that he struggles with communication, often mispronouncing words. It’s something he’s very sensitive about, and if the player teases him too much or is rude to him in other ways he’ll lash out violently.
However, he isn’t without a sense of humor; when asking if the player was “eyeballing” him, the player can claim that Stubs was eyeballing the player back. This triggers a unique set of dialogue that can be pretty funny.
8 Ray
A member of the insect-like Hive race, Ray is a slave owned by Bar Fly who is more than happy to sell him off. Ray apparently has a very feisty and fierce nature, which may have been the reason his previous owner cut out his tongue. Even mute he seems to have caused problems with his current owner who claims he’d be willing to turn Ray into bonemeal to sell if he can’t get the money back he spent on him.
Once recruited, he seems to be a fairly loyal recruit who’s good at melee combat—just don’t expect much in the way of small talk.
7 Shryke
A treasure hunter who’s stranded in Mongrel city, Shryke is a troubled soul who is haunted by her brother’s death. The two were making their way to Mongrel when they were apparently attacked by the Fogmen and her brother was killed. Given that Fogmen are known to be insanely violent, it’s no wonder his tortured screams still haunt her.
She wasn’t entirely unscathed by the tragic event and has a harsh scar on her hand to remind her of that horrible loss. It’s also made her incredibly wary to leave Mongrel, and she expresses hesitation to join the player if the squad is too small.
6 Miu
Miu has a dark past as a former slave who escaped with her friend Ned. Yet, as they reached the town’s gates, Ned was hunted down and killed by spiders. It’s a memory that has shaken her and given her an understandable fear of arachnids.
She’s a good farmer, but bad at everything else. An odd quirk with Miu is that, if the player is a member of the Skeleton race, she’ll comment on how beautiful the player's eyes are—even though Skeletons don’t possess eyes. It’s unclear if this is a bug in the game or a hint of madness, but it’s unnerving nonetheless.
5 Griffin
Griffin is a unique recruit in that he firmly believes the player is the chosen one. He claims that he had a vision from The Lord of Light who showed him a wealthy traveler that would help him understand the truth behind an apocalyptic event known as the First Extinction.
Even more interesting is that he was a soldier for the zealous Holy Nation, but disagrees with the faction’s belief that the Skeletons were responsible for the First Extinction. Perhaps it's because of this disagreement with their religious beliefs and his Joan of Arc visions that he’s in a bar looking to be hired by wandering travelers instead of serving the Holy army.
4 Reva
Reva is perhaps a polar opposite of Griffin in that she openly despises the Holy Nation and believes the God of Light does not exist. She was trained as a Flotsam Ninja but was prevented from progressing further because of her significant anger issues.
It’s unclear what has caused her anger problems or her crisis of faith, but she’s so consumed by her hatred of The Holy Nation and its god that she’ll refuse to work with any man, meaning the player can only recruit her if they are playing as a woman.
3 Silvershade
Another member of the Hive race, Silvershade was a former Hive Prince—the right hand to a Hive Queen—but has become hiveless for unknown reasons. Perhaps it was the death of his queen or a failure on his part that led to his exile, but he now lives in noisy bars to suppress his loneliness at no longer having a hive to call his own.
When the player finds him, he’s deeply in debt with a casino boss who’s threatened to break his legs. Paying the agreed amount gets him out of debt, and he becomes a loyal recruit. He is skilled all around, making him a useful and interesting recruit to bring along.
2 Bo
Bo is a hardcore member of the Anti-Slavers, a faction devoted to liberating slaves and eradicating slavery. She’s a Scorchlander human, meaning she has very dark features and glowing yellow eyes. With her black outfit and dark hood, she makes for an imposing figure.
She’s often referred to as ‘Big Bo’ by other Anti-Slavers despite her small size, though the nickname isn’t meant to be an insult. She commands such respect that she can recruit squads of Anti-Slavers that players come across to guard them and their squad for three days. This fierce character is both interesting and incredibly useful to have around.
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1 Cornelius
Out of all the unique recruits in the game, Cornelius is by far the most interesting, mainly because he’s a goat. Unlike all the other recruits that are humanoid and possess human-like intelligence, Cornelius is a humble animal with a fierce horned skull.
What’s even more interesting about Cornelius is the skills he possesses. This simple goat is proficient in hacking, wielding swords, manning turrets, and can act as a field medic. Sure, Dark Souls has a sword-wielding wolf, but picturing a goat performing battlefield surgery or gunning down enemies with a mounted turret. This makes him the most interesting recruit in the game by far.