Kenshi Chronicler

Despite my false starts, I persisted. I envisioned my Kenshi playthroughs as an anthology. I planned to use the MCU movie plan to establish characters in individual playthroughs before combining them into a group playthrough. Several of the Game Start scenarios called out to me. Many were intriguing. I still wanted one that would feel easier than the suggested “Wanderer” Game Start.

My next Game Start choice was for the The Holy Sword Game Start. I liked the visual design of the Shek with their purple skin, and white bony armor like protrusions. They are the most militaristic in stats, and their in game culture. I knew I wanted/needed strong female character(s). The Holy Sword start is in Shek territory. A female Shek made sense as my next character. I forgot to give my character a unique name. The Female Shek character Vagabond was born. Vagabond being the default name for this Game Start. Dressed in black. incredibly long sword upon her back, Vagabond set out into the Sten Desert wastes.

I found Shek territory to be much quieter than the other Game Starts I had tried so far. I wandered without incident for a large amount of time. Eventually I came across a Shek patrol. I followed the Shek patrol hoping to get in on any action they encountered. Then to loot the aftermath of any fighting that was done. Shek territory continued to be uneventful for the time that I followed the patrol.

The patrol eventually came across a lone Shek Drifter. I checked out his stats. They were in the 30’s or so. This seemed high enough to consider the Drifter reasonably bad ass. I decided to begin to follow him. At this point the playthrough was still a solo playthrough. Learning from a solo Drifter badass felt like fun RP. It seemed a reasonable gameplay decision as well. I would be an apprentice to this Ronin Drifter. Until I was able to be a badass lone Drifter myself.

The playthrough had been slow, and uneventful up until now. Under my new Drifter apprenticeship things quickly became spicy. We came into contact with a pack of bonedogs. The Drifter, and Vagabond unsheathed their swords. We entered into combat sure to gain experience, and loot from the encounter. Swords slashed, bared teeth flashed, footwork was fancy.

Being more familiar with the difficulty curves of more traditional games I did not bat an eye at the idea this would be a manageable combat encounter to engage in. How wrong I was. In Kenshi the animals are pretty dangerous. They have solid stats. They attack quickly. Their attacks have stagger effects. They often roam in packs. The combat came to an end nearly as quickly as it had started. Down went Vagabond. Down went Drifter. Luckily neither were dead. Kenshi is famous for it’s downed states. Humorously you often enter a “recovery coma” status as you rest up from damage while downed. In this case my screenshot shows that I was in an unconscious state.

Eventually Vagabond came back to consciousness. Vagabond frantically searched her inventory for a med kit. Her health bars for Head, Left Arm, Left Leg, and Right leg were all half health or less. Her new master was still down, and unconscious. No med kit was to be found on her person. There was not so luck as that. The Holy Sword start does not give you a med kit in your starting inventory. Vagabond was no Boy Scout, she failed to “be prepared”. She had not properly oufitted herself for adventuring in dangerous territory including purchasing med kits in town before leaving. Her health continued to drain. She could not afford to wait around for the Drifter to regain consciousness. He was not guaranteed to have a med kit, or to heal her even if he did. She abandoned her new master to his fate in the wastes. She began her lonely trek back to Admag, the Shek capital. Vagabond was nervous about the possibility of running into additional encounters upon the way. Once again the Shek prowess, and military might was a boon. Their patrols kept their borders relatively free from bandits, and dangerous fauna. Vegabond made it halfway to Admag without incident. Disaster struck suddenly. Vagabond dropped to the ground. Her legs had continued to bleed damage until they had entered the “Crippled” state. Vagabond could no longer run, walk, nor even stand. Vagabond begin to crawl.

Anxiety spiked. I checked Vagabond’s health bars. Her head hp was low. It continued to bleed additional damage. She may not make it. Vagabond put hand over hand. Determined she crawled on. She lost consciousness. I worriedly waited out unconscious status for a second time. Perseverance prevailed. Vagabond regained consciousness, using her fingernails she crawled on. Admag appeared upon the horizon. Growing larger along with the swelling hope she held within her breast. The city guards were Shek. They cared not for weakness. They eyed Vagabond as she slowly passed. They did not lend a helping hand to heal Vagabond. Only checked her for contraband. Vagabond crawled on. Salvation came in the form of a local bar.

A bar with med kits, to staunch the bleeding. A bar with beds to speed her recovery of lost hp. Vagabond released a held breath. As did I as the player. We had survived. Kenshi proved to be a slow burn. The game was difficult. Persistence leads to success. You can grow stronger. I had considered giving up during my crawl, but had not given in to that impulse. I am glad that I had not. I was rewarded. I could see light through a crack in the proverbial door. I began to feel as a player what this game was about, and what it could be.

The dust settles; the wasteland remembers – Chronicler