The Companions
Five named companions — Bram, Sera, Nyx, Jonas, Eda. Each has an authored death with real consequences. They level up. They develop bonds. They can die permanently. Their dialogue options lock. The memorial wall gets longer. Not pets — people with histories and limits.
The Classes
Tank
Heavy plating, wide stance, shield or oversized melee. Draws enemy fire so the rest of the squad can breathe. Panic response: charges the biggest threat.
Support
Medical kit, tools, lighter armor. Moves toward danger to patch wounds. Panic response: hands shake, drops medkit, stim fumbles.
DPS
Weapon-forward, aggressive, lots of firepower. The gun leads, they follow. Panic response: wild firing, weapon shake, spray widens.
Scout
Light armor, cloaks, fast. Leaves dust trails. Reveals enemies, repositions constantly. Panic response: freezes or bolts entirely.
Miner
Heavy mining gear, reinforced boots. Harvests scrap from fallen enemies and terrain. Repairs modules mid-combat. Fights with drill and pick. Panic response: digs in, refuses to move.
Saboteur
Light frame, smoke bombs, jury-rigged detonators. Sneaks behind enemy lines, disables gunners, plants charges on shield units. Panic response: detonates everything nearby — friend or foe.
Tinker
Overloaded tool belt, brass gadgets, deployable turrets. Drops steam vents that slow enemies, throws proximity mines, overcharges ally weapons. Panic response: gadgets malfunction, random effects.
Chaplain
Carries a mini-shrine, burns ash incense, chants corporate hymns backwards. Buffs allies' fear resistance, curses enemies with doubt. Former machine priest who saw the truth. Panic response: prays, freezes, immune to fear but vulnerable.
Fear System
No one is perfect. Everyone is afraid. Fear builds in combat — and when it breaks, panic is trait-driven, not random.
Fear Meter States
Calm: Operating normally. No penalties.
Nervous (50+): 20% chance of minor mistakes — missed shot, delayed heal.
Terrified (75+): 40% chance of major failure — freeze, disobey, friendly fire.
Broken (90+): Automatic panic response based on worst trait.
Panic Responses by Trait
| Trait | Panic Response |
|---|---|
| Brave | Charges the scariest enemy. May die gloriously. May save everyone. |
| Cautious | Flees to maximum range. May leave Wren exposed. |
| Loyal | Stays near Wren regardless of danger. Refuses retreat commands. |
| Stubborn | Freezes. Refuses to move or act. "I'm not leaving." |
| Reckless | Fires wildly. Suppression everywhere. Including allies. |
| Calculating | Calculates escape route. May abandon Wren if survival = 0%. |
The Fixed Roster
Same every playthrough. Written stories. Specific death consequences. These are the characters you can miss.
Sera Voss — "The Reader"
Cryolyne junior propulsion engineer. Accessed a file she shouldn't have. Saw the truth about extraction — not ore, not coal, but time pulled from people. Ran. Found The Pit by following the ash plume. Teaches Wren to read technical glyphs between drops.
Death consequence: A late-game scannable cannot be translated. Its lore remains locked forever.
Bram Ketch — "The Anchor"
Held a mountain pass for six hours against a Cryolyne sweep while civilians escaped. Took a rail-round through the shoulder. Did not fall. Wields a harvester-tooth maul and a refinery door as shield. Says "I've seen worse" after every drop. He's lying. Wren knows.
Death consequence: Memorial plaque: "Bram Ketch. Held the line." Wren gains a new combat bark: "Hold the line."
Nyx Voss — "The Ghost"
Survived three days inside a Hollow zone. Came out different. Whispers to herself. Sees movement in empty corners. She's usually right. The only companion who warns Wren about Vesp — indirectly: "The barkeep watches the exits, not the doors. Think about that."
Death consequence: Wren doesn't get the breadcrumb that primes him for Vesp's betrayal. The reveal lands harder.
Jonas Sloe — "The Defector"
Cryolyne medical officer who refused to euthanize a ward of "failed extractions." Walked out. Carries the medical bag still. Asks Wren: "How many have you killed? I kept count until I couldn't. Do you keep count?" Wren doesn't answer. Jonas nods: "That's its own kind of count."
Death consequence: No one else can stabilize critical wounds. Downed companions bleed out.
Eda Crisp — "The Kid"
Sixteen years old. Lied about her age to join a merc crew. They died. She didn't. Fell asleep in a cargo container and woke up when The Pit started moving. Carries a rotary gun taller than her. The only person who makes Wren laugh without trying.
Death consequence: Wren loses one of the only people who makes him laugh without trying. The hub goes quieter. He doesn't joke at the briefing table anymore.
Combat Scenarios
Three drops. Three compositions. Three ways to learn who your companions really are.
Scenario 1: The Firebreather
A Heavy Transitioned — codename "Furnace" — has taken up position in a narrow canyon. It breathes ash-fire in a sweeping cone. Wren alone cannot approach without being cooked. The ash lingers, creating no-go zones.
With Bram Ketch (Tank): Bram charges in with shield raised. His Hold the Line taunts Furnace, drawing the cone toward him. Wren flanks. Bram's shield begins to glow white-hot. His fear meter spikes. At 80%, he panics — but he's BRAVE. He charges into the flame. The shield melts. Bram dies. But Wren gets the shot. The memorial wall gets longer.
With Sera Voss (Support): Sera calculates the cone's sweep timing. She calls shots: "Now — move." Her LOYAL trait keeps her close to Wren, repairing his heat damage in real-time. No heroics. No deaths. Just cold math and survival. They win without drama. Vesp pours them both the good stuff.
Scenario 2: The Hollow Sighting
A Hollow appears on the horizon. Not attacking yet. Just watching. But its presence spikes every companion's fear meter by +40. The squad is already wounded from a previous engagement.
With Nyx Voss (Scout): Nyx is Hollow-Touched. She starts with +10 fear threshold. She doesn't panic. She fires a flare, reveals the Hollow's weak point, and calls Hunter's Mark. The squad focuses fire. The Hollow dies before it moves. Nyx whispers afterward: "It recognized me. That's new. That's bad."
With Eda Crisp (DPS): Eda's fear hits 95 instantly. She's RECKLESS. She opens fire — not at the Hollow, but at everything. Suppressing fire in all directions. She hits two allies. She suppresses a wave of swarmer Transitioned no one saw coming. The Hollow, annoyed by the noise, turns away. Eda saved the squad by accident. She doesn't know. No one tells her.
Scenario 3: The Bridge
The squad must hold a narrow bridge while Wren plants charges on the far side. Three minutes. Infinite waves. No retreat. Who do you bring?
Bram Ketch + Jonas Sloe: Bram holds the center. Jonas heals him through impossible damage. At 2:30, Bram triggers Last Stand — invulnerable, all aggro. Jonas runs out of stim. At 2:45, Bram dies standing. Jonas refuses to retreat — DEVOUT trait. He stays with the body, firing his sidearm, stabilizing the wounded. At 2:59, Wren detonates the charges. Jonas is on the wrong side of the bridge. He salutes. The explosion takes the bridge, the waves, and Jonas. Two plaques. One loop.
Sera Voss + Nyx Voss (no relation): Sera calculates enemy spawn timing. Nyx flares early waves, shadow-steps to snipe commanders. No heroics. No standing ground. Constant movement, constant calculation. At 2:50, Sera says: "We leave now. Math says survival." They extract with thirty seconds to spare. Wren's charges detonate remotely. Clean. Cold. No memorial plaques. Sera sleeps badly anyway.
Progression & Bonds
Leveling
Companions gain XP from kills, assists, and survival. Level 3 unlocks a class ability. Level 5 unlocks an ultimate and enables bonds.
Bonds
When two L5 companions fight together, they gain synergy: reduced fear, faster ultimate charge. If one dies, the other goes BROKEN for three drops: +20% damage, +50% fear, reckless.
Memorial Wall
In The Club, a brass panel grows. Name. Loop count. Last words. Cause. Wren gains small permanent buffs per death — not enough to game, just enough to feel like he's carrying them.
"The warmth is real. The machine is real. Both are true."