Black DogReport
English：Black Dog · Factions
A small eastern faction trading under the banner of "mercenary work". They do not wait to be hired — they stop you on the road for protection money, and they call at your base for more. Refusing usually means a fight on the spot.
Now that you're benefitting from our presence, we kindly ask that you chip in like everyone else. For a small fee we'll guard your base and take care of all your vermin problems. — Black Dog Bodyguard
Black Dog is a minor faction found around The Outlands. They call themselves mercenaries and talk constantly about "protection", but there is no ordinary way to hire them — in practice, a player's first contact with Black Dog is almost always being stopped on the road.
How the business works
Black Dog has no territorial ambition and no political programme. Their entire model is one sentence: show up first, ask for money second.
- On the road. Homeless Squads of the faction roam the region and have a chance to demand protection money from a player squad. Pay and they move on; refuse and the squad turns hostile and attacks immediately.
- At your gate. Black Dog characters will also walk into a player-owned base and use the same line. The base protection fee opens at 4,000 Cats and can be talked down to 3,000. Refuse, and they come back later — that visit is not a negotiation.
- As escorts. If you actually pay, they will follow you at 2,500 Cats per day, with each renewal adding another 700. That is one of the most expensive escorts in the game, and the fighting quality is nothing special.
Headquarters and personnel
Black Dog HQ sits in The Outlands, just west of Black Scratch. It is small — a single Snailhouse ringed by Defensive Wall III and Defensive Gate III.
Only two things live there: Black Dog Bodyguards and Bonedogs. The bodyguards are uniformly Greenlanders with a 35% chance of being female, with Strength, Toughness, Dexterity and blade skills all in the 30–40 band, randomly generated names, and either a Traitorous, Brave or Crazy personality.
The location carries a gear Artifacts value of 120,000 Cats with a total of 40 items refreshing every 24 hours, spread across wood barrels, baskets, secure wood and metal crates, weapon cabinets and safes. For an early squad that is a rich target — and a dangerous one.
Two exploitable quirks
The Wiki records two behaviours you can use directly:
- Getting knocked out makes you safe. After being knocked out by the residents of Black Dog HQ, they go passive and will not attack again for some time — unless you steal in front of them. That window is long enough to pick every lock in the building; the metal chest on the bottom floor can spawn a Masterwork Dark Leather Shirt.
- Their beds are public. Provided you can sneak in, or use the trick above, the beds inside are free for the player to use.
Relations and world states
Black Dog has no special relations toward any other faction. They are nobody's vassal and have no nemesis; they are simply a toll booth on the eastern roads.
There is exactly one player-relation trigger: raiding Black Dog HQ turns them hostile. Otherwise, paying up — or simply outrunning them — leaves the relationship intact.
The name
The Wiki's trivia section suggests "Black Dog" may be a portmanteau of Blackguard and Watch dog: the first for their habit of biting the hand that feeds them, the second for their nominal job as guards. The alternative reading is more mundane — their armour is black-themed, and they travel with Bonedogs.
Both readings point at the same thing. This is a watchdog outfit run as a pack of strays.