Kenshi.zoneWorld Encyclopedia

Bounty HuntersReport

English:Bounty Hunters · Factions

Adventurers who make a living turning wanted people in. They will not bother you for no reason — but the moment your own bounty is large enough, or they watch you commit a crime, you stop being a passer-by and become merchandise.

I'm taking you in, outlaw! We can do this the easy way or the hard way... — a Bounty Hunter

Bounty Hunters are adventurers who make their living collecting the bounties of bandits, criminals and other wanted persons. They are mostly made up of citizens of the United Cities, which is why their range tracks United Cities territory and the lands next to it.

Note"Bounty Hunters" is the faction. Bounty is the price on a head and the system behind it. The two words appear in the same sentence constantly — keep them apart.

When they come for you

Bounty Hunters are not a hostile faction. You can walk straight past them and nothing happens — unless one of two things is true:

  1. Your bounty is large enough. Past a certain threshold the faction takes notice of you, and from there it is a matter of surrounding you, knocking you out, and putting you in a cage for the money.
  2. They see you commit a crime. Witnessing the act is enough; they may attack the perpetrator on the spot, with or without a prior record.

Being taken is worse than a cash loss. Once you are in a cage, a passing slaver patrol can buy you on and ship you off to a mine.

TipSeveral game starts hand you a bounty from the first minute. On those starts, stay off the United Cities highways and out of the Great Desert early on — the hunters there do not need a further reason.

Where they are

ZoneNotes
HengUnited Cities heartland; most common on the roads between towns
The Great DesertNorthern United Cities
Stormgap Coast
Stobe's GambleSouth-eastern frontier
Stobe's GardenSouth-eastern frontier
Watcher's RimSite of their permanent camp

Roaming squads in the wild run 1–6 strong. Their presence that far into the south-east is probably not about you: the wiki reads it as hunters chasing the very large bounties on the Anti-Slavers leadership.

The camp in Watcher's Rim

Watcher's Rim holds a Bounty Hunter Camp bristling with harpoon turrets, and every hunter in it is there for the same reason: the Bugmaster.

You can talk to them about him. Do not misread the exchange — they are not going to help you. They are waiting for their own shot at that 100,000-Cat head, and in their eyes you are a competitor, not an ally.

Members and fighting strength

The faction has only three generic NPCs:

Nine tenths of their weapons come from Catun Scrapmaster and one tenth from Skeleton Smiths, with a Desert Sabre always on the back. Armour is 85% Standard and 15% High grade, in no consistent style — Fog Masks, Basket Hats, Mercenary Plate and Dustcoats all turn up. The practical meaning of that loadout: they are tougher than ordinary bandits and nowhere near elite. A mid-game squad beats them. An early one gets hurt.

The faction carries a colour scheme, so members' armour and clothing are dyed to a consistent palette.

Relations

Bounty & Crime, United Cities, Bugmaster, Anti-Slavers, Factions