Iron HQReport
English：Iron HQ · Locations
The only settlement the Skeleton Bandits own, out in The Crags, with the Elder sitting in the central lab. Walk in and talk to him and you can join — even if he was swinging at you a second earlier.
We are superior! We are free from flesh pleasures! We are free from bodily filth! We are free from the grasping mind! We. Are. Skeletons. — the Elder's propaganda
The Iron HQ is an outpost located in The Crags. It is the Skeleton Bandits' faction headquarters and their only settlement, housing their leader the Elder.
What is here
The outpost is made up of several Metal Wallhouses — presumably acting as barracks — and a Faction HQ.
Two of the Wallhouses are for sale. That matters practically. The Crags produces double stone and iron with zero fertility, land suited to mining and not to living, so buying a finished Metal Wallhouse gets you a base in the middle of an ore field without building anything.
The Elder, and joining
The Elder is a P4 Unit with 60 strength, 75 combat and 10 stealth, spawning with no apparel at all, carrying a Meitou-grade Ringed Sabre. He also carries an AI Core.
Talking to him lets you join the Skeleton Bandits, regardless of race, with the right dialogue choices. In practice.
- A Skeleton player character has the easiest time — and gets unique dialogue for it
- Humans have more trouble, because the Skeleton Bandits inside the HQ are hostile to them. But even if you trespass as a Human and the Elder has turned hostile, he will still talk to you and let you join on the spot
That is rare in Kenshi's faction design — an organisation that will fight you and recruit you in the same conversation.
What to watch for once allied
World states
| Condition | Result |
|---|---|
| Elder killed or imprisoned while the Queen of the South lives | Iron HQ is overrun by the Southern Hive |
| Both the Elder and the Queen of the South killed or imprisoned | Iron HQ falls to ruins |
The knock-on effects reach past the outpost. Skeleton Bandit patrols around The Crags are normally 1 Upgraded Skeleton Bandit leading 10 to 15 Skeleton Bandits; with the Elder dead they degrade into squads of 1 to 5 Broken Skeleton Bandits and spawn less often. Others move into the gap.
- If Savant is alive, Skin Bandit patrols of 8 to 20 start appearing in The Pits and The Crags
- Southern Hive patrols of 1 Prince and 8 Droneguards start appearing in Stobe's Garden and The Crags
Why the player cares
The Iron HQ offers one of the easiest faction alliances in the game, with an absurdly tough patrol force attached. Whether that alliance is worth one AI Core depends on whether you are short of tech or short of friends.