Lore & History

Character Biographies: The Survivors of Killing Floor

Killing Floor gives every playable character a short biography, shown on the character select screen. The stories are brief and mostly dark comedy, but they are more specific than they look: almost every survivor has a job, a reason to be in London and a grudge against Horzine. This page covers the best-known characters. For the full roster of all 56 characters, with portraits and how to unlock each one, see Killing Floor 1 Characters.

The biographies below come from the game's own text (System/KFGui.int) and the Steam store pages of the character packs.

Base Game Survivor

Lieutenant Masterson

Lieutenant Masterson lobby portrait

How to get: base game, free Background: British Army officer Personality: a man of few words, unnaturally calm under fire

Masterson is one of the six characters everyone gets for free, alongside Sergeant Powers, Corporal Lewis, Private Schnieder, Police Constable Briar and Police Sergeant Davin. His bio is deliberately mysterious: it is unclear how he rose through the ranks so fast, because his prior military service "seems virtually nonexistant" (sic). He directs his men decisively and always gets the job done, "no matter how unsavory".

DLC Characters

DJ Scully

DJ Scully lobby portrait

How to get: Outbreak Character Pack (2009) Background: army deserter turned underground club DJ

Scully went AWOL from the military and spent his nights spinning dark drum and bass in London's underground clubs, paid under the table. During one of his sets, a giant creature with "flesh blenders for hands" shredded his whole crowd, which pushed him back into the combat he had been running from. He later got two alternate versions: Steampunk DJ Scully (Steampunk Character Pack 2) and Voltage (Neon Character Pack).

Mr. Foster

Mr. Foster lobby portrait

How to get: Nightfall Character Pack (2010) Background: day trader and karaoke bar regular Notable features: business suit and gas mask

Foster describes his life as "The SuperFantastic life of a day trader and evening attraction at London's premiere karaoke bar". He was writing an autobiography, and its unfinished final chapter is titled "An Orgy of Skull Cracking and Mutant Warfare in the Big City". Tripwire later called him "a firm favorite with Killing Floor fans" on the Mrs Foster Pack page. He got a Steampunk version (achievement unlock), a red neon version called Mr. Magma (Neon Character Pack), and a wife, Mrs. Foster (Mrs Foster Pack). Team Fortress 2 even received his gas mask and tie as Pyro items during the 2010 crossover.

Harold Lott

Harold Lott lobby portrait

How to get: Harold Lott Character Pack (2012) Background: lottery millionaire and CEO Personality: crass, loud and abusive

Harold Lott is anything but an everyman. He won the lottery at 17, invested the money mostly wisely, and now runs three multinational companies (plus a money-themed porn channel). The only reason he has friends is that he is loaded, and he never lets anyone forget it. Despite his foul mouth and habit of lighting £50 notes under the noses of tramps, he loves London. His plan is a "hostile takeover of Horzine from the ground up". Tripwire designed him as a parody of the 1980s boom years and of players shouting "Money, Money, Money", and he leaves a trail of dosh behind him as he runs.

The Chickenator

The Chickenator lobby portrait

How to get: The Chickenator Pack (2012) Background: a resurrected police inspector in a chicken suit Notable features: glowing robot eye, trail of feathers

The Chickenator is Special Inspector Edmund Cook, the same man as the free achievement character Commando Chicken: a policeman who fought the outbreak in the chicken costume he wore to a Halloween party. Cook was eventually killed, and a mysterious benefactor resurrected him with combat biotech, "part dead policeman, part robot and all foul". His bio ends with a Terminator parody: "He can't be bargained with. He can't be reasoned with."

D.A.R. (Domestic Assistant Robot)

D.A.R. lobby portrait

How to get: Robot Special Character Pack (2012) Background: Horzine household cleaning robot Notable features: robotic voice pack, trail of sparks

D.A.R. stands for Domestic Assistant Robot, a Horzine home robot built to clean up around the house. It was not designed to fight. Its creator, Dr. Jeffrey Tamm (Urban Nightmare Character Pack), calls it "DARling". Somehow it downloaded a top-secret personality Tamm wrote for his off-the-books "Brenda Companion Robot". Now D.A.R. is torn between cleaning up freaks and going on a hot date with Dr. Tamm. The store page calls it "a little damaged, voice systems all shot up and squeaky".

Unlockable and Promotional Characters

Baddest Santa

Baddest Santa lobby portrait

How to get: free, via the "Bad Santa" achievement (10 of the 13 Christmas achievements plus any Christmas map achievement); introduced in the 2010 Twisted Christmas event Background: Bill Weeks, a fired mall Santa

Bill Weeks thought a part-time mall Santa job was rock bottom. Then a little girl wet herself on his lap, screamed "He's the Baddest Santa Evuh!" and got him fired. He drowned his sorrows in the pub, woke up with no job, a filthy headache and an evil temper, and found the world full of monsters. So he picked up a shotgun.

Hayato Tanaka

Hayato Tanaka lobby portrait

How to get: promotion, included with the Rising Storm Digital Deluxe Edition Background: Japanese-American with Yakuza aspirations

Tanaka was talked into voice acting for a friend's video game and then into posing in period Japanese military gear for publicity photos, genuine katana included. When the Zeds burst into the studio, the props came in handy. His partner in the same promotion is Ricky Vegas, the loud American who recorded lines in the same studio.

Character Selection

How to Choose

  • Personal preference: choose who you like
  • Voice lines: some characters have distinct voice packs (for example the robot voice of D.A.R. or Reggie's mumbling)
  • Appearance: visual preference
  • Unlock requirements: DLC, achievement or promotion characters need unlocking first

Unlocking Characters

  • Base game characters: six soldiers and police officers, available from the start
  • DLC characters: 14 character packs on Steam
  • Achievement unlocks: six characters, most tied to seasonal events
  • Cross-promotion: Team Fortress 2, The Ball, Red Orchestra 2 and Rising Storm

See the Unlockable Characters Guide for the exact achievement conditions.

Character Customization

Limited Customization

  • Character selection: choose your character model
  • Perk selection: choose your class
  • Weapon loadout: bought from the Trader each wave
  • No visual customization: each character has a fixed look
  • Characters are cosmetic: they don't affect stats

What You Can Change

  • Perk: your class/role
  • Weapons: your loadout
  • Playstyle: how you play
  • Team role: your function

Character Lore

Short, Specific Backstories

  • One paragraph each: the game shows a short bio on the select screen
  • Mostly dark comedy: deserters, criminals, hooligans, a cleaning robot and a man in a chicken suit
  • Horzine everywhere: many bios tie the character to Horzine as an employee (Dr. Gary Glover, Security Officer Thorne, Dr. Jeffrey Tamm) or a creation (D.A.R.)
  • London setting: the bios place the survivors in London and its surroundings

Conclusion

Killing Floor's characters don't change how you play, but their biographies are more colourful than the game's grim look suggests: a millionaire parody of the 1980s, a resurrected policeman in a chicken suit and a lovesick cleaning robot all share the streets with the base-game soldiers. Pick the one you like. Your perk and playstyle matter more than your model.

Sources