This guide discusses character mechanics, unlock conditions, challenge requirements, and variant content. Some variant unlocks are event-based or tied to optional downloadable content.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
The heretic's fork characters roster has seven named base employees: Intern Ruby, John Fenriz, Denny Fox, Niya Biblyat, Unknown, Greezy, and Gilbo Gibbins. Ruby is the neutral beginner, Fenriz is the flexible structure specialist, Denny improves card cycling, Niya trades health for cards and energy, Unknown scales around rock cards, Greezy uses a shop-and-gold economy, and Gilbo gambles cards using Luck. Unlock employees through the game's Rewards and Promotions progression, then check the character screen for the next available hire. Variants are separate and use challenge, event, file, or DLC unlocks.
Roster
All seven base employees
Employees change how a run begins and what kinds of cards are worth prioritizing. They are not conventional classes with a permanent skill tree: each one supplies a special rule, starting advantage, or economic twist, while the deck still determines most of the build.
The official achievement list confirms seven named employees. The practical role descriptions below combine those documented mechanics with recommendations for choosing a first route.
- Intern Ruby: the baseline employee. She has no special ability and uses a randomized basic starting deck. Choose her to learn the normal card flow without another mechanic competing for attention.
- John Fenriz: the structure generalist. He starts with three open structure slots, giving him more early tower or garrison capacity, and his Locksmith ability can lock sacrifice slots for one energy. This is the most forgiving recommendation for a first clear.
- Denny Fox: the card-cycling specialist. Repent lets her redraw the hand once per turn, but cards already placed in the sacrifice area do not redraw. She suits active-heavy or draw-dependent strategies.
- Niya Biblyat: the high-risk resource specialist. Dark Bargain sacrifices health to draw an extra card and recover two extra energy. Healing, shielding, and maximum-health effects make her safer.
- Unknown: the rock-scaling specialist. Damage is amplified by the rock cards in play, while cards in the sacrifice area can persist and potentially turn into rocks at the end of a round.
- Greezy: the shop-and-gold specialist. She starts with 50 gold, keeps access to a shop rift, and gains gold when sacrificing cards instead of using the normal reroll or upgrade behavior. Her early game is less forgiving, but her economy can become powerful.
- Gilbo Gibbins: the Luck gambler. Gamble acts on cards in the sacrifice slots and can produce outcomes such as duplication, free cards, randomization, or high-tier conversions. More Luck improves the odds, but the results are deliberately volatile.
| Employee | Core role | Best fit | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intern Ruby | Neutral baseline | Learning the standard system | No special ability to rescue weak draws |
| John Fenriz | Extra structure capacity | Stable tower or mixed builds | Can tempt you to overbuild instead of improving damage |
| Denny Fox | Hand redraws | Active cards and flexible cycling | Sacrifice-area cards stay fixed |
| Niya Biblyat | Health for cards and energy | High-value turns with healing support | Dark Bargain can kill her if recovery is weak |
| Unknown | Rock-based scaling | Persistent sacrifice-area setups | Needs the right rock and damage support |
| Greezy | Gold and shop economy | Longer runs and economy-focused play | The opening can be slow and luck-sensitive |
| Gilbo Gibbins | Luck-based Gamble | High-roll legendary or duplicate-card runs | Bad outcomes can damage an otherwise stable deck |
The employee names and signature mechanics are documented by the achievement guide and official announcements. Statements such as “best first pick” or “most forgiving” are recommendations, not official balance rankings.
Unlocks
How to unlock the full employee roster
Start with Intern Ruby, then use completed shifts and the Rewards or Promotions systems to advance your account. The game presents employee unlocks through its own progression menus, but the sources checked do not provide a complete, current table of exact credit costs for every hire. Do not rely on an old cost list unless the same requirement appears in your build.
A useful practical order is to unlock John Fenriz early, then try Denny or Niya before spending heavily on specialized cards. Fenriz gives immediate value without requiring a particular deck, while Denny and Niya teach two distinct resource-management styles. Continue checking the character screen after earning credits or completing progression objectives.
The Steam achievement called Middle Management confirms the goal as unlocking all characters. Separate completion achievements require fully completing a shift with each named employee, including Gilbo, so unlocking a character and clearing a run with that character are different objectives.
- Open the Rewards or Promotions area between shifts and inspect available employee unlocks.
- Spend credits or complete the displayed progression requirement only after checking the current in-game description.
- Use John Fenriz for the first serious unlock if you want a dependable generalist.
- After hiring an employee, complete a shift with them if you are also working toward the employee achievements.
- Treat the achievement list as confirmation of the roster, not as a substitute for the current in-game unlock text.
| Goal | What it means |
|---|---|
| Unlock all characters | All seven named base employees are available in the character selector. |
| Complete a shift with an employee | A separate achievement condition requiring a full successful run with that employee. |
| Unlock a variant | A separate cosmetic or mechanical employee version, usually tied to a challenge, file, event, or DLC. |
The roster is well documented, but exact unlock costs and menu requirements can change between builds or platforms. If your version shows a different price or condition, follow the character selector and Rewards menu in that version.
Variants
Base employees versus character variants
Variants should not be counted as additional base employees. They are alternate versions of an employee and can change the starting setup or play pattern. The official update notes describe variants as skins with extra effects, so a variant may be mechanically meaningful even though it belongs to an existing employee.
Documented examples include Postal Dude as a John Fenriz variant, Spooky Niya from the Halloween desktop file, and several challenge-based versions. The Christmas of Hell update also added variants such as Cozy Ruby, Master Gilbo, Reckless Niya, Empire of Greezy, Critical Roller, John the Builder, and Denny Claws. Some listed variants were part of paid collaboration DLC, while others were free challenge or file unlocks.
For a complete collection, inspect the variant list in the character menu and read each locked entry. That is safer than assuming every name is available on every platform or in the base package.
- Challenge variants require the named challenge, not simply a successful normal shift.
- Desktop-file variants can depend on a seasonal or event-related file being present in your build.
- Collaboration variants may be attached to paid DLC.
- A variant may inherit the parent employee's general role while changing its starting cards or special rules.
| Variant type | Typical unlock route | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Challenge variant | Complete a named challenge | The Tasks or Challenges menu |
| Desktop-file variant | Run a supplied in-game file | The desktop screen and current event files |
| Event variant | Seasonal or promotional content | Whether the event remains active in your version |
| DLC variant | Purchase or install the relevant expansion | The DLC page and character selector |
The base completion target remains the seven named employees. Variant ownership is a broader collection goal and can include content unavailable in the base game.
Recommendations
Which employee should you choose?
Choose John Fenriz if you want the most reliable first route. His extra structure slot improves early output, and Locksmith lets you preserve a useful sacrifice-area card when the next hand is awkward. Build around one strong damage plan rather than filling every slot with low-tier structures.
Choose Denny Fox when you value consistency in the hand more than raw starting capacity. Repent is particularly useful when a run depends on seeing a specific active, tower, or upgrade at the right time. Remember that it does not redraw cards already committed to the sacrifice area.
Choose Niya Biblyat when you understand the health economy. Dark Bargain is strongest when you already have healing, shielding, or enough damage to end waves quickly. Avoid repeatedly paying health before the run has a recovery plan.
Choose Unknown, Greezy, or Gilbo when you specifically want their mechanic. Unknown rewards persistent rock setups, Greezy rewards careful shop and gold management, and Gilbo rewards Luck and controlled risk. These are more specialized choices than Ruby or Fenriz.
- For a first clear: John Fenriz.
- For learning the unmodified rules: Intern Ruby.
- For card cycling: Denny Fox.
- For explosive resource turns: Niya Biblyat.
- For rock scaling: Unknown.
- For shop and economy play: Greezy.
- For Luck and Gamble: Gilbo Gibbins.
No employee is universally best. Card offers, structure quality, difficulty, and available variants can matter more than the starting ability.
FAQ
Named character questions
Question
Is Gilbo Gibbins a base character?
Yes. He is a named employee in the confirmed roster, not merely a variant. His Gamble mechanic uses Luck to influence what happens to cards in the sacrifice slots.
FAQ
Common questions
How many base employees are in Heretic's Fork?
Seven are confirmed by the game's employee achievements: Intern Ruby, John Fenriz, Denny Fox, Niya Biblyat, Unknown, Greezy, and Gilbo Gibbins.
Who is the best beginner employee?
John Fenriz is the safest recommendation because his extra structure capacity helps immediately and Locksmith gives him additional control over sacrifice slots. Intern Ruby is better if you want to learn the unmodified rules.
Is Intern Ruby weak?
She is intentionally neutral rather than mechanically specialized. Ruby has no special ability, so her performance depends more directly on card quality and your decisions.
Are character variants separate characters?
No. Variants are alternate versions of existing employees. They can change starting cards or effects, but they should be tracked separately from the seven base employees.
How do I unlock all characters?
Use the Rewards or Promotions progression shown in your current build, inspect the character selector for requirements, and spend the earned credits or complete the displayed objectives. The exact cost table is not consistently documented across versions, so the in-game requirement is the reliable authority.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.