This guide discusses recruitment and progression systems but avoids story spoilers. DLC race information is marked separately from base-game advice.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
The game does not use a fixed roster of named characters. Each run generates heroes with names, portraits, traits, perk affinities and starting equipment. You begin with three, then build an Inn to recruit additional heroes for gold. Upgrade the Inn’s accommodation when it reaches its limit. In combat, a hero’s role comes mainly from their weapons, stats, perks and equipment rather than a locked class. You can edit a hero’s name and appearance, but customization does not let you freely replace their generated traits or turn them into a permanent class.
Roster
How the hero roster works
A new haven starts with three randomly generated heroes. They are not selected from a small list of authored protagonists, and there is no standard campaign roster with permanent characters such as a warrior, mage or ranger waiting to be unlocked. Names, portraits, traits and starting equipment are generated for the run.
That randomness is intentional. A hero’s value comes from the combination of their attributes, traits, perk choices and equipment. Two heroes who look similar can develop into very different specialists once you assign weapons and make level-up decisions.
The Inn expands the roster during the daytime production phase. Its recruitable heroes are also generated, so you should inspect their traits, level, perk affinities and price before spending gold. The available choices can change between production phases, and a poor recruit is not automatically better than a well-developed starting hero.
- Starting roster: three generated heroes.
- Recruitment location: the Inn.
- Recruitment currency: gold.
- Hero identity: generated name, portrait, traits, perks and equipment rather than a fixed biography.
- DLC races: Dwarves and Elves add race-specific options when their respective content is installed.
| Roster element | What it means | Practical advice |
|---|---|---|
| Starting heroes | Three generated characters at the beginning of a run. | Check their traits and perk affinities before deciding who gets priority equipment. |
| Inn recruits | Additional generated heroes offered during the day. | Recruit when a new body solves a real coverage problem, not only because a slot is available. |
| Race options | Base-game humans plus DLC race options where applicable. | Treat race bonuses as build modifiers, not as separate fixed classes. |
| Hero capacity | The maximum number of heroes you can keep in the haven. | Raise it through Inn accommodation upgrades when the building reports no room. |
The existence of the three-hero start, Inn recruitment and accommodation upgrades is consistent across the current game structure. Exact prices, recruitment timing and the final capacity shown in your save are balance- and progression-sensitive, so do not treat an old guide’s gold costs as universal.
Roles
There are no locked hero classes
The most important character-system detail is that heroes are classless. A hero does not permanently belong to a warrior, archer or mage class. Instead, weapons provide the active skills, while attributes, traits, perks and equipment determine how effectively that hero performs a role.
In practice, you can organize the roster into broad roles. Melee builds usually focus on close-range damage, mobility, survivability or retaliation. Ranged builds specialize in safe damage, reach and target selection. Magic builds often emphasize area control, status effects or mana management. Defensive, debuff, poison and assassin-style builds can overlap with any of those weapon families.
Use these labels as planning shorthand rather than rules. A ranged weapon can support a control build, a melee hero can carry utility, and a magic weapon can be used by a hero whose traits were not initially ideal for spell damage. The best role is the one supported by the hero’s generated strengths and the equipment available in that run.
- Choose the weapon first when defining a hero’s immediate job.
- Use traits and level-up stats to reinforce the weapon’s damage type or utility.
- Use a second weapon to cover a weakness, such as poor reach or weak single-target damage.
- Do not discard a hero solely because their portrait or generated name does not suggest a role.
- Review perk affinities before committing rare equipment to a recruit.
| Role shorthand | Typical purpose | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Front-line melee | Kills nearby enemies and holds threatened lanes. | Damage, movement, survivability, armor or retaliation support. |
| Ranged damage | Removes targets before they reach walls or heroes. | Range, accuracy, damage and enough movement to maintain safe positions. |
| Magic control | Handles groups, status effects or flexible area damage. | Mana support, area skills, damage and effects that improve against clusters. |
| Debuff or poison | Weakens many enemies so the squad can finish them efficiently. | Perks and weapons that reward repeated hits, status effects or opportunism. |
| Assassin or finisher | Deletes isolated, wounded or high-priority targets. | Single-target damage, mobility, accuracy and bonuses against vulnerable enemies. |
Build around the hero you actually rolled. Forcing every character into the same weapon type wastes the advantages of the generated traits and perk options.
Progression
How to get more heroes and increase capacity
Build an Inn during the haven’s daytime phase, then open it to view recruitable heroes. Recruitment costs gold, and the recruit’s level and quality affect the price. The Inn is also where you manage accommodation. If it says there is no room, buying another hero will not solve the problem; upgrade the accommodation first.
The normal progression is to begin with the three free heroes, add a fourth when your economy can support another set of equipment, and expand again when later nights require more coverage. Community references commonly describe the standard campaign reaching six heroes through Inn upgrades, but the number visible in your save is the one to trust, especially with different modes, updates or content installed.
You can also encounter progression systems that influence hero generation, including meta upgrades and Omens. These may improve starting conditions or the quality and variety of generated heroes, but they do not replace the Inn’s role as the normal source of additional recruits.
- Step 1: Build the Inn when your gold economy can sustain recruitment.
- Step 2: Inspect the offered heroes during the production phase.
- Step 3: Recruit only when the new role or body is worth the gold and equipment cost.
- Step 4: Use the Inn’s accommodation upgrade when capacity blocks recruitment.
- Step 5: Recheck the roster after each upgrade because better recruits can appear later.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How do I get a fourth hero? | Build the Inn, open its recruitment panel and pay the listed gold cost. |
| Why can’t I recruit another hero? | The Inn may be at capacity, the building may be unavailable or destroyed, or you may not have enough gold. |
| How do I increase hero capacity? | Select the Inn and purchase its available accommodation upgrade. |
| Can I recruit infinite heroes? | No. Recruitment is limited by the capacity shown by your Inn and current progression. |
| Should I recruit as soon as possible? | Not always. More heroes improve coverage, but they also require gold, equipment and experience management. |
Recruit when a new hero covers a dangerous side, adds a needed damage type or gives you a better perk foundation than the current roster. A larger party is not automatically stronger if your economy cannot equip it.
Customization
What the character editor changes
The character customization panel lets you rename heroes and alter their presentation. The official customization update added manual and randomized control over names, portraits, facial features and color palettes. This is useful for identifying jobs, matching a theme or replacing a generated name you dislike.
Customization is cosmetic. It does not give you a menu where you freely assign traits, reroll the hero’s complete build or select a permanent class. Traits, perk affinities, equipment and level-up results remain part of the run’s tactical progression.
The editor can therefore make a generated hero feel personal without removing the game’s roguelite character-generation system. If a hero has poor traits for your plan, changing their portrait will not fix the underlying build.
- Editable: name, portrait elements, facial details and color presentation.
- Not freely editable: the hero’s complete trait package, perk generation and equipment progression.
- Useful shortcut: rename heroes after their intended role becomes clear.
- Randomization: use it when you want a fresh portrait without manually changing every feature.
There are no standard named heroes who must be unlocked or recruited in the base roster. Names are generated for individual heroes and can be changed. If a guide lists a memorable hero name, it is usually describing that player’s generated character, a screenshot example or a community-created naming convention rather than a canonical recruit.
FAQ
Common questions
Can I create a custom hero from scratch?
You can customize a generated hero’s name and appearance, including portrait details and color presentation. You cannot freely design every trait, perk affinity or starting build from a blank template.
Are there hero classes?
No permanent classes lock a hero to a weapon type. Weapons determine available skills, while traits, perks, attributes and equipment shape the role.
How many heroes can I have?
The Inn controls the capacity shown in your haven. The standard progression commonly expands beyond the initial three and reaches six through accommodation upgrades, but check your own Inn because progression and content can affect the displayed limit.
How do I recruit more heroes?
Build the Inn, open its recruitment panel during the daytime phase and pay gold for an available hero. If the Inn has no room, purchase an accommodation upgrade first.
Can I rename a hero?
Yes. Open the hero’s customization panel and change the generated name. Renaming does not change the hero’s traits, perks or combat performance.
Do the Dwarf and Elf DLCs add named heroes?
They add race-related content and new customization or gameplay options rather than replacing the normal generated-hero system with a fixed named roster.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.