Kenshi: Skeleton Guide (How to Recruit Them)

The Skeleton race is pretty unique in Kenshi, but it can be a pain to recruit characters of that race.

Skeletons are fully sentient robots, and seemingly quite ancient. They make for fantastic Martial Artists due to their tankiness, while also being able to survive harsh environments and not needing food. They’re quite the survivalists, but they’re rare to find.

In this guide, I’ll tell you everything you need to know to recruit Skeletons.

How to Recruit Skeleton Race Characters

Fully Unique Recruits

There are a total of 3 unique Skeleton recruits in Kenshi. Due to how unreliable the random recruits are, these 3 recruits are also by far the best way to get some Skeleton characters in your crew.

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Thankfully, these unique Skeleton recruits are also pretty easy to get, for the most part. Here’s a list of them all and how to get them:

• Burn – Found outside of Burn’s Tower in the Floodlands. Talk to him for a bit about adventures and you’ll be able to recruit him. He’s pretty solid for combat, but doesn’t have much unique dialogue. It’s best if you recruit him early on.
• Sadneil – A depressed Skeleton that hangs out at the Skeleton Bar in Black Desert City. Talk to him for a bit and you’ll be able to recruit him. He’s easy to get, but doesn’t have any notable stats.
• Agnu – The only recruitable Soldierbot in the game, you get him by freeing him from the top floor of the Tower of Abuse in Venge. You’ll need to fight many enemies to free him, so be ready! He has no notable stats besides a ridiculous 50 Strength.

As I said before, there are no guaranteed Skeleton recruits besides these 3. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any others at all!

Partially Randomized Unique Recruits

Aside from the 3 fully unique recruits, there are two partially-randomized unique recruits you should look out for. Both of them can spawn within Shark, which is the settlement in the center of The Swamp.

Now, again, these Skeletons have some randomization to them! That means, primarily, that their spawns aren’t guaranteed. You might not get them at all on your playthrough. Regardless, they are as follows:

Skeleton Survivor – A Skeleton who claims to be able to “distinguish underdogs from survivors,” he’ll warn you about how dangerous Shark is. You can recruit him for 2500 Cats.

Disheartened Skeleton – A Skeleton that is sickened by the cyclical nature of humanity’s cruelty. As a mercenary, you can hire him for 6000 Cats.

Since there are no guaranteed spawns for these two Skeletons, all I can do is wish you the best of luck trying to recruit them!

Generic Skeletons

Aside from the previous unique and semi-unique recruits, you can also find Skeletons as generic recruits randomly. They are, as you might’ve assumed by now, extremely rare. But they do exist!

Generally speaking, your best bet for finding generic Skeletons is to look in bars within the United Cities or the Swamp regions. For more specifics, though, here’s a list of places that are worth checking:

Any Major Town that isn’t controlled by the Holy Nation or the Shek Kingdom.

• Waystations.
• Smugglers Bar.
• Mud Town.
• Crab Town.
• Drin.
• Farming Village.
• The Hub.
• Tengu’s Vault.
• Blister Hill, Heft, Heng, and Stoat unless they’re taken over by the Holy Nation or the Shek Kingdom.

Again, though, Skeletons spawning as potential generic recruits is completely random and very rare. So, again, I’ll wish you the best of luck if you plan to aim for this.

Holy Nation Robot

Last but not least, the “Holy Nation Robot” event is another possible way to recruit Skeletons. This is a randomly-ocurring event where a squad of 1-4 Skeletons will spawn and patrol Northern Coast, Okran’s Valley, and Wend.

Should you get lucky enough to encounter this Skeleton squad, you’ll be able to recruit them if you meet all of the following criteria:

• The Holy Nation Robot squad has no followers or anyone besides the Skeletons.
• It’s your first time meeting.
• Neither they nor the player is imprisoned.
• The player is within talking range and not in combat.
• The player is not inside a non-player town.
• The player is not a Skeleton.
• The Skeletons’ Strength, Dexterity, Melee Attack, Melee Defense, Martial Arts, and Dodge are all lower than 25 or the cumulative value of these stats is less than 75.

Out of all of these requirements, their stats are by far the biggest problem. These Skeletons have a wide range of stats they can spawn with, but they lean towards the higher end. As such, they can sometimes be invalid for recruitment from the get-go.

If you do manage to meet all of the criteria, however, make sure to proclaim your defiance to the Holy Nation. Choosing to say you just “like helping people” will end the dialogue without recruitment. So, again, defy the Holy Nation to ensure recruitment.

Wrapping Up

Ultimately, it’s pretty tough to recruit Skeleton characters in Kenshi. Besides the few unique recruits you’re guaranteed to meet, the rest are purely up to random chance! And they’re quite rare, on top of that.

Regardless, at least now you know what to look out for, more or less. I hope this helps you on your quest to build a robot army! For more recruits, though, check out our list of the best unique recruits.