KeeperRL Faction Guide:
In KeeperRL, players have nine different factions to choose from, each with diverse strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. Selecting a faction determines the technologies, items, and creatures that will be available to players. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at each faction and what they add to the table.
Evil Wizard: The Evil Wizard faction is all about command of sorcery and black magic. They have an array of noteworthy spells, and can rally demons to battle for them. This faction is an apt choice for players who appreciate using magic to kill their enemies. They have some basic necromantic abilities, but nothing like the necromancer keepers. (But Evil Wizards can go out in the sun.) Though they can excel at magic melee combat by wielding a staff, they are not as good at melee as the knights, due to lacking multi-attack skill. They require high-level sorcery and adoxium to reach their peak output, which are later-game technology and several z-levels deep, respectively.
Ultimately, the Evil Wizard is competent in all basic aspects of dungeon-keeping, as befits the default Keeper.
Goblins: The Goblin faction both recruits and breeds goblins. Goblin kings are known to recruit competent Guards, whose expert knowledge of their home territory greatly improves their capabilities, as well as more generic goblin troops. Establishing your goblin breeding program will require locating and rescuing the goblin matrons; goblin kings looking to do so are advised to look close to home, under the rock. Once the matrons are returned, goblin armies can include amusing but tactical chickenmancers, who swing battles with well-timed attacks of chicken, as well as deadly kaboomers who use suicide bombing tactics.
This faction is a superior choice for players who delight in annihilating their enemies with little green people. Goblins are optimized for numbers, but their chief weakness is the lack of powerful units, and their keepers are not good at combat.
Necromancers: The Necromancer faction specializes in the resurrection and control of undead creatures. They can craft undead units using corpses, and their army includes huge zombies, skeletons, and other powerful undead creatures. This faction is a suitable option for players who savor using the undead to overcome their enemies. The downside is that they lack the power to create or recruit living units, and their troops cannot be repaired once damaged. Many of their units, including the Keeper cannot survive sunlight.
Dwarves: The Dwarven faction begin with a little population of skilled dwarves, who can acquire promotions and power up. Dwarves cannot breed new units or recruit them, but they can advance greatly in their chosen fields of excellency. This faction is a good choice for players who want to get to know their dungeon population. The complete inability to grow the population in any way is a downside. They are irreplacable elite troops but if all twelve die, the game is lost.
Gnomes: The Gnome faction is focused on construction of automations to execute their commands. Their mechanical army includes tiny flying devices and inventions powered by engines. This faction is an fine pick for players who want to exploit engineering to defeat their enemies. The downside is that they have a fixed population of five gnomes, which are rather weak on their own. The gnomes are not replacable but you have five gnome keepers, so losing a keeper is not game-ending.
White Knight: White Knights are a melee powerhouse that improves with time and training, and their keepers only require iron-working and access to adamantine to reach their peak combat output. They have exclusive access to arrow-slit walls and can buy steeds that promote to warhorses. White Knights can recruit dwarven blacksmiths, summon angelic hosts, and gain access to Teutonic Knight melee allies. However, their peasants are the least efficient worker unit, making mining more difficult. Starting without Sorcery blocks access to bookshelves and healers until Sorcery is obtained. They have better access to farm animals, and their forces include powerful knights, archers and priests. The downside is that they lack all the truly evil units that some factions can control…but they have full access to prisons and torture facilities, perhaps foreshadowing an eventual fall…
Fallen Knight: The Fallen Knights faction boasts superior combat abilities to the Evil Wizards, with a focus on melee fighting and an advantage in starting with iron-working technology instead of sorcery. They can recruit similar units to the wizard faction, making them a fierce choice for players seeking a ferocious keeper to lead their armies. However, the Fallen Knight Keeper is unable to learn magic. Similar to the White Knights, the Fallen Knights face the challenge of obtaining healers without Sorcery, but otherwise they share similarities with the Evil Wizard faction including limited necromancy and demonology.
Cyclops: The Cyclops faction is a lonesome keeper who stands on his own confronting the whole world. They are physically strong and can administer huge harm in melee combat. This faction is a fine choice for players who prefer a solo approach. Their big downside is that they lack any other units.
Zombies: The Zombie faction is unique in that their ability increases with their numbers. They can raise hordes of zombies to swarm their enemies and subdue them with sheer strength. This faction is a suitable selection for players who enjoy overwhelming their enemies with brute numbers. The downside is that their units are comparatively weak on their own and there is very little diversity among zombies; rather, simply amassing hordes and throwing them at your enemies is the order of the day.
The faction that players choose will determine the technologies they can learn, the items they can build, and the types of creatures that will try to join their dungeon. Each faction has its own unique strengths and weaknesses, so players will need to carefully consider which faction they want to lead to victory. Evil wizards, white knights and fallen knights are the only real option for playing endless mode (a surival mode, where the game starts off by sending you increasingly powerful invaders). Torturing and converting prisoners is required to beat this mode.
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