So I have never done a mod before and don't really know shit about it, but I've been working on something for the past few days that I wanted to show you guys.
I have always been frustrated by how Kenshi doesn't really let you interact much with the Cannibal Hunters. You can't ally with them, learn about them, or really even talk with them. The Cannibal Hunters game start has fuck all to do with the actual faction. Hell, you can capture the Cannibal Grand Wizard and carry his ass right into Cannibal Hunters HQ, and they don't even bat an eye (I know because I've actually done it). That's incredibly unfulfilling, and just flat out lazy on the dev's part if I'm being honest. I want to see if we can do better.
Keeping in mind what seems feasible based on the mod tools, here is what I'm shooting for:
- A game start that places you in Cannibal Hunter territory and puts them front and center to your new game. Game starts are really easy to do in the editor, so this one's no big deal.
- Cannibal Hunters can be allied with as a faction (similar to the Flotsam or Shinobi). But creating a relationship with them is not going to be free and easy. There will be light story elements, creating a natural progression from raw recruit to trusted captain. Or at least, natural for an RPG.
- The Bastion will be expanded to make it more like a functional outpost. Once you are allied, you'll have access to all the supplies you need to hunt cannibals effectively. I will probably add a safehouse or three throughout the world as well.
- Fresh recruits will be available after a certain point, allowing you to build out your own crew of hunters. It will take a bit of LARPing to fully realize this, but if you've played the game very much you already know that's just how Kenshi is.
- New unique NPCs, including lots of new dialogue for Cannibal Hunter leadership and mod-specific recruits.
- I am undecided on how to go about it, but I want the cannibals to be legitimately intimidating foes. In vanilla they are tough for a low-level party, but once you get decent stats and gear you can chew them up pretty easily. I will either make these changes myself, or ensure that the mod plays well with another cannibals mod of my choosing. Cannibals Expanded is the most popular one but I haven't tried it myself, so idk if it's any good.
- I want to be true to the lore, to the extent that it exists. And will probably use some creative license to flesh things out a bit.
- To get the full experience, you may need to create a new character in order to play the mod. But, I will try to make it accommodate existing saves if I can.
- As I come across them, various other tweaks and fixes to make the cannibal / Cannibal Hunters war more realistic and meaningful. Unless it is completely impossible to pull off, it will be possible for either side to win / lose, i.e. the CH retake Deadcat or the cannibals take over the Bastion.
Anyway, I do have a couple things to show off from what I have so far.
A new game start that places the player at the Bastion. The Bastion expansion is currently WIP, but the HQ, guards, etc are all pretty much working normally.
The bros defending the new base against a gang of outlaws:
And finally, a snippet of dialog from a Shek recruit I wrote for the mod:
Hopefully this looks at least a little promising to you guys. I am certainly not the right person for this job, and I may fail miserably, but I've learned quite a bit about the FCS so far and made what feels like a lot of progress for just a dozen hours of work.
Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions for what you'd like to see in the mod!