NEW SURVIVOR CHARACTER IDEA
Survivor Concept: Eli Calder
Role: Survivor – Doomsday Prepper
Age: 34
Nationality: American
Appearance / Outfit:
Eli is rugged and practical, with a lean but fit build. He wears a worn tactical jacket layered over a hoodie, cargo pants with multiple pockets, and a utility belt carrying small survival tools. His boots are scuffed from years of outdoor preparation. A patched baseball cap and fingerless gloves complete his look, giving him a survivor-ready aesthetic.
Visual cues:
- Survival gear hanging off his belt (medkits, flashlight, rope).
- Bandaged hands and scratches show he’s been in harsh conditions.
- Dirt and wear on clothes indicate a life spent preparing for disasters.
Personality / Backstory:
Eli grew up fascinated with survival manuals, prepping for emergencies no one else thought about. While some dismissed him as paranoid, he honed skills that keep him alive when disaster strikes. Calm under pressure, meticulous, and resourceful, Eli thrives in chaos, always ready for “what if.”
Personality traits:
- Methodical and strategic.
- Self-reliant but protective of teammates.
- Stoic with a dry, tactical sense of humor.
Backstory Hook:
After a series of inexplicable disappearances in his rural town, Eli disappeared himself, drawn to the entity’s realm as if it were another disaster scenario to survive. Now he navigates the fog, using his experience to hold the line and give others a chance.
Perk Set:
1. Fail-Safe
“If it goes wrong, make it worth it.”
- When you’re sacrificed or killed, any unfinished generator you last touched gains a 5/6/7% permanent repair bonus for the rest of the trial.
- All survivors gain 2/3/4% faster action speeds for 30 seconds after your death.
- Flavor: One last signal before the static.
2. Emergency Broadcast
“You can’t save everyone — but they deserve a warning.”
- When you’re hooked, all survivors see each other’s auras for 6/8/10 seconds.
- Survivors within 24 meters of your hook also see the Killer’s aura.
- Triggers each time you’re hooked.
- Flavor: You’ve learned to communicate under pressure, even in silence.
3. Stall Tactics
“Every second counts. Make them work for it.”
- First time in the Dying State, gain 25% faster crawling for 8 seconds.
- While crawling, you can press a button to interact with nearby pallets or windows:
- Vaults: Once per trial, with a unique crawling-vault animation.
- Pallets: Multiple times per trial, with a 45-second cooldown.
- Dropping a pallet near teammates within 12 meters grants 2% action speed for 5 seconds.
- Flavor: Even when downed, Eli uses the environment to buy time and protect others
Comments
-
These are fun ideas for perks! I have a few notes and a couple questions, though:
Fail-Safe- For a perk that does nothing for the Survivor running it, Fail-Safe does very little. But idea is strong and supported by how the anti-tunneling PTB had a similar mechanic!
- This perk would be great if it increased repair bonuses by 15/20/25%, to make up for the loss of a Survivor on generators. The Killer is still rewarded by killing a Survivor, given there is a loss of efficiency, but a large bonus to repair speeds will keep the generators going!
- For the temporary bonus to action speeds, what is considered an "action speed"? In-game, all perks that affect action speeds specify exactly what they impact. Resilience most notably lists nearly all possible actions in its description.
Emergency Broadcast
- While the flavoring is amazing, this perk's effect is simply worse than the perk Kindred.
- A Kindred-like effect that works while in chase could be interesting, however, to keep the flavor and similar mechanics while having a unique niche!
- There also could be an additional effect (for example, bonus to cooperative action speeds as Prove Thyself does) to make the perk worthwhile for Survive With Friends.
Stall Tactics
- What changes with perk tiers?
- Can the Survivor interact with dropped pallets?
- How long does it take for a Survivor to vault a window?
- Again, what action speeds do this perk boost? Also, why is the action speed bonus so low?
0 - For a perk that does nothing for the Survivor running it, Fail-Safe does very little. But idea is strong and supported by how the anti-tunneling PTB had a similar mechanic!
