AUTHOR: Geoffrey
DATE RECORDED: March 18, 2014 AT 12:55PM
GREYHOUND ONE
One of the interesting things about the military is the way it brings people together from every part of life, and puts them in the same boat (or tank, or helo, or humvee).
Greyhound One, the unit you control in State of Decay: Lifeline, includes a wide range of different characters with their own personalities and attitudes. Which ones will you try the hardest to keep alive?
Major Alicia Hawkes
Hawkes is the Marcus of State of Decay: Lifeline — the leader whose confidence and strength sees everyone else through the crisis, as long as she keeps breathing.
Hawkes grew up all over the world, following her military father from one assignment to the next. She grew up with a passion for military service, and is a true believer in the Army, and in the values of a soldier.
She served multiple tours throughout the war in Afghanistan, before returning stateside as the war drew down. Her unit looks up to her with the kind of real respect that can only be earned by a good leader in the field.
Sergeant Kilohana “Kilo” Young
Kilo’s father is Korean and his mother is Hawaiian, so he considers himself the ultimate expression of the American dream — people from different cultures coming together to make something new.
As a child, he was a little hellion, but his parents helped him channel his energy into meditation and introspection, focusing him into the serene, compassionate man that you see today.
Kilo places a huge amount of value on his family — his parents, his grandparents, his cousins, and especially his wife and three daughters. His bunk is covered with pictures and letters and drawings, and though he doesn’t talk all that much, when he does, his favorite subject is his kids.
Kilo has served with Hawkes since she was a new lieutenant in Afghanistan, and they have come to really trust and understand each other.
Private Royell “Vince” Vincent
Vince joined the Army for a second chance. He completely bombed his way through high school — not because he couldn’t do the work, but because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He has a deep-rooted disregard for authority, and does and says pretty much whatever he wants, without anything like a filter.
And so he joined the Army? Yeah, he’s starting to wonder about that, too.
But despite all the discipline problems, Vince has become sort of the voice of the unit, saying the things that everybody’s thinking, but that nobody else wants to speak out loud.
Kilo and Hawkes give him a hard time for his attitude, but they’ve learned that the same devil-may-care attitude that makes him a discipline problem also makes him a fearless warrior. They wouldn’t trade him for anyone else.
Sergeant Kelly “Sasquatch” Eldridge
Eldridge grew up in backwoods Kentucky, where he got tired of being smarter than all of his brothers. He went to a top university, graduated with honors, and then went into the only line of work he ever had any interest in — special operations, deep behind enemy lines.
As a hardcore operator, he’s been down range so long, he no longer fits into civilian life, or even regular Army life. He’s a new kind of beast, and he knows it. He has a level of comfort with danger and death that would make even most veterans shudder.
And now he’s very quickly become one of the military’s foremost experts on killing zombies…which means he’s stuck in this unit of grunts who have no idea what he’s seen, or what he’s capable of.
OTHER CHARACTERS
Lost Soldiers
Major Hawkes’s squad isn’t the only unit in the field. It is, however, the only unit that has survived this long intact. Throughout the operation, Greyhound One receives distress calls from stranded soldiers, giving them an opportunity to bolster their ranks with interesting new characters with their own unique backgrounds and talents.
Colonel Peel
Using the call sign “Doghouse Actual”, Colonel Peel commands this operation from behind a desk at HQ. It’s no cushy assignment, however — Hawkes can hear it in his voice. He’s cracking under the pressure as the zombie horde destroys every unit he sends into the city. At this point, Greyhound One may be his only hope.
Vienna Cho
Not every character in Lifeline is a soldier. Calling herself the last voice of Danforth, radio host Vienna Cho has taken to the airwaves, standing up for the civilians who are still hiding out in the city — left behind by the Army during its tactical retreat.
Vienna is no fan of the military. The time Hawkes spent on deployment, Vienna spent at anti-war rallies. But as sarcastic as she gets, what Vienna really values is people who put other people first. If you want to make a difference to the people of Danforth, and save as many as you can, then Vienna will be on your side.
TRUE COLORS
Remember that in State of Decay, the characters are only a starting point. We had fun deciding who they were before the outbreak — but during it, all bets are off. It’s up to you to pick up their story from here, and decide who they really are.
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