Colonists creation RimWorld Guide

There are many options available in colonists creation menu

Now, you can create colonists that will inhabit the planet. You start with a different number of colonists depending on the scenario that you have picked. By pressing the "Randomize" button, you can generate new colonists. Each one has his own backstory, age, looks and traits. It is even possible to define his relationship with the rest of the colonists. Therefore, you can easily create a family, lovers or enemies. If it is possible to create a higher number of colonists, make sure that their traits are supplementary with respect to each other. While selecting the colonists, especially note:

• Backstory - childhood and adulthood have a decisive effect on additional traits and skills of the colonist. After you roll the mouse over the backstory, you will receive additional information. If the colonist used to be, e.g. an actor, he will receive + to Social, +2 to Construction but will be incapable of lumbering, transportation and cleaning.
• Incapable of - it shows you what your colonist cannot do. Make sure that this field is empty, or there is only one colonist that has some an incapability. If you create a colony of men that are unable to perform simple tasks, you won't hold for long.
• Traits - initially, each colonist has 2-3 traits which additionally affect his behavior. A colonist can be lazy, charismatic, be a genius, etc. In general, the majority of traits provide you with a positive and a negative bonus to statistics. For example, a neurotic works 20% faster, but can easier develop a nervous breakdown, by 8%.
• Health - some colonists can start the game with some health and physical deficiencies. Scars, scratches or healed injuries can cause a given colonist to move slower, be more vulnerable to damage, etc.
• Relationships - it shows you in what relationships a colonist remains with the other characters. You can have partner, family and even hostile ones.

While picking colonists, the most important are their skills - number of flames by a given skill determines predispositions of a given character, how fast they work and how fast they will gain specialization points

The most important thing, when it comes to character creation are skills:

• Shooting - one of the key skills in the game. It is a good idea to pick, at least, one colonist that can handle guns well. Such a character will make an excellent hunter and defender, especially if armed with a powerful ranged weapon.
• Hand to hand- it is as useful as shooting. The higher the level, the better the character fights and melee. Although knives, maces and other weapons are powerful, direct attack expose colonists to damage. Hand to hand may be a good choice for hunting smaller game.
• Social - this is a set of skills that allow the colonist to interact with others. Characters with high level of social skills can easily comfort others, convince, command and negotiate better prices. Although such skills are valuable, it is better to give preference to other ones in the first place.
• Taming - characters with high level of taming skills can quickly and effectively tame and train animals. This is an interesting skill in that such animals can later be used for transportation, to help others, or for combat. However, also in this case, there are skills that are more important.
• Medicine - another key skill. Characters with high level of medicine can help the injured, heal diseases and even perform surgeries. In the colony, there always should be a doctor on duty, because the game abounds in occasions to get injured.
• Cooking - this is an important skill that you will appreciate later into the game. When you can already afford a kitchen and assign a good cook to it, you will put a permanent end to hunger in the colony. Tasty meals that are prepared quickly will provide you with a bonus to the colonists' mental state.
• Construction - yet another key skill. It allows you to erect buildings, build furniture, etc. The higher the level the higher the quality of the structures. There should be at least one colonist that is familiar with construction.
• Growing - this one is an immensely important skill, thanks to which colonists can cultivate soil. One of the greatest problems in Rimworld is scarcity of food - if you invest in fertile arable fields, you will ensure a steady access to food.
• Mining - another important skill. If you plan to build a colony inside a mountain, it becomes key at the very beginning of the game. The higher the mining level, the faster the colonist works and mines for resources.
• Artistic - it defines whether a given colonist is capable of creating a piece of art, such as statues that lend aesthetic value of the site, etc. This skill becomes useful later into the game and you can easily do without it.
• Crafting - another important skill that defines the colonist's competence in creation of new items, weapons, etc. It is a good idea to keep a colonist that will craft new equipment and outfits or others.
• Research - this is one of the most important skills in the game. Colonists with high level of research can discover new technologies and as a result, new buildings, pieces of furniture, etc. It is imperative that you have a colonist that is a decent researcher.

As you can see, there are so many variables that it is impossible to create an ideal group of colonists. You can only make sure that your characters complement each other and alleviate each other's shortcomings. Remember that during the game, your colony will be joined by randomly generated locals, injured passengers of pods, etc. You do not have control over parameters of such characters. Therefore, make sure that the core inhabitants of your colony have key skills.