Here are the personnel files found within the game’s Field Guide. These personnel files provide background information about specific main NPCs in the main quest of Once Human. You can unlock these personnel files after interacting with the characters.

Mayflies

Mary

Rebel

Mary was born in an underground bunker somewhere. Like all Rosetta children born after the Starfall, her birth was completely artificial, from fertilization to delivery. She has no idea who her parents (or rather, the “sperm and egg providers”) are, obviously. She received more education than most of the grunts she was born alongside, though. They must have seen something in her.

Most teenagers go through a rebellious phase, but with Mary, it turned serious. In the end, she turned her back on the whole Rosetta organization and came to join us. During that operation, she was dispatched to a safe zone as a key researcher. She was supposed to go pick up the larvae, who were just coming to. But, that’s not quite how it panned out.

Talon

Wastrel

The guy who goes by “Talon,” what is his real name again? I’m sure I knew it at one point.

He was my comrade in arms. We fought side by side. I trusted him with my life, and I think he would say the same. He’s saved me, and I’ve saved him.

He was brave, too. Until that final battle, when he suddenly lost his nerve. Not that anyone can blame him. He’s been through more than most of us go through in a lifetime. He proved his bravery many times – before it finally broke him.

The Union

Maxie

Mayor of Meyer’s Market

Maxie Rodriguez – not that anyone calls her by her full name – is the woman who runs Meyer’s Market. She’s about 40, and tough as nails. She runs that place with the savagery of a panther defending her cubs.
Rumor has it she was born a bandit and used to kill people when she lived out in the wilderness.

Don’t ever say that to her face, mind you.

Anyway, later on, she was recruited by the Union, and then she worked her way up to become mayor. Not many people know exactly what happened there, and the few who do know won’t talk about it.
Anyway, if you’ve got a useful skill and a good work ethic, go find Maxie. She’s a very good employer. But if you’re the type who lies, cheats, or steals, then you’d better stay clear of Meyer’s Market.

Dennis

Union Foreman

Dennis Mobley. He runs an oil well for the Union.

He’s your typical salt-of-the-earth Blackfell type. Serious, down-to-earth, tough as old boots, a true survivor. He just wants to keep on living in the old way, according to his own means. Just like the older generation.

And he’s not the only one – most of the traditional types have rallied around Dennis.

Together, they make up the Union’s conservative faction. Those oil well guys are good at what they do, and the oil well props up the economy of the entire eastern region. Because of this, they’ve become one of the most important factions within the Union. And Dennis Mobley is their leader.

Hot Dog

Greywater Kid

I first met Hot Dog when I was in Blackfell a few years ago. At the time, he was a bit of a layabout. He seemed to just take each day as it came, just like most of these kids who never knew a life before the Starfall.

Back then, Ted Holt had disappeared behind the iron gates of the White Cliff for many years. The Union was in absolute chaos, but people still remembered the name Holt. Because of that, the kid always did ok.

I took him out for beer and pizza a few times (he returned the favor once or twice, too), and he happened to share a few things about the Holt family’s affairs. I went over to the ruins, found some old documents, some jewelry, machine parts, and so on, and I sold them for a decent profit. I sent Hot Dog his share, but he never wrote me back.

The last I heard, Hot Dog had been taken by Dennis Mobley to a new stronghold. Supposedly, he’s really cleaned up his act, and is hard at work.

Klein

Wilderness Hunter Boss

My first impression of Mayor Klein Warren wasn’t good, and it was clear that he disliked me too. I’ve rarejy met someone so arrogant, so brash. Absolutely determined to live according lo his own bullshit set of values, and completely incapable of taking others’ advice.

He’s not an idiot, though. And he’s got the drive and the courage to face the consequences of his decisions. If he didn’t have that, he wouldn’t have been able to maintain his position for as long as he has. His settlement lies right in the heart of the most dangerous part of Nalcott Island’s southern woodland. He’s been leading those hunters for yoare now.

H37

Highly Emotional Robot

H37’s CPU has never worked quite right. His “mother” has attempted to upgrade his software quite a few times, but so far, nothing seems to have fixed the problem. We simply don’t have the manpower to send someone off to go and find better hardware.

We’ve managed alright so far, though. We’ve assigned him to keep an eye on our hidden material stores, and given some light admin tasks. He’s generally been performing pretty well.

Victor has been asking his “mother” to remove a . few of his emotion components, but she refused. She believes H37’s Al must have been considered highly advanced in the pre-Starfall world, and she doesn’t want to do anything that might compromise that.

Victor warned her of the dangers, and they fought several times over the issue. She held her ground though…

Guerilla

Masley

Recon Commander

Masley, a warrior as fierce as a blazing fire.

One of the guerillas’ first fighters, she commands its reconnaissance unit and has two younger sisters. Her combat style is straightforward and aggressive-she’s always at the front, and always the first to charge into enemy lines.
Masley dislikes idle chatter and categorizes all situations into two types:Can be fought? Then fight it! Can’t be fought? Find a way to fight it! Even Brody, the cold-blooded killer, acknowledges that Masley’s combat skills are worthy of praise on any battlefield.

However, Masley’s flame does not burn alone. Two people have been with her through thick and thin-Veronica and Wendy. Though unrelated by blood, they are closer than sisters. Amid the ruins left by the Starfall, they supported each other, surviving countless desperate situations. Side by side, they scavenged for food, crawled out from beneath piles of corpses, and settled their arguments with fistfights. Once, Wendy named a fertilizer tank after Masley, while Veronica tampered with the Wish Machine’s odds. Pranks like these drive Masley to threaten to shoot them at least thrice a week, but all she does in the end is chase them around the camp, shaking her fist and yelling, “You’ll be sorry if you try pulling something like that again!”

The trio had no one else to rely on until the day they met Roland. They were on the brink of despair-hungry, exhausted, and with nowhere to turn. Roland did not ask who they were or where they had come from, but simply offered them food and water. In the days that followed, he continued to provide for them, shielding them from danger and showing them a father’s care and warmth. When they began to call him “Father”, Roland did not object, but responded with a rare smile.

From that day forward, they never looked back, and Masley became an unyielding flame of battle. She swore that as long as her gun still blazes, no one will ever threaten the guerrillas’ safety. 

Veronica

Tech Monitor

Veronica is the guerilla’s tech expert, a sharp mind working behind the scenes to give them an edge in combat.

Her genius is undeniable: She analyzes battle situations in seconds, comes up with the best solutions with incredible ease, and turns technology salvaged from ruins into powerful tools of war. Whether it’s refining equipment or crafting strategies, she always gets it right.

Her incredible intellect stems from the fact that she’s a Meta. At just four years old, the Starfall disaster changed her forever, leaving her with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. She could learn and remember anything, and her mind became a limitless well of information. She survived by taking apart ruined mechs, salvaging old-world data, and rebuilding lost technology. Over time, her reputation as a “Doctor” grew, but her brilliance also made her feel isolated. What others saw as miracles, she viewed as simple logic. Her thoughts were always ahead of everyone else’s, and she often felt like no one truly understood her.

The only people who made her feel less alone were Masley and Wendy, her sisters in all but blood. They had relied on each other since the Starfall began, sticking together through thick and thin. They argued, joked around, and teased each other, but their bond never wavered. They braved the storm together and held on to each other even as the world crumbled around them.

Wendy

Quartermaster

Wendy, the logistics specialist who can make hope sprout from a wasteland.

The youngest of three sisters, Wendy is clever and energetic, her mind always flitting between strange ideas like a restless sparrow. She oversees the guerillas logistics and agriculture, and has a particular fondness for potatoes. Her seeming miraculous ability to grow crops in the wasteland has earned her the nickname “Potato Princess”.

To Wendy, the guerillas are her cherished family. Roland, the dependable father figure who’s always trying and failing to quit smoking; Masley, her hot-tempered eldest sister who solves problems with her fists; and her second sister Veronica, ever tinkering with machines and inventing new gadgets. These are the people she holds most dear. Wendy once named a pair of fertilizer tanks after her sisters, provoking them to chase her as she fled laughing. These little pranks are how she expresses her love.

However, Wendy is also a young woman forged by adversity. Born amidst the chaos of war, she was orphaned as an infant and rescued from the ruins by the guerillas. Her childhood was defined by gunfire, hunger, and being constantly on the run. Time and again, she found herself surrounded by Deviants, and paralyzed by the looming threat of death. But every time, Roland-the man who sang her lullabies-would pull her back from the abyss. He became not just her savior, but the only family she has ever known. Thus, Wendy chose to fight in her own way-growing crops, managing supplies, and keeping the guerillas operational. In the barren wasteland, she has become the guerillas’ most reliable support.

Vultures

Igna Sinclair

Fire Thief

Igna is the leader of the Vultures-a terrifyingly clear-headed madman.

Unlike the usual raving lunatics, he’s calm, articulate, and disturbingly persuasive. He speaks with patience and reason, almost like a scholar. He doesn’t scream or lash out. Instead, every word coming out of his mouth feels carefully chosen, pulling you deeper into his twisted worldview until you start to question your own. And once you’re caught in it, you might find yourself willing to fight for his cause at any cost-even if it means losing your life.

In Igna’s eyes, the world is built on chaos-entropy, inevitable and unstoppable. Civilization, laws, and order are nothing but a flimsy cover-up. A sandcastle waiting to fall. He mocks these human constructs, calling them failed experiments doomed to collapse.

But Igna doesn’t just wait for the end to come. He facilitates it. He sees himself as the spark-the flint-that lights the fire. If the world is heading toward silence and ruin, he’ll give it a proper send-off: a grand, blazing funeral. No mercy. No hesitation. His mission is almost religious – he’s like a devoted priest ringing the bell for the end of days.

Others

Claire

Souvenir Seller

Claire likes it when people call her “Auntie Claire.” She’s so maternal, but she never had her own kids, as far as I know.

I’ve had a few run-ins with Claire over the years. She would always try to convince me to go risking my neck to go retrieve some useless piece of junk or other. Old photos, books with pages missing, elgetronic devices that do not turn on, kids’ dolls with a limb missing… She saw value in all that old world stuff, I suppose.

I don’t know Claire very well, to be honest. I don’t understand why she insists on driving around in that rickety old pickup truck, searching for scrap to try and sell. Any little piece of human civilization, you can bet she’ll be interested.

I don’t understand it, but I respect it.

T-Man

Agent of Justice

No one knows where T-Man came from, or who he is. Like many Deviations, he’s gradually become a part of our fragmented lives.

He’s an intelligent Deviation (and sure doesn’t let us forget it…), and we shouldn’t assume he’s harmless. But still, having T-Man around does have some benefits. For example, ever since T-Man first appeared, he has shown à keen interest in “dealing with nasty post-Starfall criminal cases.* He’s effective too. He hunts down (or gets others to hunt down) all kinds of criminals and monsters, and makes them pay for their crimes.

The wilderness survivors can be pretty eccentric, but they are very accepting of T-Man, the so-called “agent of justíce.” These people like to get their revenge.

Samuel Lowe

Deviation Researcher

Oh, Lowe. He’s hard to describe.

He received me at a low table in a desolate outpost, surrounded by dark corners with dangerous creatures in hiding just a dozen meters away. Aged stains clung to the old tablecloth and carpet.

Amid the watchful gaze of various Deviants and the flickering candlelight, he gracefully poured me a glass of Fino.

His background, which he never hides, is as deep as it is dangerous. With a mere gesture, he could make me vanish, but in these times, who doesn’t have a few tricks up their sleeves to stay alive?

Regardless, his generosity was evident. The Deviations he asked me to collect are extremely dangerous from the professional perspective of a Mayfly, but I agree with him on one point: since the Mayflies lack the resources to properly secure these Deviations, it’s better to hand them over to him, the “professional.” After all, it couldn’t be worse than letting Rosetta get hold of them.

V

Guide

Where did this weird bird come from? How odd…

I vaguely remember a friend warning me that I would encounter this kind of strange phenomenon. A TV set, a box of canned ham, or a bison of course. Of a bird…

It will help us, help the larvae… spread their wings and transform into new Mayflies. But it’s strange…

I can’t remember the name of the person who said these words… Where is he or she now?

Oh, and who am I?