Rank characters by Focus and by whether they generate more of it, because Focus is what converts rolls into certainties. The Scholar is the best character in the game on Focus 4 plus Refocus, and the Astronomer matches the 4 without the regeneration. The Monk is the only other Focus engine, via Discipline. Everything else is a question of what you do with three points a fight, and the Hobo at 2 pays a real price for having 70 in everything.
Summary
For The King has thirteen playable characters and the usual way to compare them is Strength against Intelligence. That misses the stat that actually decides adventures.
Focus is the currency that guarantees rolls, and it ranges from 2 to 4 across the roster while everything else moves in tens. Two characters also manufacture more of it. Meanwhile Luck is 50 on every single character, and Luck is the one roll Focus can never touch.
Who This Is For:For The King players choosing characters
Intermediate
Key Points
Key Points
1
Focus runs 2 to 4 across the roster. The Scholar and Astronomer have 4, the Hobo has 2, everyone else 3.
2
The Scholar's Refocus and the Monk's Discipline are the only skills that regenerate Focus each turn.
3
Luck is exactly 50 on all thirteen characters, and Luck rolls can never be focused.
4
Lore unlock costs run from 0 for the four starters up to 20 for the Treasure Hunter.
5
The Hobo has 70 in every stat, which looks balanced until you notice the Focus of 2.
The usual way to compare For The King characters is to read across their stat lines and find the biggest numbers. Strength 78 on the Woodcutter, Awareness 78 on the Hunter, Intelligence 78 on the Scholar.
Those numbers move in tens and they matter less than one that moves in ones.
Focus decides adventures, and it ranges from 2 to 4 across the entire roster. It is the currency that turns a chance roll into a guaranteed one, and it pays for combat, chests, traps and movement from a single pool. A character with 4 has a third more certainty per rest than a character with 3, every single fight, all game.
Every character, full stats
All values on Journeyman difficulty. On Apprentice every character gets +5 to base stats.
Character
Lore
HP
**Foc**
Str
Vit
Int
Awa
Tal
Spd
Lck
Arm
Res
Eva
**Scholar**
0
31
**4**
42
60
78
66
70
70
50
0
1
13
**Astronomer**
1
32
**4**
50
74
76
68
46
62
50
1
1
9
Blacksmith
0
**33**
3
76
**80**
40
52
72
56
50
1
0
7
Hunter
0
31
3
52
66
46
**78**
64
**78**
50
1
0
**17**
Minstrel
0
30
3
44
50
70
68
**78**
66
50
0
1
11
Monk
18
31
3
74
62
74
60
48
60
50
1
1
9
Trapper
10
31
3
48
60
42
76
72
74
50
0
0
15
Woodcutter
18
32
3
**78**
74
44
70
52
58
50
1
0
8
Herbalist
15
30
3
44
52
76
70
58
64
50
0
1
10
Busker
12
31
3
72
68
48
54
76
58
50
1
0
8
Gladiator
15
30
3
76
52
40
76
50
70
50
1
0
13
Treasure Hunter
20
30
3
42
56
74
74
74
58
50
0
1
8
Hobo
15
32
**2**
70
70
70
70
70
70
50
1
1
13
Read down the Lck column. Fifty, thirteen times. It is the only stat the game refuses to differentiate, and it is also the only roll type that can never be focused — so Luck is neither a reason to pick anyone nor something you can plan around.
The rankings
S
Scholar (Focus 4, Refocus)The only character that both starts with 4 Focus and regenerates it. Refocus gives a chance to regain a point at the end of each turn, so the Scholar is the one class whose certainty does not simply drain over a dungeon. Intelligence 78 and Speed 70 back it up, and it costs 0 Lore. Frail in melee terms at 42 Strength, which does not matter for what it does.Astronomer (Focus 4, Black Hole)Matches the Scholar's 4 Focus with better bulk — 32 HP, Vitality 74, and 1 point in both Armor and Resistance where the Scholar has 0 and 1. No regeneration, and it is DLC, but Black Hole is among the strongest abilities in the game and 1 Lore is nothing.
A
Monk (Discipline, Party Heal)The third Focus engine. Discipline works like Refocus, giving a chance to recover at the end of a turn, and Party Heal makes the Monk the only character who both sustains health and manufactures certainty. Strength 74 and Intelligence 74 make it genuinely double-sided. Costs 18 Lore.Trapper (Elite Trap Disarm, Counter Attack)Its unlock is cheap at 10 Lore and its value is structural. Elite trap disarming means dungeons stop draining the Focus pool that your boss fight needs, which is the same as having more Focus. Speed 74 and Evasion 15 are near the top of the roster.Hunter (Elite Sneak, Elite Trap Evasion, Called Shot)Evasion 17 is the best in the game by a clear margin, with Awareness 78 and Speed 78 tied for the top. Like the Trapper it saves Focus rather than making it, through elite trap evasion. Free at 0 Lore and the strongest starter after the Scholar.
B
Blacksmith (Steady)The wall. 33 HP and Vitality 80 are both the highest in the game, and Steady turns armor into real mitigation. Intelligence 40 and Evasion 7 are both the worst in the roster, so it holds a position and cannot leave one. Free.Herbalist (Party Heal, Gather Herbs)Intelligence 76 with Party Heal and passive herb gathering. The healing is real and the sustain reduces how often you must spend a town visit on an inn rather than meditation. 30 HP and Strength 44 mean it must be protected. 15 Lore.Minstrel (Encourage, Inspire)Talent 78 is the highest in the game, and buffs applied to the right party member outperform a mediocre attack. Vitality 50 is the weakest of the starters, so its value depends entirely on the other two surviving long enough to be buffed. Free.Woodcutter (Justice, Elite Door Bash)Strength 78 is the top of the roster and Vitality 74 keeps it standing. Elite Door Bash saves Focus on dungeon doors, which matters more than it sounds. Intelligence 44 and Evasion 8 are both poor, and 18 Lore is expensive for a straightforward attacker.
C
Gladiator (Glory, Entertain)Strength 76, Awareness 76 and Speed 70 read well, but Vitality 52 and 30 HP make it the most fragile heavy attacker in the game. Offense as defense works until a fight goes badly. DLC plus 15 Lore.Busker (Elite Flee, Entertain, Distraction)Talent 76 and Elite Flee make it excellent at not dying, and gold accumulation is genuinely useful. Awareness 54 and Intelligence 48 limit what it contributes when a fight has to be won rather than escaped. 12 Lore.Treasure Hunter (Find Treasure, Mimic Whisper)A good stat spread across Intelligence 74, Awareness 74 and Talent 74, with the most expensive unlock in the game at 20 Lore. Find Treasure is real value over a long run, but 30 HP and Armor 0 make it fragile, and mimic immunity is narrow.
D
Hobo (no skills)Seventy in all six main stats looks like the most balanced character in the game. Then notice Focus 2, the lowest in the roster, and a skill list that is empty. A third less certainty than everyone else, permanently, in exchange for never being bad at anything — which on Master difficulty is the wrong trade. 15 Lore.
Why Focus outranks the big numbers
Focus is not one stat among seven. It is the exchange rate between everything else and certainty.
What Focus buys
Competing with
Consequence
A guaranteed attack slot
Opening a chest
A dungeon that empties your pool hands the boss fight to raw dice
Better accuracy on the same action
Nothing — it stacks
Two points on one attack beats one point on two attacks
Movement points on the overworld
The next fight
Travel is paid for in future certainty
Trap evasion, lock picking
Everything above
Which is why elite trap skills are effectively extra Focus
That last row is the reason the Hunter and Trapper rank above characters with better raw stats. Not spending Focus is the same as having more of it, and elite trap evasion, elite trap disarm and elite door bash are all Focus savings dressed as flavour.
The Scholar and the Monk are the only characters who generate Focus, through Refocus and Discipline. Everyone else spends down from their starting pool and refills in town. Over a long adventure that difference compounds far past any ten-point stat gap.
Cheap unlocks first
Lore cost
Character
Worth it?
0
Blacksmith, Hunter, Minstrel, Scholar
The Scholar is already the best character in the game
1
Astronomer (DLC)
Yes, immediately, if you own the DLC
10
**Trapper**
The best value unlock — trap disarm converts directly into Focus
12
Busker
Situational. Strong at escaping, weak at winning
15
Herbalist, Gladiator (DLC), Hobo
Herbalist yes, Gladiator if you like the risk, Hobo no
18
**Monk**, Woodcutter
Monk yes — the third Focus engine. Woodcutter only if you want raw Strength
20
Treasure Hunter
Last. Good stats, expensive, fragile
Common mistakes
Comparing Strength and Intelligence. They move in tens; Focus moves in ones and decides more.
Picking the Hobo for balance. Focus 2 and no skills is a worse deal than 70 across the board looks.
Ignoring trap skills. Focus you do not spend in a dungeon is Focus you have at the boss.
Unlocking the Treasure Hunter early. Twenty Lore for a fragile character with 30 HP.
Building around Luck. It is 50 on everyone and can never be focused.
How Focus actually works, including the cap of nine and the weapons that disable it, is in the Focus guide. Putting three of these together is in the party guide. New players should start with the beginner guide, and the honest review covers how the campaign holds up.
FAQ
FAQ
The Scholar. On Journeyman it has Focus 4 where most of the roster has 3, and the Refocus skill gives it a chance to regain Focus at the end of each turn. Since Focus is what turns a chance roll into a guaranteed one — in combat, on chests, on traps and as movement — the Scholar simply produces more certainty per adventure than anything else in the game.
No, and that is unusually definitive. Every one of the thirteen characters has Luck 50 exactly. It is the only stat identical across the whole roster, and it is also the one roll type that can never be focused. So Luck is neither a reason to pick anyone nor something you can build around.
The Hobo has 70 in Strength, Vitality, Intelligence, Awareness, Talent and Speed, which reads as the most balanced character in the game. The catch is Focus 2, the lowest in the roster, and no skills at all. Perfectly even stats with a third less certainty than everyone else is a worse deal than it looks, especially on higher difficulties.
The Trapper at 10 Lore is the cheapest meaningful unlock — Speed 74, Evasion 15, Counter Attack and elite trap disarming, which directly reduces the Focus you spend in dungeons. The Herbalist at 15 brings Party Heal and Gather Herbs. The Treasure Hunter costs 20, the most in the game, for Find Treasure and immunity to mimic worries.
The Blacksmith, on 33 HP with Strength 76, Vitality 80 and the Steady skill. It is also the only starter with genuinely poor Intelligence at 40 and the worst Evasion in the game at 7, so it holds a line rather than avoiding one. The Woodcutter is close with 32 HP and Strength 78.
Up to three, and there are no restrictions on duplicates — a party of three Scholars is legal. You may also deliberately run two or even one, which raises difficulty but concentrates experience and loot. Characters can trade items and gold when within one hex of each other.
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