Shek

This article is about the character race. For the faction, see Shek Kingdom.

“	A warrior society that values strength and hardiness above more intellectual pursuits. They are sometimes a little humourless and have a reputation as dumb brutes, but this is not always the case. Their external skeletal plates provide a natural armour but hinders more dexterous pursuits like sneaking around.	”
–Game Description

Shek are a Race of bony, horned humanoids. It is the only race which does not have a related subrace.

The Shek have a culture that values pride, honor, and physical strength—so much so that many would prefer to die in a hopeless battle than continue living as a disgraced survivor. The Shek are known for their steadfast stoicism and considerable absence of humor when compared to the more jovial races, such as Humans. However, they are much more enthusiastic when it comes to battling matters or surviving bleak situations.

Shek's bodies are covered from head to toe in bony plates which serve as an excellent "natural armor", granting them 25 extra HP (but no special in-game damage resistance, unlike what is stated in the race's description). The Shek are also remarkable for their long bony protrusion/horns, which are a source of pride for many Shek. They are renowned for their exceptional strength and incredible toughness. The Shek legend, Kral, is a testament to the immense toughness of the Shek—or is at least indicative of how much the Shek value toughness, strength, and courage.

Sheks are visually significantly larger than most other races, and thus require more food than any other race to survive. It is important to consider this before recruiting a Shek.

History

“	The Horned devil was created human, as brother of the Okranite. But the Horned Devil possessed a sinful mind, it rejected Okran's light in it's heart in favor of Narko's temptations.	”
–The Guiding Light IV

“	What is that? An Enforcer? The Enforcers were always spiky in character... How humourous they now sport real spikes to match	”
–Black Desert City Skeletons directed towards a Shek player

The origins of the Shek are shrouded, but there are hints as to their origin story. One theory is that the Shek were descendants of a class of augmented Humans who were called the "Enforcers". This theory is supported by the comments made by Black Desert City skeletons whenever they meet a Shek within their walls. This could further explain why the Holy Nation have such a hatred towards the Shek race, seeing as the Enforcers (may have) aided the Skeletons of the Second Empire in cracking down on the progenitor cult of the Holy Nation.

By the time of the fall of the Second Empire, the Shek were said to have lived in countless warring tribes until a great warrior by the name of Kral united the tribes and founded the Shek Kingdom. According to a book called "Kral's Last Stand", the mighty Shek warlord was ambushed by a great many enemies and was cut down. His warrior philosophy and the story of his demise became a core principle within Shek society, where it is expected for all Shek to die in glorious battle and to not do so would bring great shame upon the individual.

Experience Multipliers

All playable races have a set of Statistics which they can gain experience in at an increased or decreased rate depending on racial experience multipliers. Players should pay attention to these experience multipliers, as they can be used to gain an advantage.

Increased Rate

Characters of this race gain experience in these Statistics at a slightly faster rate than normal.

Attack (+20%)
Strength (+10%)
Toughness (+20%)

Decreased Rate

Characters of this race gain experience in these Statistics at a slightly slower rate than normal.

Athletics (-20%)
Dexterity (-20%)
Dodge (-20%)
Farming (-20%)
Labouring (-20%)
Robotics (-20%)
Science (-20%)
Stealth (-20%)
Thievery (-20%)

Characters

Game Starts

Players can choose to start as a member of this race if this Game Start is chosen.

Unique Recruits

These Unique Recruits can spawn as a member of this race.

Factions

These Factions have characters which can spawn as members of this race.

Trivia

The Holy Nation has a racial distrust for the Shek due to their religious beliefs and will attack Sheks that are approaching their cities without a human posing as "their master". They may also attack and "punish" sheks if getting too close to their patrolling squads outside of cities.
Sheks don't have ears, so their hearing sensors must be located somewhere else.
They are the slowest swimmers in Kenshi, maxing out at 5.5925mph at level 100 swimming which is slower than the speed that robotics walk under water.
Their heal rate is 0.8, however due to the fact that all of their natural body parts have 125 HP, 0.8 x 1.25 = 1 which makes them heal the same amount of HP in a given time when compared to a Greenlander. However, their lower heal rate results in robotic limbs taking 20% longer to heal when compared to a Greenlander. This also impacts the speed at which they recover their blood. Although they have an impressive racial bleed rate of 0.9x, on average they will take longer to recover their blood back to full when compared to even a Greenlander.
When Sheks are enslaved, unlike humans (i.e Greenlanders and Scorchlanders) where they will have their hair shaved off, Sheks will have their horns cut off which results into a stubby horn look.
Female Sheks breast cloths appear to be darker compared to that of Humans.
As Dexterity experience uses Stronger Opponent Logic based off your attack and the opponents defense/martial arts (If unarmed), their bonus to attack xp and reduction to Dexterity xp results in a much lower Dexterity level than other races when training.