HDX Strangers (NPC’s)
Bring the empty streets of Kentucky to life (friendly and hostile NPC’s).
HDX Strangers (SP & MP) adds a full companion NPC system to Project Zomboid Build 42 (42.19+), recruit survivors, build a small crew, assign roles, and watch them live, work, fight, and remember the world that ended.
Every companion is a person: they eat, sleep, get tired, get bored. They have memories from before the outbreak, opinions about you, and a story to tell if you build enough trust. Kentucky-1993 flavored idle chatter, mood-driven dialogues, deep grief, dark humor, faith, music, 900+ speech lines rotated so they never sound the same twice.
Supported Languages: EN, PTBR, PT, AR, ES, RU, CN, CH, JP, KO, FR, IT, DE
📖 Full Guide and Screenshots:
This mod is used in:
- HellDrinx Collection — Full (all mods, complete experience)
- HellDrinx Collection — Lite (essentials only)
- Official HellDrinx PvE Server: https://helldrinx.com
⚠️ Important Compatibility NoteThis mod uses some base classes from the Bandits mod as its foundation (to be compatible with Week One in the future). Because a few internal class names and function calls may overlap:
DO NOT run this mod together with Bandits or its variants on the same save. Compatibility has not been tested and both mods may conflict.
Companions think, plan, and adapt. Six combat sub-modes in Follow:
- Aggressive — hunts threats within 20 tiles, charges melee, walks aiming when you aim
- Defensive — engages nearby only, mirrors your firearm stance
- Passive — pacifist, never fights (escape mode)
- Free — civilian activities while following you (reads, smokes, dances, plays)
- Loot Focus — wanders 8 tiles searching containers and corpses, announces findings by player-configurable category filter (Ammo, Food, Meds, Gear)
- Auto — context-aware switch that reads surroundings — safehouse becomes Free, zombies near become Aggressive, containers nearby become Loot Focus
Guard, Defend, Work, and Free Life roles complete the picture. Assign patrol points, spots, groups (Alpha / Bravo / Charlie / Delta), and 3-shift schedules (Morning / Evening / Night, each with a different role), they’ll organize themselves.
- Work Mode: refuel/repair generator, board windows, repair doors, water plants, plant seeds, cook, bake, fish, wash cars, mop blood, install car parts + workstation passive production
Give Items to NPC: They will equip any item you give them, such as clothes, weapons, melee, etc., and they will use items they need, like water, food, and coffee, if they are in need (such as being hungry, thirsty, upset, bored, etc.)
The mod has many more commands, tools, and interactions than can fit here, check the Full Guide[helldrinx.com] for the complete list.
Because they live with you, not just next to you. At night your companions walk to the bed you assigned and actually sleep.
When they get hungry they open the fridge and eat. When they get filthy after a fight they wash themselves in the bathroom, real blood and dirt physically come off body and clothing. When they get bored they sit down on the sofa and read a book, and sometimes days later they’ll hand you a novel they enjoyed with a note ("You should read this. Reminded me of home.").
And they don’t just live with you, they live with each other. Two companions gather around the fire and talk about the world before the collapse, their families, their hometown, dark humor about the end times (108 conversation topics running quietly whether you’re listening or not).
One companion picks up a guitar and starts playing, and another walks over to comment on the song. Someone starts dancing near a jukebox and another companion joins in, dance battles happen naturally, two survivors facing each other, freestyling in sync while the rest cheer. It’s not scripted, it’s emergent, and the whole base feels alive.
Real animation for every action. Aim, shoot, reload, rack, melee, dodge, medic, cook, hammer, mop, fix. Play 10 different instruments:
100+ dance animations, pair up NPCs near a jukebox and they’ll face each other and dance in sync. Add a guitar player nearby and it becomes a party. Yoga poses with Start/Loop/End 3-phase chains. Exercise with real gym equipment. Every chore has correct-tool-in-hand animation, mechanics use a wrench on the engine, cooks stir the pan, cleaners mop with an actual mop, gardeners hold the watering can, guitarists actually hold the bow AND the violin separately.
Companions even clean vehicles for real, sponge and bucket in hand, real dirt vanishes off vehicle textures — not a loop animation, the car is visually cleaner afterward. Same for blood on floors, mopped tile by tile.
Send a squad off-map on real expeditions. Choose destination and objectives. They leave for real, risk casualties, and come back with loot, stories, and sometimes fewer members:
Full quest system with high-relation NPCs offering personal missions. 4-tier gift system (Trinket/Common/Rare/Legendary) based on relation (-100 to +100), and NPCs will spontaneously gift YOU items they found — sometimes a book they enjoyed reading with a personal note ("You should read this. Reminded me of home.").
Workstation passive production (Tier 1-3), a carpenter makes planks, a cook prepares meals, a mechanic makes ammo, all while you play. Daily interaction rewards, and NPC-authored stories about their profession before the outbreak, their family, their hometown, all Kentucky-1993 authentic.
One panel for everything! The dedicated interface groups everything by section. Every option in NPC panel has Tooltip to explain and guide you during the gameplay:
Your support keeps HDX alive and lets us keep expanding, new NPC behaviors, more animations, better systems, active community events.
- If you enjoy the mod and want to see it grow, consider supporting us at Ko-fi[ko-fi.com]
Thank you!
💬 Feedback & Bug ReportsJoin our HellDrinx Discord[discord.gg] for direct feedback, bug reports, and community discussions. Suggestions welcome — this mod evolves continuously with player input.
Mod ID: HDX_Stranger
Workshop ID: 3759446553
