Last time in “You Tried To Make Me A Killer,” I made a build for Pennywise, the Dancing Clown. But with seven potential Survivors to choose from, I feel compelled to complete the set. And it's worth pointing out that whichever member of the Loser's Club is chosen, we will be using their adult version. Portraying violence against children is ick, and doing so in a video game is perhaps even more so.
Andy Muschietti’s IT lit the horror cinema world ablaze between 2017 and 2019, with both installments grossing a total of over one billion dollars worldwide. If Pennywise is going to find his way into The Fog, one of the lauded Loser’s Club might need to join him there. My knee-jerk reaction was to use either Richie Tozier or Bill Denbrough, but there are problems with both. For one, Richie, especially the Rainn Wilson portrayal, is a goof, he’s funny, and Dead by Daylight doesn’t do comedy that often. Plus, since the younger Richie is played by Finn Wolfhard, and we already have a Stranger Things chapter, it feels like we’re coming dangerously close to crossing the streams. As it pertains to Bill, who some would argue is the main character of the whole ordeal, well, I simply had a better idea.
Eddie Kaspbrak is the only one that dies as a direct result of Pennywise. The temptation is there to use Stanley Uris, but then we’re getting into suicide in the world of Dead by Daylight, and that’s territory I am uncomfortable treading. There’s something truly fucked up about the idea of someone taking their own life, only to be swept up by a godlike being and subject them to more suffering than they were already trudging through.
I’m not that much of a sick fuck, y’all.
But with Eddie’s canonical death during the attempted Ritual of Chüd, we already have a means for him to be swept up by The Entity and wake up near the campfire. There was hope to be had, as Eddie actually damaged the being from the Macroverse prior to getting the Olaf treatment.
Too soon? I mean, the book’s been out for over thirty years, so...
He is a resilient, unlikely hero, and his playstyle will reflect this. Even if he was a casualty in the end, he made some shit happen when he wanted to, and overcame an abusive mother, all while harboring a “dirty little secret” that is vaguely coded as his queerness and potential crush on Richie. He is a protagonist truly worth rooting for, and for that, he should be the pick to join the campfire.
With all of this, the backstory for one of Derry’s favorite sons and victim of Munchausen by proxy is painted. Now we get to the fun part: the perks that Eddie Kaspbrak will take into The Fog with him.
Level 30 - Risk Analysis
When the shit hits the fan, it’s good to know where your umbrella is.
If you enter the Killer’s Terror Radius, you will be able to see the Auras of all Pallets and vault points within a 16/24/32 meter radius.
When you leave the Killer’s Terror Radius, you will continue to see these Auras for 5 seconds. After this time, this Perk enters a cooldown of 30 seconds.
The inspiration for this Perk is Tapp’s Detective’s Hunch, but instead of being triggered by a completed Generator, it is an “oh shit” Perk, giving the player a heads-up of their surroundings in case they are spotted. Eddie is a risk analyst in IT: Chapter Two, so it makes sense from a survival standpoint for Eddie to take note of what’s nearby when things go pear-shaped.
Level 35 - Losers for Life
Finish what you started, together.
When the final Generator is repaired, this Perk becomes active. For every Survivor still alive in the trial, gain a 1%/2%/3% bonus to unlocking the exit gates.
If you are downed while this Perk is active, and neither Exit Gate has been unlocked, the unlocking bonus is transferred to the Obsession instead.
This perk decreases the chance that you will be the Obsession.
This is something of an insurance policy, in case of a last-minute chase before the Endgame Collapse is triggered. It also subtly encourages saving your teammates’ respective asses, as the bonus to unlocking can be the difference between life and death. Also, I had an Obsession perk in the last installment, so a “not it” Perk felt fitting, especially given the unlikely heroes the Loser’s Club turn out to be.
Level 40 - Placebo Effect
He’s been fed pills all his life, and none of them did a goddamn thing for him. That said, he can use this to his advantage when needed.
You are able to recover from the dying state on your own. If you do so, you will suffer from the Broken status effect for 100/90/80 seconds.
Due to his hypochondriasis, not to mention the overbearing nature of his mother, it felt right to have a Perk that highlights his “I don’t need this crap, I got this” nature, even though it doesn’t work out that well for him, all things considered. It’s Unbreakable with a catch, as Eddie does have breathing problems in the film’s canon. He’s not invincible, but he can psych himself up long enough to get shit done.
Thus we have completed what would be an It chapter DLC for Dead by Daylight, were it ever to happen. While I wouldn’t rule out adding in Richie or Bill, or hell, even Beverly to this pack, if I can only have one Survivor, Eddie would be it. He took the bullet (or rather, the spider limb) for his friends, right after getting It on the ropes for a moment, and for that, his worthiness of the trials is earned in spades.
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