How to Beat Friendship Written in the Stars

Gunter pays out three zombies on completion — more than the Plague Doctor's opening pair and the biggest single grant on the ledger. Three new bodies at once means three naming rolls (the resurrection window offers 40 names plus a reroll), three sets of perk slots from their red skulls, and three collars to fit. The collar ladder — Bronze at 5 red skulls, Golden at 10 from a tier II Jeweler, Steel at 99 from tier III — decides how far each one can grow. Grant day is planning day.

Every character quest on the ledger adds +10 reputation with its NPC, and Gunter is one of the six the ending audits at 90. Character content is therefore never filler — it is the ending's currency. Gunter also sells Reanimation Liquid, which makes him doubly worth keeping happy. The astrologer reads the stars; you should read the ledger.

• Name all three deliberately — the 40-name roll plus rerolls is there for a reason.
• Assign one to the Factory rotation, one to farming, one to smithing — spread before you specialize.
• Fit collars by plan: Bronze now, Golden when the Jeweler hits tier II, Steel at tier III.
• Pre-build the Work Zones before accepting, so the three land in jobs instead of in line.

The achievement pops on completion, but the reputation is the real reward: +10 with a man whose goodwill you will need at 90 before the Final Battle. From here the character-quest rotation becomes a standing habit — check Gunter, Jack, the Nun, Herbert, Albert, and Linda between main beats. All 51 character quests done lands each of the six at exactly 90, which is the ending's design, not a coincidence. The stars were always going to say finish the ledger.