The Reclaimed

The Reclaimed is one of the factions in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. They are led by Jean-Baptiste.

Description
This ferocious group formed after Jean-Baptiste (JB), a tortured soul and charismatic leader, was exiled from The Tower. He initially attracted followers through his unorthodox beliefs, arresting personality, and rejection of the Tower’s way of life. The Reclaimed are unforgiving and unflinching in their beliefs. Unlike Mama’s belief in usefulness above all else, the Reclaimed believe that life is about more than just survival. They believe that unless one's life as explicit purpose or meaning beyond staying alive, that person is not truly living.

The Reclaimed are often described by outsiders as fear-inducing, ritualistic psychopaths. But despite their violent methods, the Reclaimed promote themselves on being a caring community, never leaving members behind due to their inability to contribute and searching for greater purpose in their lives. Pursuits that would have been considered irresponsible or frivolous by the Tower are encouraged, and members are free to come and go as they please, their individual autonomy considered more valuable than basic needs. Prior to the formation of the Reclaimed, being exiled from the Tower would be nothing short of a death sentence. But by following JB’s leadership, many exiles have a new way to live.

This faction flaunts the culture of the old world to the Tower in order to prove history can be reclaimed regardless of what disasters face them. Yet as Reclaimed members still need to survive, and many of them are former Tower members seeking revenge against Mama and her people, conflict between the two groups is quick to escalate.

Tactics
Unlike the Tower, whose forces are highly regimented and militarized, the Reclaimed rely on guerrilla warfare and extreme fear tactics to face their enemies and claim what they want. In JB's philosophy all who reject his "true meaning of life" are no better than Walkers, and as such Reclaimed members are encouraged to ritualistically slaughter their enemies and hang them upside down from high points. These hanging bodies serve as warnings for all who cross their paths. The few most devoted and extreme Reclaimed will also dress in modified animal skull masks and cloaks as a way to to torment those who see them, inspiring fear in the Tower community that cast them out.

As horrifying as their tactics can be, they work. The Reclaimed have become the Tower’s boogeymen, and as such, they’ve been left alone by the Tower, safe to do more than just survive. With no central hub, the Reclaimed thrive by constantly being on the move, avoiding the herd of Walkers that surrounds the city, especially when they’re stirred by The Tower.