Due to the White Flash vaporizing most of civilization, many inhabitants of Olathe have formed gangs for mutual protection and survival. Many of them are outwardly hostile towards other denizens, many are neutral until provoked, but very few are entirely peaceful.
List of Gangs in PAINFUL
Sugar Boy Drifters
They are the first gang Brad encounters. Sugar Mountain will send his gang to find Buddy, but later found dead by Brad. Sugar Mountain himself must be defeated in order to progress.
Members:
- Sugar Mountain
- Several unnamed members
Road Scholars
The Road Scholars are a group of bandits that will attack Brad as he leaves Factory Town for the first time. They will either force Brad to give them all of his mags, or he will have to fight them. Given the area of Factory Town and the likelihood that it is one of the first peaceful areas Brad will visit, it is likely that this will be a very tough fight. Giving them all your mags will cause them to leave the village alone, but if you attempt and lose the fight, they will take all your mags and murder all the Factory Town NPCs.
Members:
Blue Rockets
One of the major gangs of Area 1, the Blue Rockets are the first gang that pose an active threat to Brad: If he and his party sleep at a campfire, there is a chance that the Rockets will kidnap a member of Brad's party. If they do, Brad can either pay them 100 mags, or fight and kill them in exchange for the party member's life.
Completing this event or reaching Area 2 will remove the Blue Rockets from the game.
Members:
Wally's
A band of cult who worship Wally. They are neutral towards Brad, but will try to fight him if he attempt to go up the mountain to face Wally.
Members:
Pretty Boys
The resident enemy gang of Area 2. There is a possibilty that they will kidnap one of Brad's party members when resting, and Brad must pay 200 mags to pay them back, or else they will execute the party member and fight Brad.
Members:
- Peter Smoove
- Several men dressed up as Pretty Masks.
The Bees
Queen Roger and The Bees rule The Beehive, which was named after by them. They work as prostitutes to satisfy Olathian Males's urges. Queen Roger will join Brad's gang after he helps him out, but the gang will not disband, and stays in the Beehive for the rest of the game.
Members:
- Queen Roger
- Kim Sex Machine
- Several unnamed employers
Gale Motorcycle Club
The resident enemy gang of Area 3. Just like the Blue Rockets and Pretty Boys, they will kidnap one of Brad's party members at night, but it is impossible to pay them back since when Brad gets to their area after the kidnapping, Rex Thunderstorm, now turned into a Joy Mutant, will have killed the entire gang and the party member as well. Defeating Rex Thunderstorm will prevent the kidnapping from ever happening again.
Their name may be a reference to the biker enemies from Streets of Rage 2, who all had weather-themed names (such as Gale and Storm) and who dressed much like the Gale Motorcycle Club do.
Members:
- Rex Thunderstorm
- Several unnamed members (all dead after mutation of Rex Thunderstorm).
Bloodmoon Tribe
The Bloodmoon Tribe rules the Bloodmoon Mountain. They will try to stop Brad and his gang from cutting down the last Bloodmoon tree.
Members:
Rando's Army
Rando's Army is the strongest gang in Olathe, and deserves to be called an 'army'. After Rando is defeated by Brad, the army will disband soon after as well.
Members:
- Rando
- Porky Roy
- Mystic Pete
- Oak Tree Steve
- Hoops Jardeen
- Lance Gravys
- Skip Dreamer
- Bee Swanson
- Dayspa Henning
- Trips Breezer
- Laser Aldino
- Don Skin
- Vernon Red
- Warren Red
- Sticky Angoneli
- Spoony "Sidewalk" Vee
- Stevie Dean
- Spice Simmons
- Float Ziggler
- Mickey Neat
- Walt Steamboat
- Bruno Lee
- Top Polanski
- Phil Bush
- Micheal Waters
- Koo Dragonhead
- Gale Saturn
- Derth Hendricks
- Ernie Frost
- Dwayne Ports
- Dean Fritz-Clark
- Curt Ambrose
- Cooper Plate
- Harmony Flynn
- Big Ant
- Ron Farook
- Ira Temple
- Forest Richards
- Clint Moss
- Gon Duggan
- Two unnamed soldiers at the end [1]
- Unnamed injured soldier (After Rando Army attacks Buzzo's gang)
- A footballer strongly resembling Dwayne Ports (Rando Blockade, leaves a Football Helmet after death)
- Unnamed dead soldier (Rando Blockade, has a Rando Poncho)
- Two truck drivers (One after the motorcycle trek and one on the blockade)
- The smoking guy at the top of the Rando truck (Rando Blockade)
The Gents
The Gents don't seem to stay in one area, though they do seem to follow Brad and his gang in order to torment them. While Chris Columbo is never fought, it is mandatory to kill the rest of The Gents in order to progress through the story.
Members:
- Chris Columbo
- Tom Cream
- Sergei Rage
- Larry Sports
- Former Friend (when giving up Terry at beginning)
Salvation Rangers
Members:
- Salvation Red
- Salvation Blue
- Salvation Green
- Salvation Yellow
- Salvation Black
- Salvation Pink
- Salvation Beige (After second encounter at Skull Town)
The Schoolboy Shufflers
The Schoolboy Shufflers are a harmless gang found in New Roads. They provide Brad access to an Inn and Firebombs.
List of Gangs in JOYFUL
Lenny's Gang
Lenny Luigal and his gang are seen after Buddy choose to trust Rando or not. Buddy and Rando will run into them as they finish killing a Joy Mutant. Lenny is seen injured and one of his men will mention to him that Buddy and Rando appeared. Lenny will say "Rando! and the Lil' lassy! Hooo, shit! Sorry Rando, buddy. We ain't passin' this up..." if Buddy is unmasked, but will say "Rando! and lil' fuckin' Rando?! Huh? Your voice? No wonder this boy never speaks. You think I'm fuckin' stupid?! We ain'tover lookin' that lil' Randy-o on ya shouldas! Quit foolin'! It's the girl, fellas! Get 'er!" if masked. Either way, Lenny and his gang must all be killed to progress.
Members:
- Lenny Luigal
- Wade Bryant
- Tanaka Mendez
- Ernie Fouller
- Paul Sweesey
- Carry Dancer
- Frank Caldwaller
- Several dead members
The Unics
The Unics kidnaps Buddy and Rando after they find The List. They seem to know Rando himself, and later Mr. Beautiful will mention them. It is later found out that Rando arranged the kidnapping, possibly with Mr. Beautiful. Buddy will kill The Unics off-screen except for Bob Friday as he runs away, but he is later found dead as a Joy Mutant.
Members:
- Bob Friday
- Dale
- Several unnamed members
The Band
A group of musicians and dancers named 'Winner, Winner What's Four Dinner Boys', who will only play music peacefully, unless Buddy removes her mask near them. They are located to the right of the bar in a small village in Joyful Area 1. If you stay long enough, each member will start to perform with the music. The music they play is called 'Winner, Winner What's Four Dinner Boys'.
Members:
- Burt Tornado
- Candy Simmons
- Cherry Fleet
- Destiny Woods
- Jimmy Winner
- Larry Cosmos
- Sapphire Dawn
- Peen Dillies
Warlords of Olathe
- Hawk Hollywood
- Han Tsunami
- Buffalo Van Dyke
- Vega Van Dam
- Mr. Beautiful
- Lardy Hernandez
- Dice Mahone
- Sindy Gallows
- Big Lincoln
Bolo's Gang
Bolo and his gang attempt to capture Buddy to molest her but later slaughtered by a Joy Mutant. Only 3 members were killed on screen and the rest is unknown. Bolo then appears again after defeating 5 warlords of Olathe.
Members:
- Bolo
- Several unnamed members