Can you be a Bandit?

[VirazolKaine]

I don't know much about this game, but games like this I typically like to play the "bad" guy. I know there is a "bandit" or "warrior" tribe that seem to be the "enemies" I also noticed that you seem unable to be a part of their faction, so I'm wondering if it is actually possible to play as a bandit. Can you raid friendly settlements? Murder random people and laugh like a maniac as you butcher and devour their corpses? Or are you doomed to play the hero?

[StefanPravda]

Yes you can, but it might get you dead sooner then you'd wish for.

[PALU]

Also, to devour the corpses of your victims you have to be starving so unless you "prepare" yourself by starving yourself before committing the murders [should you survive fighting in your weakened condition], the corpses will spoil before you can eat them.

While your character can be robbed by robbers, your character can't rob people: you have to attack them and kill them to take their stuff (you can steal things they're not carrying, though).

[VirazolKaine]

Also, to devour the corpses of your victims you have to be starving so unless you "prepare" yourself by starving yourself before committing the murders [should you survive fighting in your weakened condition], the corpses will spoil before you can eat them.

While your character can be robbed by robbers, your character can't rob people: you have to attack them and kill them to take their stuff (you can steal things they're not carrying, though).

Yeah, I read about the cannibalism "nerf" it made me quite sad..

[PALU]

Maybe you should look towards a game that doesn't strive towards realism, or one where the background culture features cannibalism (although I know only of cultures featuring ritual cannibalism, not sustenance cannibalism).

[Labtop 215]

Also, to devour the corpses of your victims you have to be starving so unless you "prepare" yourself by starving yourself before committing the murders [should you survive fighting in your weakened condition], the corpses will spoil before you can eat them.

While your character can be robbed by robbers, your character can't rob people: you have to attack them and kill them to take their stuff (you can steal things they're not carrying, though).

Yeah, I read about the cannibalism "nerf" it made me quite sad..

The problem with sustenance cannibalism is that it makes the game too easy to actually play, as after a while, you could previously consistently find and kill people that weren't hostile, and dry their meat with cords made from their clothing.  Along with being able to trade their equipment for better armor and equipment.  It was a never ending (albite somewhat dangerous) way of accruing wealth and food.  You can still kill people and take their things, but it you may have to take time out to feed yourself properly now at the very least.

You can still roleplay a bad person and kill people in nomans land, or recruit a whole bunch of villagers from one culture and take them out on raids against other cultures villages if you like.  That you can do.  Or you can even attack villages by yourself if you want.

But yea, subsistence cannibalism makes that play-style too easy and paints the game in a bad light I think.

[srukle]

The hero v.s. "bad guy" dichotomy simply doesn't exist in this game. Interesting thought!

[Saiko Kila]

Also, to devour the corpses of your victims you have to be starving so unless you "prepare" yourself by starving yourself before committing the murders [should you survive fighting in your weakened condition], the corpses will spoil before you can eat them.

A practical hint for cannibals: in deep winter, it is possible to make yourself starving enough after the kill, and before spoilage. Spoiling is chance based, and this chance stays lower in winter (though still is rather high), so often one corpse stays fresh a day or two longer than another one. Keep a low nutrition value, but not necessarily starving. After the kill, make some heavy work (like cutting some trees), which will starve you faster. Starving is not enough to be able to carve corpses. You need one to three stats lowering events before that, so continue with cutting trees, making boards out of them or something, and try to cut the corpse after each stats lowering message. The stats lowering event is also chance based, and it is possible to gain it even several times during a single board-cutting exercise. My record is four stats-lowerings in 6 hours, so the nearby corpse didn't even had a chance to spoil.

It's best to be always at low nutrition level (like malnourished), to increase chances, and have no skills lowered until required.

By the way, statistical adult human corpse gives 42 cuts of meat, and for kid it's only 18, it isn't that much, so honestly I don't think this is the "easy" way of sustenance, with tricks or without. And you can run out of villagers.

[Labtop 215]

By the way, statistical adult human corpse gives 42 cuts of meat, and for kid it's only 18, it isn't that much, so honestly I don't think this is the "easy" way of sustenance, with tricks or without. And you can run out of villagers.

I was talking from before the requirement that you be very starved before eating people.  And it still can be, if you manage to kill tons of people while starving and then go to the trouble of smoking or drying their meat.  You only have to be starving to cut the corpse for meat, afterwards you can do whatever with it, as far as I remember anyway.  Also, bigger people give more meat, I've gotten as much as 70 cuts of meat from a big Njerpez warrior before.

You only have to take on a starvation penalty of 3% in order to cannibalize other people in-game so it isn't that hard.

[Saiko Kila]

Also, bigger people give more meat, I've gotten as much as 70 cuts of meat from a big Njerpez warrior before.

Yes, humans give 30% of their corpse mass as meat cuts. Most animals give 45% (it ranges from 25% for seals to 80% for most birds). But average human weighs 70 kg or 140 lbs, so you need some luck to find longer pork.

More importantly, the human meat is on par with the worst meats, and is less nutritious than for example stag, not to mention reindeer. And reindeer meat gives about average nutrition amongst meats.

[Bakkat]

    Even if you cannot be a Njerpz by culture, eat human flesh while not starving and take someone's possessions before kill them I think you can still be quite "a bad guy" and laugh in a crazy insanely way.

  To name some of the things i do remember of reading in the old forum, perhaps it can inspire you:

 This traveller entered a city and as their not-hostile inhabitants welcomed him, he started killing them all for fun. Obviusly, this heavy armoured character was getting bored of this easy bloody task, and after killing a little child he used him as a throwing weapon. The message console displayed something like this: "You throw the grisly child corpse".
But the fun was just beginning, and for his surprise, this "new discovered weapon" made a house-wife get killed by a neck facture as the heavy weapon landed over her head.

So, perhaps it doesn't seem so maniac or psycho or devilish or whatsoever. But if you place yourself in that scenario you can get the picture, the feelings, what an spectator (her husband... the children's granpa).

Let's make shorter the next example, it's getting long:

This player (youtube video, older version) was the kind of "maximize your oportunities at any rate". He's chosen the scenario of Unfortunately hunting trip, where his dad was killed by some dangerous animal.
 A 16 years old boy going hunting to learn with his father. The beast attack and finally kill the parent. But the child just butcher the corpse, laughing cause he got some nice slices of meat.

As long as you connect with the game, you can picture really complex scenarios. Where you can act in several ways. Cowardly,  "heriocal", cold-hearted, benevolent, etc.

Lastly, i agree with the srukle 100%, That dichotomy perhaps could apply "Vietcom" or any war game. Where you can be the Freedom's soldier or the opposite (A.K.A. Vietnam, Nazi, CCCP, etc, etc). But of course, not only limitated to those.
UrW is not made to taste blood, to do GTA stuff, to be an hero or to be the bad guy.
Eventhough, perhaps you could be a really bad ass, bloody psycho in there.

[Starving bandit]

bad ass

Speaking of which, I really liked that you could not just persistence hunt an animal (non-predatory), but also kick its breathless ass barehadedly, since it doesn't really put up any fight in that state. A good way to save the skin and train unarmed for those tricky njerpez situations. I also tried flails and clubs but they tend to leave marks from time to time. Especially flails.
But, going back on topic,  I wish there were means of dealing with people without actually killing them. They should ask mercy in some situations, especially women and children. Maybe, like, a beaten up guy with noone on his side would start a chat where he could trade for his life by items. Thet mechanic would actually allow a ruffian RP without a need for murder.