Difference between revisions of "Njerpez"

Revision as of 13:48, 11 January 2023

A Njerpez warrior (legacy)

Njerpez is a foreign culture of Njerpezit whom are seen as notorious bandits by the more peaceful peoples of Unreal World. Sometimes known as 'those annoying men in red' or 'archery targets', their zone of influence is shown with purple colour on map mode and during world map creation. Their home region can be found in the far southeast of the world across a gulf separating their land from Reemi.

According to lore of the Unreal World, Njerpezit most frequently target the region of Kaumo in an attempt of conquering it for themselves; however, their camps can be found all over the Unreal World. They are usually found armed for war with iron weapons as well as ranged weapons, making them a large threat to new or unaware players. They can be encountered both as lone travelers or as groups of warriors.

The cultural items of Njerpezit are the Njerpeziläis Scimitar and the lamellar armour material, but they can often be encountered wielding and wearing great variety of non-cultural items as well.

Like playable cultures, Njerpezit have some advantages and disadvantages in skills: They have a small equal advantage in Swords, Timbercraft and Stealth, but equal disadvantage in Skiing.

Settlements

Player character approaching njerpez camp on the wilderness map.

Unlike friendly cultures, Njerpezit are marauders who occasionally roam the territories of playable cultures and can create remote zones of influence away from their home territory by establishing camps. These camps are shown with a "three tent" icon on the wilderness map, have their own zone of influence which will disappear when all warriors associated with the camp are killed, and may contain as many as a dozen warriors. The camp itself can contain valuable possessions and useful materials, and will remain in the world indefinitely after its occupants are vanquished.

Njerpez villages are sometimes fortified with fences and they may have their own saunas. Their villages are populated by craftsmen, maidens and housewives, in addition to Njerpez warriors. All NPCs in the area will attack on sight, even usually passive ones such as foreign traders.

If the player manages to kill all Njerpezit of a village or camp, the zone of influence will vanish. Note that some roaming Njerpezit may be associated with a camp or village. If the player has killed all Njerpezit in a settlement and the area is still purple on the culture map, at least one roaming or otherwise still-living Njerpezit associated with that settlement remains.

Encounter behavior

Lone Njerpezit will not immediately act aggressively. They may swear at the player as a warning to not get too close, or they may simply run away. Getting too close or attacking first will usually cause the Njerpezit to become aggressive.

Njerpezit found in their villages and camps and wandering as groups are likely to be immediately aggressive. They will alert their companions to the player's location. Groups of Njerpezit may also have their own dogs.

While they often prefer to fight to the point of exhaustion and even death, it is possible that a Njerpez warrior will flee during a fight even if he is winning decisively.

Lone Njerpezit encountered within villages may also be neutral to both the player and NPCs alike.

Strategies

Njerpezit hunting is a risky but potentially lucrative (and almost always psychologically satisfying) endeavour. If you are going on a Njerpezit hunt, you will want to be well equipped and possess competence in both hand-to-hand as well as ranged combat. Mobility is also very important factor, so simply wearing all the armour you can is typically not optimal.

• Wield weapons you are most competent with. Don't bring only two-handed weapons if you think you may need to carry a shield.
• Wear your best armor, and be aware of its weaknesses. Full iron and mail armor is heavy, but can deflect blow after blow. Fur and most other armour materials won't protect from broadhead arrows and scimitars effectively, so you need to know when to not engage.
• Leave your other survival gear behind before you go to war to reduce your encumbrance penalties as much as possible.
• A single warrior may not pose a significant threat if you surprise them, but they can almost always alert other nearby enemies of your position. Be aware of your surroundings and try to have a contingency plan or escape strategy. Above all, don't get surrounded – you can't defend against attacks from outside your line of sight.
• As humans, Njerpezit have decent sight but poor hearing compared to animals. You can escape their notice by hiding and sneaking even in close proximity, but they can spot you from afar if you're moving openly in their field of vision.
• Pay attention to equipment of all targets for their strengths and weaknesses before committing to the engagement. You can draw out and exhaust the enemy by retreating long distances, especially during the winter while wearing skis. A breathless enemy is defeated enemy.
• Lone Njerpez warriors can dispatch a single dog quickly, but they can be easily overwhelmed by a pack. Completely decayed corpses leave tasty treats behind for your four-legged companions.
• Hirelings will often engage Njerpezit in the vicinity with little regard for their or your safety or strategy.

Gallery

• 

  Njerpez warriors pursuing a player character.

• 

  Example of njerpez camp influence encroaching on Reemi. The camp itself is displayed with same indicator as villages.