Selling/giving game meat and Reputation
I’ve been playing this game for 120 hours so far, and am enjoying it. I have had a couple of quests asking me to hunt game for the Skalitz refugees (I think it’s called A Beggars’ Feast or something). So, I go hunting, collect the boar meat or whatever, go back to Alex and hand over the meat. I gain Reputation, presumably with the refugees, but also lose Reputation, presumably with the guards.
Now, before becoming the Master Huntsman, I would’ve understood this because hunting and selling game before this is illegal. But afterwards? Am I losing Reputation with the guards because they don’t want the Skalitz refugees there and therefore don’t want them supported? Is there any way for me to stop losing that Reputation, or do I have to just take the hit and build it up again afterwards? I wouldn’t care if this was just happening once, but I’m sure Alex has more jobs for me. Quests from NPCs like this tend to come in threes.
Thank you and I apologise for what’s probably a very simple question.
Posted Feb 8, 2022, 8:19 PM UTC
I always assumed it was because of who was receiving the meat, not so much who was giving it. Even as the Master Huntsman, you’re supposed to be working for the benefit of Sir Divish, not just whoever wants meat. There’s even a short quest line that involves Henry delivering meat to the Talmberg chamberlain. Keep in mind that several of the codex entries also explain that all of the woods and everything in them were considered the property of the local lord, so even charcoal-burners were not allowed to do their work except with the lord’s permission. Any game from the forest was by default the lord’s property and therefore illegal for anyone not under his authority to have, and even then, the huntsman could only deliver it to the lord who employed him.
Also, in the Middle Ages through probably the 17th century or so, there were sumptuary laws that restricted what people of a certain station in life could do. If you weren’t of a certain social class, you were prohibited from wearing certain clothes, buying certain goods, or even eating certain foods. The laws were often outright meant to keep a rigid social hierarchy, in addition to making sure the upper classes had a good supply of nice things that no one else could have. This loss of reputation among guards might pertain to that. Peasants shouldn’t be allowed to have certain extravagant kinds of meat because it’s just not appropriate for their class; peasants eat humble food and only their betters get to feast. KCD does a good job of showing these class distinctions and at several points shows the player that some social boundaries just wouldn’t be crossed because it was unthinkable to people at the time—sort of like how before the late 1800s, it was just taken for granted that women had no vote and no representation, even though we now see that as horribly antiquated and wrong. Unless you were nobility, you often didn’t have a lot of say as to what happened in your life, and even then, those who outranked you could dictate your actions.
Thank you very much for taking the time to write such a detailed answer, it really goes to show how much thought the developers put into this game. As I keep saying on this sub, most of the questions I have about the game and how it works seem to be answered just be looking at how history and life itself work. In this case, history didn’t treat the poor very well, and sometimes it’s just not possible to please everyone. I had exactly the same situation again about an hour ago with the butcher in Sasau. Gave him some meat and suddenly my Reputation with the Monastery took a nosedive.
Thanks very much for reminding me that I’ve been conditioned by games over the years to assume that there’s a perfect solution to everything. Life just isn’t like that. One thing I’ve learnt from this particular question is that I need to read the Codex more.