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If the opening hours of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 have taught me anything, it's that life in the middle ages is hard when you don't even have clothes on your back. Stripped bare with nary a groschen to your name, Warhorse's RPG sends you out into the world and essentially says: "you figure it out from here". As is my long-held preference in RPGs, I always opt to walk the path of good and principled over evil or morally bankrupt, but as I soon discover, doing so in Bohemia is no simple thing. Right out of the pillory, practically every quest giver I encounter wants me to get up to some kind of mischief. If it isn't stealing a lute, it's throwing paint at a prize bull, or being asked to take another village's beloved maypole just to spite them. I may be a pauper in desperate need of some grub and armor, but I don't want to end up back in the stocks… or worse.
The temptation to commit crimes is rampant, but I'm committed to upholding my RPG tradition. So, I made a promise to myself early on: I will live honestly and do right by as many people as I can. I'm now 13 hours in, and it's certainly not the easiest path to tread – in fact, it at times feels like I'm doing everything the hard way – but you better believe it's rewarding. I will not allow any crime to tarnish my good name. Henry will be a good lad, groschen be damned.
Honorable Henry
The beginning of my adventures start off very slowly. After asking around about any honest work, I spent a lot of time walking down dirt roads in search of new opportunities. Outfitted in what isn't far off from rags, I don't give off the best impression, but even so, I reply politely to every passing guard who throws suspicion my way. Deciding to not only let my actions speak to my good nature, I even try to greet everyone who wants to chat with a friendly hello. On one occasion, I even try to compliment someone's strong arms, which quickly backfires. The bloke is convinced I'm taking the piss and before I know it, he's threatening to throw hands. I quickly quell the situation by refusing to engage in fisticuffs, but it's certainly a lesson in how fast things can take a turn if you don't choose your responses wisely.
Once I reach a nearby village, two fellows ask for my assistance, and what is a good boy to do but hear them out? Once I get wind that this pair wants me to pinch a lute for them, I know I'm not in great company right off, but I'm always willing to hear just about anyone out.
After all, one of the great joys of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is the fact that there are often different approaches you can take in any given quest. Just because you're asked to do something bad at a surface level doesn't mean you can't try to find another solution.
So, despite my personal code of honor, I decide to reluctantly agree, believing that perhaps there's some way I can convince the instrument's owner to part with it fairly. As it is, I've yet to find a good solution to this particular quest, so it'll sit in my log forever more if need be. I'm certainly not going to risk stealing it and compromise my principles for some groschen – you just have to read about my editor Andy Brown's shenanigans to see how bad that can go .
Since a lot of early quests give you some morally questionable tasks – see the aforementioned maypole thievery or bull paint sullying – I spend a good deal of time plucking up various plants and practicing the art of alchemy to sell off decocations for food. Once I at long last make my way to the blacksmith, I make as many horseshoes as possible to sell off, with the axe becoming my mainstay weapon against wolves and bandits. I've yet to use any lockpicks, nor have I robbed anyone or stolen loot. Everything in my possession in my first 10 hours has come purely from some good exploration out in the fields, or through groschen I've earned honestly.
Good groschen
The only time I slightly bent the rules was an occasion that called for me to break into someone's home. Yes, on the surface this sounds like a pretty bad crime, but it was in the name of a very good cause. See, the good old lady Bozhena asked for my help, and since she saved my skin, not to mention Hans, of course I'm going to do everything I can to find her missing daughter. The house in question happens to belong to a missing person related to the case, and all I did was climb in through a side window – no lockpicking required – and look for clues. Sure, it was a little tempting to swipe some things in boxes, but I left with no stolen goods lining my pockets.
So much of the early stages of the game really do push you to do less than reputable things in the name of survival. Sometimes you can justify it, sure, but it's not easy being completely good in the middle ages. Nothing speaks to this more than when I encounter a miller in one of the optional main questlines. After he tasks me with what I think is some good honest labor, it turns out he's fixing to do a spot of thieving and wants me to get involved. When I call him out and turn him down, proclaiming that I want to live honestly, his reply says it all: "Honest living, eh? You're doing your own pocket a disservice, lad".
Maybe I am doing my pockets a disservice early on, and maybe it takes me some time before I'm lining them with grochen after my spell in the stocks. But over 10 hours later, I have sturdy armor, plenty of helpful perks to boost my charisma, and I'm affluent enough to get by comfortably. So, I'm proof that it is absolutely possible to get by without doing crime - even if you do have to avoid certain quests altogether. Better yet, I have a good reputation. Everywhere I go, people are happy to see me, and when I hear remarks like "you have a kind master" when I travel through a village with my loyal hound Mutt, I don't regret the path I've taken for a second. Who knows if temptation or possibly even necessity will lead me astray in the future, but I'll do everything I can to help those in need and earn money honestly.
