Village

Terrain (Location)

Native **villages** are locations found in all biomes, with a Lizard version found in Prehistoric and Portal worlds, and Bedouin Villages found in deserts. Villages serve many useful purposes:

* **A trading/barter spot**. Items can be exchanged, and donations can be given to increase standing (15 value per standing point). The villagers will refuse to trade if your Standing is -7 or lower.
* **Recruiting 1 new companion**. At 2+ Standing, each village gives the player a choice between 2 humanoids and 1 animal to add to the trek. The description of the village when you first enter it may give a hint about what type of natives are available for recruitment. Note that this offer will be made only once, and will not be repeated if you see the list of available recruits but then reconsider.
	+ Possible native recruits include animal handlers, scouts, shamans and warriors.
	+ Possible animal recruits include donkeys and water buffalos.
	+ Villages in arctic biomes will offer only warriors and huskies. In *RIVALS*, they may also offer native hunters.
	+ Bedouin villages *may* offer bedouins and camels instead of the normal natives and animals.
	+ An animal handler will not be offered if you already have one in your party.
* **Rest spot to regain sanity**. Each night grants +30 sanity, at the cost of -2 Standing. If Standing is -3 or lower, the villagers will depend payment (items worth 15 value). Resting may trigger certain random events (see below).
* **Creating handmade items**. Staying overnight allows artists and anthropologists to create new, valuable works of art or study. Note that painting a native while at Standing -3 or lower may cause an incident, which will ruin the painting and cost you an empty canvas.
* **Target of several quests**.
* **Purchasing a beast**. Rarely, a beastmaster offers the choice between 3 rare animals as a combat companion in exchange for animal teeth.
* **May contain an Idol Statue**: You may attempt to steal it after choosing the "rest" option. See the item's page for details. Note that attempting this will force you to leave the village without resting.

The villagers will not let you enter if your Standing is -9 or -10.

## Events

These events can occur whenever you decide to rest in a village:

* **Alcoholic drink offer**: Accepting will increase your Sanity (+10, plus any bonus from Whisky Expert) and improve your Standing (+1), but one of your humanoid companions may become an alcoholic (40% chance). Refusing will offend the natives (-1 Standing).
* **Alcohol request**: A native may ask you for a bottle of Whisky. Giving it to them will improve your Standing (+1). Refusing has no effect.
* **Companion falls in love**: One of your non-racist companions falls in love with a native and asks you whether they can stay behind. Giving them permission will greatly improve your relationship with the natives (+4 Standing). Denying permission will offend the companion (-2 Loyalty).
* **Directions**: The villagers may give you a clue about the Golden Pyramid's location. This will make your compass slightly more accurate for the rest of this expedition.
* **Elopers**: One of your non-racist companions falls in love with a native and asks you to smuggle their lover out of the village. Refusing the request will lower your companion's Loyalty (-2). If you accept and succeed (it appears to be a 50-50 chance), you will gain a random native companion, but will also make the villagers hostile. If you fail, your companion will be caught and the villagers will only release them in exchange for items worth 50 value; also, the natives will be offended (-3 Standing).
* **Go native offer:** If your Standing is 8 or higher, you are on Expedition 4-6, and are playing on Expedition or Certain Death difficulty, you may get the choice to abandon your ambitions and remain living among the natives. If you accept, the game will immediately end and your score will not be recorded. However, doing so will unlock an achievement and the explorer Dion Fortune. Declining has no effect.
* **Hug**: A native child will try to hug you, but it looks diseased. Choosing to accept the hug will increase your Standing (+1) but risks contracting jungle fever (50% chance). Refusing will offend the natives (-1 Standing).
* **Information offer**: A native may offer to reveal the location of a special world that you can explore during your next expedition, but will demand items worth 15 value in exchange. There is no penalty for refusing the offer. Note that this event may occur even during your sixth (final) expedition, in which case buying the information is pointless.
* **Maturation rituals**: You will be offered the chance to take part in a maturation ritual. If you do, you will have to roll either  or  on your party's dice, depending on what the ritual involves. Winning increases your Standing (+2), while failing lowers it (-2). Refusing to participate will lower Standing slightly (-1).
* **Slaughter animal request**: The natives may offer to butcher one of your animals for a feast. If you agree you will gain a lot of Standing (+5). There is no penalty for refusing.
* **Strange meat offer**: Accepting will reduce your Sanity (-20) but improve your Standing (+1). Refusing will offend the natives (-1 Standing).
* **Villagers ask question**:
	+ *Which is superior, local or civilized life?*: Answering "civilized" will offend the natives (-2 Standing), while saying "local" will please them (+2 Standing), and saying "don't know" has no effect.
	+ *What created us?*: Saying "evolution" will offend a missionary companion (-1 Loyalty). Answering "don't know" has a 50% chance of doing the same. Otherwise there is no effect (saying "God" is always safe).
	+ *Which sex is superior?*: Saying one sex is superior will offend companions of the opposite gender (-1 Loyalty). Saying both sexes are equal will offend sexist companions (-1 Loyalty).
	+ *Do European men/women have one or many wives/husbands?*: Neither answer has an in-game effect.
* **Wedding**: The locals are celebrating a wedding, which can last several days. Leaving the village before it ends will offend the natives (-2 Standing).

Some events are triggered if your party is carrying a certain item, or has a member with a certain trait:

* **Argument**: An argument may break out if you have an angry companion in your party. This will always annoy the natives (-1 Standing), and you will be given the option to confront the companion or let it slip. Confronting them has a 50-50 chance of resulting in the companion leaving your party or restoring some of their Loyalty (+1). Letting it slip will reduce the companion's Loyalty (-2).
* **Captured companion**: You can find that a non-native humanoid companion who has gone missing earlier during the expedition has been captured by the natives. They will release him/her in exchange for items worth 50 value.
* **Demand Mummy**: If you have a Mummy in your inventory, the natives may demand that you hand it over. This incident will immediately give you a Standing penalty (-1), and an additional, larger one if you refuse (-3).
* **Drummer**: A villager may offer to tune your drums. Accepting has a chance to improve them into tuned drums (66.7%) or destroying them (33.3%). Refusing will offend the natives slightly (-1 Standing).
* **Funeral**: A missionary companion may ask permission to bless a funeral in progress. If you agree, you must roll a  on your party's dice for the missionary to succeed. Success will elicit gratitude from the natives (+2 Standing), but failure will offend them (-2 Standing). Refusing the request will lower your missionary's Loyalty (-1).
* **Imaginary argument:** An argument with an imaginary companion may break out, leaving the locals thinking your explorer is crazy (-3 Standing).
* **Incident**: Kleptomaniac, paranoid, or racist companions may cause an incident, giving you a Standing penalty (-1).
* **Kill offender offer**: If a companion is both paranoid and racist, the natives may offer to discreetly kill him/her. Accepting will improve your Standing (+2). Nothing will happen if you refuse.

Finally, leaving the village while at negative Standing may give you the Followed ailment (50% chance if -1 to -3, automatic if -4 or lower).

## Tips

* **Standing** triggers and is affected by several special village events. Be sure to study this mechanic before attempting to exploit these locations.
* Start your visit by boosting standing with trading donations, unlocking free rest and recruitment.
* Trade extra marbles, machetes, snowshoes and fireworks at villages, as these all have inflated values at this location and will yield a more favorable exchange for the player.
* Trade items like pelts for animal teeth when available. The teeth have equal value at other Traders, but are weightless and can therefore free up inventory capacity.
* Looting a Shrine with **heads on sticks**, or having an Abomination companion, renders all villages empty. Though they can still be explored, all interactions are disabled, so you are not able to trade or rest.
* If a village is destroyed by fire you will get a Standing penalty (-3), regardless of whether you are responsible. A village spawned near a volcano will often be destroyed this way, and you will get the blame.