Crime and punishment
Crime is tracked by faction: the same ledger determines your wanted state, the accumulated fine quoted by guards, and a jail term measured in game days. Paying or accepting jail clears that faction's record, but both paths confiscate anything the game still treats as stolen.
Contents
Recognise the crime status
Check the wanted icon and its name in your status bar before approaching a guard.
| In-game status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Wanted: Fine or Jail | A clear record enters this state when crime duration first rises above 0; unless it escalates to Attacked on Sight, guards can demand a fine or jail |
| Wanted: Attacked on Sight | Escaping, murder and resisting the guards enter this state; in locations without a jail, offences other than grave robbery also escalate to it. Guards attack on sight |
What to do when a guard stops you
The guard dialogue displays the complete fine and crime duration in the current faction's ledger. Fines can accumulate across offences; the jail term uses the current crime duration.
| Choice | When available | Known consequences |
|---|---|---|
| Pay the fine | The payment option is offered and available funds cover it | Deduct the full accumulated fine; reset duration, fine, attack count and wanted state; confiscate stolen goods permanently |
| Go to jail | The jail path is offered and the current room permits it | The term equals the current crime duration in game days; stolen goods are confiscated and not returned, the rest of your inventory is stored while shackles replace it, and it is returned on release; the crime ledger is reset on entry |
| Escape | Choose the escape path in the guard dialogue | Enter Attacked on Sight and reduce local reputation to 0; the existing fine and duration do not increase |
What theft can cost you
Guards detect items still marked as somebody else's property. Counted gold contributes its quantity and other items use base value; this is not a merchant's buying price. The game uses the stolen value produced by this check for the following results.
| Cost | Calculation and scope |
|---|---|
| Wanted/jail duration added | max(round(stolen value ÷ 100), 1) game days; the accumulated result is capped at 40 days |
| Fine added | round(2 × stolen value + 100); applies only to this stolen-goods path |
| Local reputation loss | 100 + 5 × stolen value, stopping at 0 |
| Example: stolen value 50 | +1 day, +200 fine, up to −350 local reputation |
| Example: stolen value 300 | +3 days, +700 fine, up to −1600 local reputation |
Why you cannot use a bed
An active crime record with a faction can block its beds. Paying the full fine or accepting jail immediately clears the record and this restriction; natural decay also clears it when duration reaches zero. The bed may still require a rented room or other conditions afterward. This rule applies to beds, not every form of recovery.
Can fines add up?
Yes. Fine and crime duration are both stored by faction and later offences add to them. Duration is clamped to 0–40 days; the fine has no equivalent cap. An ordinary assault adds 4 days and a 1000 fine, and removes up to 750 local reputation.
Each new offence restarts the decay timer. After that, every complete game day removes 1 crime-duration day; reaching zero also clears the fine, attack count and wanted state. This automatic decay applies only to Grand Magistrate and Rotten Willow Tavern records. Jail has a separate daily sentence countdown: the term falls by 1 and the situational Morale component by 3 each day; on release, stored items are returned and 15 × the original sentence is used as the base local-reputation gain before the normal positive reputation-gain modifier.
Witnesses and pursuit
For how offences are noticed and guards pursue you, see Witnesses and pursuit. Being detected and choosing a punishment are separate parts of the encounter.
Punishment details still to be added
Reliable starting fines and durations have not yet been found for murder, resisting the guards and grave robbery. Crime records for the Oaken Barrel Brewery's faction are also outside the automatic-decay rule; in these cases, use the fine and sentence shown in guard dialogue.