Reputation
Reputation is a core mechanic in Caves of Qud. Each creature in Qud, including the player character, are favored or disliked by each individual faction. The particular reasons for faction feelings are randomly generated (described in more detail on the faction relationship reasons page). Depending on the reputation with a faction, the members of that faction will be out of three different feelings:
- Hostile- Actively trying to attack the player. Cannot be spoken to for water rituals or conversations.
- Neutral- Has no major feeling either way. Will become hostile if purposefully struck.
- Friendly- If the creature that the faction is friendly to is attacked, all members will turn hostile towards the attacker.
| Reputation | In-Game Description | Feeling | Other | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docile Demeanor |
Neutral Demeanor |
Aggressive Demeanor | |||
| ≤ -600 | Faction Members despise you. Even docile ones will attack you.
You aren't welcome in their holy places. |
Hostile | Hostile | Hostile | |
| -599 to -250 | Faction Members dislike you, but docile ones won't attack you.
You aren't welcome in their holy places. |
Neutral | Hostile | Hostile | |
| -249 to 249 | Faction Members don't care about you, but aggressive ones will attack you.
You aren't welcome in their holy places. |
Neutral | Neutral | Hostile | Neutral demeanors will also be hostile in Holy Places |
| 250 to 599 | Faction Members favor you.
Aggressive ones won't attack you. You are welcome in their holy places. |
Friendly | Friendly | Friendly | Creatures that can be pet will be allowed to be pet |
| ≥ 600 | Faction Members revere you and consider you one of their own.
You are welcome in their holy places. |
Friendly | Friendly | Friendly | |
Gaining and Losing Reputation
Reputation is used as a sort of currency that can be traded, gained and lost depending on the player character's actions.
Gaining reputation
Reputation with a faction can be gained by:
| +100 | +50 |
|---|---|
|
|
180-200 reputation can also be gained by using a 
Schrodinger page from the Annals of Qud.
Unconventional reputation gains
Depending on the faction, reputation can be gained in unique ways.
- Donating an artifact to the
sacred well will grant variable reputation with the Mechanimists based on the artifact's commerce value. - Completing quests will grant reputation with a certain faction
- The council during the The Earl of Omonporch will alter faction reputation wildly in either direction
Losing Reputation
| -100 | -50 |
|---|---|
|
|
Unconventional reputation losses
There are certain ways to lose reputation due to more specific actions, some specific to one faction.
- Barathrumites can teach the player tinkering recipes for reputation
- Merchants' Guild and the Consortium of Phyta will trade their most valuable item in their inventory/equipment for reputation
- Factions based in villages will teach a recipe and/or a signature skill for reputation.
- Using precognition to equip the
amaranthine prism and cancelling the vision to unequip it will decrease the player's reputation with Highly entropic beings by -100 - Killing any creature that the player has previously performed the water ritual with in that game will violate its covenant, decreasing the player's reputation with all factions by -90 to -110. [2]
- The council during the The Earl of Omonporch will alter faction reputation wildly in either direction
Reputation's Effect on Trade Prices
Reputation with the merchant also affects trade prices, acting essentially as a bonus or penalty to the player's ego modifier.
| Reputation with merchant | Bonus applied to Ego Modifier for Trade |
|---|---|
| 600 or more | +3 bonus |
| 250 to 599 | +1 bonus |
| -249 to 249 | 0 |
| -599 to -250 | -1 penalty |
| -600 or less | -3 penalty |
Initial Player Reputation
Upon game creation, the player character will have an initial starting reputation based on this table:
Additionally, certain options chosen during Character Creation affect starting reputation:
| Chosen Trait | Factions Affected | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| True Kin | Putus Templar | +600 (resulting in -100) |
 Beak |
Birds | +200 |
 Carapace |
Tortoises | +400 |
 Horns |
Antelopes & Goatfolk | +100 |
 Photosynthetic Skin |
Roots, Trees, Vines & Consortium of Phyta | +200 |
 Spinnerets |
Arachnids | +300 |
| Stinger (any) | Arachnids | +200 |
 Thick Fur |
Apes, Baboons, Bears & Grazing hedonists | +100 |
 Wings |
Birds & Winged mammals | +400 |
 Amphibious (D) |
Frogs | +100 |
 Cold Blooded (D) |
Unshelled reptiles | +100 |
 Burgeoning |
Consortium of Phyta | +200 |
 Mass Mind |
Seekers of the Sightless Way | -200 |
 Space-Time Vortex |
Highly entropic beings | +200 |
| Greybeard | Bears | +100 |
| Gunslinger | Mysterious strangers | +200 |
| Nomad | Issachari tribe | +200 |
| Tinker | Barathrumites | +100 |
| Warden | Fellowship of Wardens | +300 |
| Water Merchant | Water barons | +200 |
| Watervine Farmer | Villagers of Joppa | +100 |
Start in  salt marsh |
Insects & Fish | +50 |
Start in  salt dunes |
Unshelled reptiles | +100 |
Start in  desert canyons |
Equines, Tortoises & Vines | +50 |
Start in  hills |
Hermits | +100 |
References
- All notes are taken from
XRL.World.Reputation