Sympathy

[Sparkshot]

I thought this would be an interesting topic.

A while back I remember when I never sacked or exterminated a single settlement, even if it had a differing culture/religion. I always wanted to be the good guy and actually had sympathy for an artificial number that represented population.

As you would expect I had money troubles and as a result it made expansion difficult, though I was able to accomplish some objectives. It wasn't until about a year and a half ago when I was talking to a friend in school about Medieval 2 that I changed my ways.

He boasted about conquering the Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy (including Rome), the HRE, North Africa, and the Levant as Milan. I was shocked and skeptical, though envied him at the same time. He said the key to success was to sack every settlement and exterminate every one that had a conflicting culture/religion.

Well I actually told him I couldn't do it because I felt bad about it and of course he mocked me for being so ridiculous. So when I got home I started a campaign as Spain and eventualy joined a crusade to Jerusalem. Well I took the province and as expected the "Occupation Options" page popped up asking me what I wanted to do. My pointer hovered over the extermination tab and I must of sate there for more than a minute, hesitant, contemplating what to do. Oddly enough I thought there must be another way, but in the end I exterminated the population.

I felt bad for some time afterwards too. Even now I don’t sack and or exterminate ever singel settlement because my emotions get the best of me. I just can't comprehend why it has such a profound impact on me. So I’m curious, did anyone else have similar feelings before they sacked/exterminated a population?

[Georgy Zhukov]

That is actually kinda strange, for me I feel no remorse when committing large acts of brutal genocide in Total War probably because its just a random number that increase or decreases over time, but in other games like Kotor, ME, I'm always the good guy, even if its harder I cant bring my self to be cruel. Even in GTA 4 I avoid mass civilian slaughters whenever possible. I spare everyone, and I always let wounded enemies live.

[jsktrogdor]

in other games like Kotor, ME, I'm always the good guy, even if its harder I cant bring my self to be cruel.

YOU WERE A GOOD GUY IN KOTOR???!??!1 thats the craziest f@#$ing thing ive ever heard.

[Samir]

Even in GTA 4 I avoid mass civilian slaughters whenever possible. I spare everyone

NO! THAT is the craziest thing I ever heard of a PC player

yeah I do feel remorse. and as I usually always exterminate or sack I feel remorse very often!

then I join a crusade or jihad and god says that everything is ok and fine again

[RedEye]

Extermination and executing prisoners have the biggest negative effects on your reputation. A bad rep doesn't have a big effect on the game on the whole, especially if you're playing in a "slash and burn and to hell with everyone" style, but can occasionally mess with your plans if you want recource to diplomatic 'sweeteners'.

At the beginning of a Sicilian campaign the council ordered the taking of Durazzo for a cash reward. As Sicily's early finances are dodgy I duly complied but was aware that Venice would attack me there and, not wanting war with a neighbour that early in the game I offered them the settlement as a gift. They responded "not with your [mixed] rep, mate" and war duly ensued.

[D.B. Cooper]

in other games like Kotor, ME, I'm always the good guy, even if its harder I cant bring my self to be cruel.

KOTOR really puts you on the spot with the various moral dilemmas and random acts of cruelty lol. I remember there was this one bounty out for a guy who failed to pay his debts to a crime lord, and you could kill the poor slob and get the money or offer to pay the debts and get him off. Thing was, you were generally low on cash at that point in the game so putting the dude out of his misery looked pretty good. After I killed an innocent woman for a bounty I was sad for hours afterward. And stealing a beggar`s only item of worth, an animal horn captured by her late husband, when for the sheer sadistic pleasure was funny and shockingly cruel.

Killing Rosh Penin in Jedi Academy was pretty awful too.

[Double A]

Why would you wanna be an evil Jedi? They don't get purple Lightsabers.

[panurge]

I never exterminate. Sack if I really need the money or don't want to care about order. If it's the holy land, though, I go building everything that helps order instead of sacking it. I care more about what the AI does, I guess, If it releases my prisoners i feel humiliated. If it exterminates them, I get pissed.

[SPARTAN VI]

What other choice do you have for taking settlements of different religion? If you didn't preface your invasion with a priest/imam invasion, then you'll likely be walking into a revolt by going with "occupy" or "sack." Exterminate!!

If you try to convert before a military invasion, how high do you go before you lay siege?

Rebel peasants should fear zeir master's vhips!

[Orgath]

Wow I must be pure evil because I feel no remorse for exterminating a city. In fact the voices of all those screaming people brings total and complete happiness to my heart. I rejoice when a plague wiped out half my people and public order goes up. In fact, sometimes I let a city rebel just so I can torture those people later.

So yah... I have some problems...

[][Xyphos][ - Lee]

i felt like this for abit i guess, but the rage of having a settlement lost to people rebelling makes me want to slaughter them lol

[Zhangir]

Strange, but i've first played Rome Total War, and i was younger, but the first settlement i took i exterminated straight away... Not cause i am bloodthirsty, it's just that they are enemy. Besides my soldiers deserve some war spoils )

[The Noble Lord]

I actually felt sorry for my soldiers when they were massacred by the enemy.

[Prince of Denmark]

I'm odd in that regard. I feel sympathy for the citizens i could slaughter, for the enemy troops, and my solders... so I can be unpredictable, less so about exterminating and sacking settlements... only every now and again can I do it, the screams... = (

[Zhangir]

I actually felt sorry for my soldiers when they were massacred by the enemy

I once felt sorry for the enemy unit, containing a single crossbow man, running hell of a lot of map, just to be caught by a nearby cavalry unit ))))

[Walternat0r]

If it didn't look so cool, i'd feel sorry for the surrounded troops being mown down by my horse archers, lol. But seeing them drop like flies as they mill around in the centre is just aces, love the screenies you get from it lol



Heheh, poor suckers

[Double A]

I always try to not exterminate, but if I see the settlement has red order, even after my stack is in it, I will not hesitate. And I always kill the prisoners if there is a good general. But most of the time I will spare people because I don't like killing innocents, even if they are an AI.

I did that with Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion too. The only people I murder are the ones that tick me off and the ones on the Assassin's Guild quest because 1. I'm gonna get some cash! 2. I already beat the rest of the game, and 3. They must be corrupt because someone wants them dead.

[wyandottecaver]

well,

On one hand even though it is a game, you are still making a "evil/cruel/ruthless" decision for your benefit at the expense of making the "good" decision. Developing a pattern of taking the "bad" choice over the "good" one simply because it makes life easier is not necessarily a good habit to encourage.

On the other hand, Ghengis Khan was quoted something to the effect "to a warrior these are the good things in life...to drive your enemies before you, smell the smoke of their burning cities, feel their daughters against you in the night, and hear the lamentations of their old women" I've always had a unexplainable fondness for that quote.

I normally occupy, never sack, and very rarely exterminate. Even in hostile religion areas it is FAR cheaper to send a boatload full of priests than take the income hit of losing 60-80% of the population.

[Surgeon]

He boasted about conquering the Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy (including Rome), the HRE, North Africa, and the Levant as Milan. I was shocked and skeptical, though envied him at the same time. He said the key to success was to sack every settlement and exterminate every one that had a conflicting culture/religion.

I'm sorry but your friend's huge conquest doesn't count because he was playing as Milan - the faction of SATAN!

I usually occupy my cities. Not because I feel bad, per se, but because I want to get the full challenge out of the game. Sometimes the city rebels and I have to conquer it again, by which time I'm probably so ticked that I slaughter everyone.

[Xamt]

urmmm y'all realise this is just a game right?

that out of the way i dont think that people who exterminate and sack all of the time are more "evil" or prone to commit "evil" acts than the rest...
to be able to draw pleasure from slaying masses of populace or enemy troops imo you have to be mentally disturbed and probably seek for professional help

for me, it used to be about game mechanics initially (depending on weather i wanted chivalry or dread, wanted to move my armies quickly etc etc), now its all about "role playing"

so if im playing the mongols in a mod ill always sack and exterminate and never ever occupy!! same goes when i go on crusades or jihads (historical reasons)... either sack or exterminate

now... if i recapture a town that was originally mine ill occupy, but if that town rebelled, and then i recapture ill either sack or exterminate.... sorta "punishing" the ring leaders or killing everyone to "make an example" for the rest of my towns (i know kinda silly)