How to deal with "Treacherous" people?

[Pizzarugi]

Consistently across all of my characters, I've noticed people with this reputation always have the worst affinity with me. And their number increases the more I passively become friendly with everyone else. I would like to not have to kill half of everyone I come across to stop them from picking my pockets or extort me for money.

They'd be a perfect excuse to do verbal duels on, but using Tactful Guidance to remove Treachery doesn't fix the -1000 affinity.

[CtrlAltDragon]

You can brain surgery negative personality traits off of an NPC with the crafted verbal duel Tactful Guidance (2 Persuade + 1 Recount Tale). Or you can get a Jade Sting and stack lots of poison on them in a spar and let nature take its course. Then you can get merit for burying them.

[Otkin]

Fight them (knock down; if your opponent is too strong debate with them first to decrease their vigour) and lock in a mining camp (build a jail with a mine). The labourers cannot escape those camps unless you release them yourself. They also do not complain and this does not cause their friends to gang on you. I have a several treacherous disciples of friendly sects in my mines and it has no effect on the world.

Alternatively you can debate and increase the affinity with an annoying NPC. With Tactful Guidance it is a trivial, albeit time-consuming, task to win 1000-1500 affection (there is an option to increase affection, up to 250 points per debate).

Finishing commissions (especially manuals) and teaching skills also raises affinity. However, it is a rather slow method and chiefly helpful when you are missing only 100-150 points of affection.

[Rend]

You can also just spam them with gifts, even a stack of 100 drunken or heartbreak grass will give 50+ favor if you don't have anything more valuable, you can grow that stuff by the thousands. It's kinda slow, but probably still alot quicker than debating.

[Pizzarugi]

Originally posted by Rend:

You can also just spam them with gifts, even a stack of 100 drunken or heartbreak grass will give 50+ favor if you don't have anything more valuable, you can grow that stuff by the thousands. It's kinda slow, but probably still alot quicker than debating.

Yeesh. That would still take 20+ gifts to bring relations back to neutral. Beats throwing 500 money at them for the same results at least.

EDIT:
Turns out Drunken Grass is 7 each, so I'd end up paying 200 more to them per gift versus 500 coins.

[Rend]

Well it works better with more valuable things, I use meridian shift pills, only takes 1 for the same favor so it goes quicker.

[Pizzarugi]

Originally posted by Rend:

Well it works better with more valuable things, I use meridian shift pills, only takes 1 for the same favor so it goes quicker.

Makes sense, but doesn't affinity cap at 50 per gift, so spending more value mean you're wasting more money for no benefit?

[Rend]

All this stuff is free, waste away. That's why I suggested the grasses, throw down a ton of farmlands and grow infinite favor and you can even sell them, even if you're just starting out. Value isn't important, its quicker to trade a single pill 20+ times than it is to enter numbers, so that's what I do, resources are basically infinite when you lead a sect.

[Pizzarugi]

Originally posted by Rend:

All this stuff is free, waste away. That's why I suggested the grasses, throw down a ton of farmlands and grow infinite favor and you can even sell them, even if you're just starting out. Value isn't important, its quicker to trade a single pill 20+ times than it is to enter numbers, so that's what I do, resources are basically infinite when you lead a sect.

Fair enough.

[Budget Hero 4 Hire]

It does feel a bit silly to constantly be at the mercy of npc's that walk up and try to yank your things or break your stuff.

Maybe the game should be a bit more generous with the evildoer flag, especially if you can see what they are doing in plain sight, and give them temporary bandit status.

Or maybe a pet or sect rule if they see theft in their territory, it's go time.

I recall reading that pet snakes are supposed to thwart pickpocketing, but either I'm doing it wrong or it isn't the case, sadly.

[Pizzarugi]

Originally posted by Budget Hero 4 Hire:

It does feel a bit silly to constantly be at the mercy of npc's that walk up and try to yank your things or break your stuff.

Maybe the game should be a bit more generous with the evildoer flag, especially if you can see what they are doing in plain sight, and give them temporary bandit status.

Or maybe a pet or sect rule if they see theft in their territory, it's go time.

I recall reading that pet snakes are supposed to thwart pickpocketing, but either I'm doing it wrong or it isn't the case, sadly.

According to the heavenly scrolls, snakes are supposed to allow you to lockpick and poison without risk of misdeed. If they're also able to foil others from picking your pockets, that would be cool if it worked.

Honestly, I wish pickpockets would be more intelligent on who they target. If they see someone who managed to obtain sect leadership by beating their superiors into stepping down, chows down on rebirth pills and can 1shot you with Wave Palm, they should turn around and pick another target. Failing that, being 1-2+ strength levels above them should be enough.

I get trying to rob you while you're unconscious, but these NPCs have a death wish you can easily get away with if you let them steal first.

[Otkin]

Originally posted by Pizzarugi:

I get trying to rob you while you're unconscious, but these NPCs have a death wish you can easily get away with if you let them steal first.

In a way, it is a classical wuxia/xianxia trope. There are always some death-seeking weirdos who attempt to rob the wrong people.

----
@Budget Hero 4 Hire

Snakes used to react (and start a fight, IIRC) to pickpockets. This seems to be removed from the full release version.