Water ritual

The water ritual is a key mechanic that aids in the manipulation of the player character's reputation with the numerous factions in game. It is a way for characters to communicate their good will towards each other. Creatures that the player has performed the water ritual with will have "You are water-bonded with [them]". During a ritual, both characters treat the other as family, referring to each other as water-siblings.

The Ritual
How the ritual is performed is not described, but is initiated with the saying "Your thirst is mine, my water is yours". If the player has Socially Repugnant, they start the ritual in a socially repugnant fashion instead, such as by saying "Swap spittle?" or licking their lips. The player character then gives the other creature a dram of fresh (or another liquid that the creature or the creature's faction prefers).

Upon this, the player character's reputation with factions will change depending on the opinion of that creature. The ritual can be performed multiple times, but the reputation gain will only happen once. If the player character learns Tactful after the initial reputation gain, the next water ritual will add an additional +25 reputation to their main faction.

Choices
After the initial water sharing, the player may choose to trade reputation with the other creature's main faction in exchange for information, items, or to even assist the player in combat. The player can gain a maximum of 150 reputation from that creature, excluding the reputation gained from the initial water sharing. Depending on the faction or creature, the player may be able to choose additional options.

For ease of use, the creature will be referred to as "water-sib". In game, this term changes depending on the liquid used and what the sibling term of the creature is.

Additional Choices

 * -50*Recipe Tier/3
 * Teaches the player character a tinkerable recipe.
 * Reserved only for rituals with the Barathrumites, with a chance of being able to teach 1-3 recipes. (Full Item List) (Full Mod List)
 * Infects a chosen limb with the specified fungal infection.
 * Reserved only for rituals with fungi.
 * -variable amount
 * Grants the player a specified amount of skill points.
 * Reserved only for rituals with newly sentient beings.
 * +100
 * Make a promise to never speak with that hermit again. The player will lose 200 reputation the next time they speak to the hermit.
 * Reserved only for legendary hermits.
 * -50
 * Teaches the recipe from the chef's oven.
 * Reserved only for legendary.
 * }
 * +100
 * Make a promise to never speak with that hermit again. The player will lose 200 reputation the next time they speak to the hermit.
 * Reserved only for legendary hermits.
 * -50
 * Teaches the recipe from the chef's oven.
 * Reserved only for legendary.
 * }
 * Reserved only for legendary.
 * }

Skills That Can Be Learned Through Water Ritual
Factions and rarely, individuals, can teach skills. The skill requirement need not be to learn the skills. The cost of the skill is the same cost of the skill in SP, unless specified otherwise.

Water Ritual Liquid Types
Some dynamically generated village leaders will use other liquids when performing the water ritual, such as or.

Breaking the Oath
If the player kills a creature that they have been bonded to, they have broken the sacred covenant. This causes the player to lose 100-200 reputation with every faction. Doing this for the first time grants the player the Oathbreaker achievement.

If the game detects that a creature's death was caused by the player and accidental, it will not be considered breaking the oath.