If You Can't Beat 'em

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If You Can't Beat 'em is the seventeenth main quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It begins after speaking with Sir Radzig at the end of All that Glisters, and involves Henry continuing his investigation on the criminals operating in Sasau.

Background

After the affair of the counterfeiters, it's become clear that Sasau conceals many secrets. There's talk that there are "crimps", as they're called, recruiting men for a new bandit camp...

Simple walkthrough

• Find out where the crimps meet at Sasau
• Ask the Sasau Bailiff about the crimps
  • Talk to the Sasau tanner
    • (Optional) Take care of the brawlers who meet in the evenings behind the tanner's house.
      • Fight club
        • Go and tell the tanner how things worked out with the brawlers.
        • Go to the crimp's meeting place and try to find out from them the location of the camp.
• Ask the innkeeper at the Tavern on the Green about the crimps
• Ask Miller Simon
• Ask Thomas, the suspicious wounded man at the infirmary.

Detailed walkthrough

The player has several potential leads for this quest depending on progress in other quests.

Talking to Thomas at the infirmary

Thomas from the infirmary

If the player managed to heal Thomas during In God's Hands, he can help find the crimps. Return to the Infirmary, where Thomas (dressed in red-and-green) is still lying in bed, and ask for his help.

Main Article: In God's Hands.

Miller Simon

If the player has completed Thick as Thieves - Simon, Miller Simon can also help find the crimps. If the player has not yet finished this quest, he will give them the opportunity to do so before divulging additional information.

Talking to Simon

The Innkeeper at the Tavern on the Green will also direct the player to Simon. He will tell Henry that he saw a group of shady looking characters recently, though they bought a lot of booze and did not cause any trouble. Unfortunately for Henry, they have not been around for a few weeks, and the Innkeeper has no idea where they went. Instead, he will suggest asking Simon about these people.

Main Article: Thick as Thieves - Simon.

The Sasau bailiff and tanner

If the player has not gained the favor of either previous option, they must ask the Sasau Bailiff if he has noticed anything suspicious. He will instantly go on the defensive, asking why Sir Radzig cares about what is going on in Sasau, even stating that Sebastian vom Berg has been nagging him about the recent surge in crime as well. More importantly, the Bailiff will reveal that he has been getting complaints from the local Tanner related to the local ruffians disturbing him by wrestling in the nearby quarry.

Getting information from the Bailiff

Head over to the tannery and speak to the tanner himself. He will complain about the ruckus that comes from the quarry almost every night - the group of ruffians even jumped him when he complained and beat him up. Henry has the option of offering to use his intimidation skills to assist, in which case Ledermann will advise him not to get off on the wrong foot during his investigation.

The Sasau fight club

The fighters will meet at the quarry in the evening, their ranks including Punch, Stump, Betwixt, Lanky, and Weed. Punch is the ringleader, so speak to him. He will explain that he actually works for the Bailiff, and that there is nothing wrong with their wrestling club. In fact, the tanner is only complaining because he joined and lost.

Punch and the fight club

The player will have several options to help resolve the situation with the tanner. First, Henry and Punch can come up with a plan: the gang will clear off for a few days, Henry will convince the tanner he drove them off, and they will split the 300 reward (either give him 150 , 75 , or 5 ).

Second, Henry can refuse to help the tanner at all, although this will fail that objective.

Third, the player can attempt to convince Punch to keep the peace and move on. This will require winning the fight club's tournament. To do so, the player must first defeat Weed, then at least one of the other three men, and finally Punch himself. This will earn the player 375 from the fighters, plus the 300 from the tanner. More importantly, Punch will be impressed at Henry's strength and share where he can find the people who might recruit someone like him.

Meeting the crimps

Kozliek and his men departing the church where you meet them

Whichever method the player uses to find out about the crimps, the information is the same: Henry must go to the church in the evening (after 22:00) when the light is on and the door is open. At this time, he must kneel before the altar to meet the crimps.

Doing this will trigger a cutscene where the bandits enter behind Henry. They will demand to know how he found out about them. The lead bandit, Kozliek, will then give Henry a task to prove his value: kill Pious, the last remaining member of the robber gang who attacked Neuhof and fled when the robbery became a massacre.

Kozliek leaves you the key

Kozliek tells Henry that Pious was once a priest, and is currently hiding within the Monastery itself, nearly impossible to enter. Kozliek cannot tell Henry how Pious looks, but he reckons there cannot be many novices who recently joined, so Henry "only" needs to determine which one of them is the former bandit. In addition to killing Pious, Henry must retrieve his special dice as proof and bring it to a specific location once the tasks are done.

The bandits then warn Henry that they will watch him very closely to ensure he does not run off. At this, they finally leave, though not before slipping the Key to Sasau Church under the door. This will end the quest and begin Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.

Strategies

• While his is the most tedious option of the lot, Miller Simon is the only option guaranteed to succeed. It is possible for Thomas to die during In God's Hands and for the player to pick an outcome with the fight club that does not reveal the crimps' location.
• While the player only needs to beat one opponent besides Weed to challenge Punch, they may fight all three for increased Unarmed experience.

Notes

• The fight club members besides Punch will try and assist Henry with his inquiries if asked. They will also tell him there is more to the tanner's tale than he initially let on.
• If the player agrees to hoodwink the tanner, they can meet Punch at the town center near the pillory and split the funds.
• The player must fight at the tournament to unlock Revenge of the Cuman King since it is an unarmed activity.