One of the least pleasant tasks players have to engage with in Manor Lords is removing dead bodies from settlements. Leaving bodies unburied can drastically reduce a settlement’s overall Approval, negatively affecting population growth. As such, it’s up to players to provide the dead with appropriate final resting places.

Players just starting out in Manor Lords likely won’t have to deal with dead bodies immediately since it usually takes some time before villagers start dying. A stockpile of starting resources gives players time to get some basic infrastructure up and running. Combat and war also don’t start occurring immediately. However, it’s worth learning how to remove dead bodies well in advance.

How To Remove Dead Bodies In Manor Lords

Best Ways To Get Rid of Dead Bodies

In Manor Lords, players have two options for removing dead bodies: consecrated burial on Hallowed Ground or unconsecrated burial. Players need to build special structures to both options and if combat against AI opponents is enabled, a settlement should ideally both burial types.

Consecrated burial on Hallowed Ground requires players to build a Wooden Church. The Church can be found under the Residential tab in the Construction Menu and requires five Wood, 20 Planks, and 10 Rooftiles. A Church is one of the basic buildings every settlement needs, as it’s required for upgrading Burgage Plots in Manor Lords. This, in turn, allows a settlement to a bigger population and produce special resources such as Ale.

Once staffed by a villager family, a Church provides a Hallowed Ground for the burial of dead villagers. The villagers who work at a Church become Gravediggers and are tasked with transporting and burying dead villagers on church grounds. Ensuring that any villagers who fall in battle receive a proper burial will keep Approval high.

All structures in Manor Lords must be worked by at least one villager family before they produce resources.

However, players also need to remove the bodies of raiders and enemy soldiers, who don’t necessarily deserve burial on Hallowed Ground. Removing these bodies requires a Corpse Pit. The Corpse Pit can also be found under the Residential tab in the Construction Menu; however, it costs no resources to build. If worked by at least one family, the Corpse Pit will take any non-villager bodies.

As of writing, Manor Lords is currently in early access, and players can place a Corpse Pit in any location. However, an overlay for Smell is listed as a work-in-progress, so Corpse Pits may eventually produce a bad Smell in future updates. As such, careful placement away from populated areas is still recommended.

In summary, there are two options for corpse removal: a Church’s Hallowed Ground for villagers and the Corpse Pit for fallen enemies. Players should ideally try to keep up with their settlement’s needs to avoid excessive deaths, but winter and conflict can be brutal in Manor Lords, so it’s best to be prepared.