April 23rd, 2020. The Twitter account @ViolateGeneva stated the following: “You can violate every Geneva Convention in Rimworld.” It’s certainly common to run afoul of any sort of code of conduct in your efforts to survive the wasteland Rimworld drops players into, especially as the community seems to find a special joy in playing like sadists. But can you really violate every Geneva Convention?
To save some time for those attempting: no,unfortunately, you cannot. The stumbling block to Rimworld‘s otherwise limitless depravity is a rule dictating that the image of the Red Cross not be used without permission from the organization itself, and it’s something a lot of games have violated unwittingly (including an earlier version of Rimworld and the family-friendly Stardew Valley). But, it is nonetheless a part of the Geneva Conventions, and one that you cannot violate in the current release of the game. Even if you were to modify the appearance of medicine in-game to violate this law, you still cannot attack medics, as Rimworld’s AI-controlled pawns do not rescue or nurse their wounded.
Despite that shortfall, this tweet begs the question: how many Geneva Convention rules can you violate in Rimworld, the colony-building-slash-war-crime simulator?
We intend to find out. For the purposes of this checklist, we’ll be using this PDF published by the International Committee of the Red Cross providing a basic outline of Geneva Convention rules. The document begins with a summary of 7 bare-bones, basic rules, so that’s where we’ll begin our Geneva to-do list. Only the rules which players can violate will be noted below (some paraphrasing will be used for the sake of brevity).
1: Persons who do not take direct part in combat (or are hors de combat, ie: unable to continue their wartime functions) shall be protected and treated humanely.
This rule can be violated by killing a downed raider, or killing any pawn incapable of violence due to their traits or backstories and thus unable to wage war on your colonists.
2: It is forbidden to kill an enemy who surrenders or who is hors de combat.
Once again accomplished by killing downed enemies, although it can also be accomplished by killing enemies who are fleeing.
4: Captured combatants and civilians are entitled to respect for their lives, dignity, personal rights and convictions. They shall be protected from all acts of violence and reprisals.
This rule can be violated in Rimworld by taking a prisoner and doing any of the following: stripping them, feeding them human meat or otherwise inedible food, killing them, harvesting their organs, or performing other invasive and unneeded medical procedures to practice the medical skill of one of your colonists.
5: No one shall be held responsible for an act they have not committed. No one shall be subject to physical or mental torture, nor any corporal, cruel, or degrading punishment.
All of the possible violations listed under #4 should apply here as well, although #5 also covers anything else that may induce a mental break in a prisoner and stipulates that prisoners cannot be held for an act they have not committed. This includes potentially every prisoner, as Rimworld does not allow players to specify within the game why they have taken a unit into custody. Regardless, kidnapping a trader or non-hostile and imprisoning them is an automatic violation of this rule.
6: It is prohibited to employ weapons or methods of warfare of a nature to cause unnecessary losses or excessive suffering.
Any player who uses an incendiary weapon such as the “Doomsday rocket launcher” is in violation of the Geneva Conventions if it is used to damage non-military structures. Firing an incendiary weapon at a forest that is not being utilized by enemy combatants is a violation as well.
In addition, frag grenades constitute a violation if they were designed to cause injury with fragments not detectable in an X-ray of the human body. As X-rays do not exist in Rimworld, the condition for approving the use of these weapons cannot be met, and should therefore be outlawed. Similarly, the use of land mines or other booby-trap devices is heavily regulated, so using an IED trap in Rimworld is another way to violate this rule.
7: Attacks shall be directed solely against military objectives.
This one’s easy. Any player who attacks a trading caravan or travels to another colony and launches an unprovoked siege has earned a violation in this category.
In conclusion, you can violate all but one of the 7 outlined Geneva Convention rules regarding armed conflicts in Rimworld. And what’s more, it’s easy. Congratulations! You’re now a war criminal.
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