The Marriage

Not to be confused with The Abominable Marriage

The Marriage is a playable character in Fear & Hunger. A Marriage can be obtained by choosing the 'show love' option on an unused ritual circle with a willing participant in the player's party. The player character and the party member will mold together, producing a Marriage.

Producing a Marriage will increase the player's affinity to Sylvian, and the Marriage will be in perfect health, with all of their limbs intact. The Marriage will also be phobia-free.

Lore
A Marriage of Flesh is the result of a ritual done in the name of Sylvian, the goddess of love, lust, and creation. The ritual, known as "showing love," consists of sexual intercourse between two willing participants within a Ritual Circle. If the ritual is successful, the two participants will be fused together into one being that possesses the traits of both. The participants do not need to be human or even technically alive; all that matters is that they are willing and physically capable of sex. The ritual is one of the strongest, most visible ways Sylvian interacts with the world. A Marriage between three or more individuals is known as an Abominable Marriage.

The player is not the only person who can potentially create a Marriage. Buckman and Ser Seymor attempt to form a Marriage in the Catacombs once they are rescued; the ritual fails, transforming them into a bleeding, wheezing abomination. The Moonless Guard is a Marriage made out of a Prison Guard and a cavewolf. The Yellow Lizardmage, that can be encountered in the Gauntlet, is a Marriage made out of a Lizardman and a Yellow Mage. The Human Hydra found on the first floor is a failed Abominable Marriage of many of the dungeon's surviving guards.

Attributes
The Marriage retains the same soul and abilities as the host character they come from, but does not have any equipment. Any equipment either participant was wearing will be lost.

The attack stat of the Marriage is 50, which is higher than any of the starting player characters, and they can wear any armor and use two-handed weapons, unlike Enki.

Finding A Partner
The player must find a willing participant to produce a Marriage. The easiest way to do this is by using the Necromancy spell to raise a Ghoul; Ghouls are mindlessly beholden to your will and will always consent. Cahara, D'arce, Ragnvaldr, and Enki will also consent to forming a Marriage with the protagonist after spending enough time in the party. Le'garde and the Girl will refuse the offer. Demon Children, Skeletons, and Moonless cannot be chosen. Nas'hrah will seemingly agree to participate, but then burn the player to death. Attempting to show love to a Baby Demon will cause the game to ask if the player is sure; if they persist, the player will be instantly killed, as the gods do not approve of such a "way of life." For some reason, if the player prays to any god then attempts to show love, the ritual will fail and the game will end.

Trivia

 * At the moment, it is not possible to form a Marriage with Enki due to bugs in the game's script.