You’re starting a new game. You’re trying hard to get the best, most awesome group of hearthlings you can. You re-roll, and re-roll and… You come across a group with 5 very good hearthlings, with 2 very bad ones with low stats.
You start thinking, what if those 2 hearthlings with bad stats had an unfortunate “accident” soon after you embark?
It would be sad. They will be missed. But… They’ll also be replaced with new arrivals with better stats! You can build nice fancy memorials!
Time passes.
You build your kingdom up. More new arrivals come. You’ve got 25 hearthlings now. Some are good, some are not so good. You start thinking, what harm could a few more “accidental” deaths be? You could build a very nice cemetery or mausoleum!
More time passes.
Your kingdom is awesome - full of the most talented collection of hearthlings Stonehearth has ever seen. You have an abundance of food, an impressive armoury, an unstoppable military. Your dining rooms are legendary. Your housing is impeccable. Your cemetery is both huge and luxurious! Your hearthlings are all happy!
Are habitual, ritual sacrifices really so bad?