Citizens arrive at your new village in all sorts of ways in Going Medieval. On occasion, someone will arrive in the area looking for refuge as they are chased across the countryside after escaping their captors. These people will be locked up in chains.

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Being in chains means they'll have a constant -15 mood penalty. It's not clear how to remove these chains, and the game doesn't inform you on how to do it. Thankfully, it's quite simple if you know where to look. This guide covers how to do it.

How To Take The Chains Off A Settler

small building in going medieval

To take the chains off a rescued villager you just need to:

  • Click on the new arrival.
  • Check their stats, mood, and inventory page (in the bottom right of the screen)
  • Click on the bag icon.
  • Four slots down you should see "Chains"
  • Click on the down arrow next to the chains to "force drop" the chains.
  • Your settler will drop the chains on the ground and they will lose the debuff.

Once dropped, the shackles will just fall to the floor. You should make sure that they are not allowed to be picked up and worn by another settler. It'll be a bit pointless if the chains just keep moving from person to person, especially as setting your settlers to wear "All" apparel means they might actually pick those chains up again.

Your new arrival will likely require some time to Convalesce (you can set this to a high priority in the orders menu) and to be healed by another one of your settlers. The Chained debuff should disappear within a few minutes.

What To Do With Shackles Once They've Been Dropped

room requirements menu in going medieval

While you don't want your settlers to pick up the chains and wear them, there is something else you can do with this pile of useless metal.

All you need is at the Blacksmith's Forge, unlocked via research. You can set up an order via the Forge to dismantle various metallic items, including Chains. This is a good way to get some free materials from otherwise wasted metal.

You can also use this method to dismantle other useless items, like the piles of weapons and armor that have been dropped by attackers. Check out our building tips on how to create a workshop building to reduce the time it takes to dismantle items.

NEXT: Going Medieval: How To Build Walls