Quarma



Quarma is the Oddworld equivalent of karma and is first seen in Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, though the concept exists in prior games as well. In all Oddworld games except Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, the amount of positive or negative Quarma determines the ending to the story. Positive Quarma is generally acquired by saving as many Mudokons, Fuzzles, and Labor Egg Crates as possible. Negative Quarma is acquired by killing or destroying them.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee & Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
In Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, Quarma is never named, but the number of Mudokons rescued affects the ending. In both games, the good ending requires at least half of all Mudokons in the game to be rescued (50 and 150 respectively).

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus
The term "Quarma" first appears in the manual for Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, though it's never mentioned in game. Like in Abe's Oddysee, the good ending requires that at least half (150) of all Mudokons in the game are saved.

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
In Munch's Oddysee, Quarma is given a more specific score bar. Quarma is displayed in the form of a ring above either Munch's or Abe's head. The ring appears as a straight gold circle if Quarma is positive. It's a jagged red circle if Quarma is negative. If Quarma is neutral, it's an orange jagged halo. It's also represented on the score bar with icons. Whatever is in need of rescuing gets displayed on a Quarma Board found in one or two places in the level. If the The Loading Dock is completed with less than 50% Quarma, the final two levels are skipped and the bad ending is shown.

Some of the Daily Deception articles and messages from the Shaman vary based on the player's Quarma.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
In Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, there's only one ending and no aspect of Quarma present in the game. In Dear Alf, it's stated that this is because the Stranger never rescues anyone, and the creatures he kills don't affect his Quarma. Due to his destruction of the dam which benefits native Grubbs, Alf states it can be considered that he has good Quarma.

Oddworld: Soulstorm
In Oddworld: Soulstorm, Quarma plays a central role in the story, being mentioned several times in its cinematic cutscenes, as well as directly affecting the game's ending. Positive Quarma is calculated per level, and requires that at least 80% of all Mudokons in the level are saved. Abe needs to have positive Quarma in at least 12 of the 17 levels in the game for the good ending to occur. If overall Quarma is negative by the end of the freight yard, the final levels are skipped and the bad ending will play.

Quarma actually makes a physical appearance throughout the game, as a dead Mudokon will emit floating black streaks which will be absorbed into Abe, and a saved Mudokon will cause orange particles to exit the portal and be absorbed by Abe. In the cutscene after the Feeco Freight Yards, the Amulet will use Abe's Chest Scar to absorb his Quarma. If Abe has bad Quarma, the Amulet creature will die. If Abe has good Quarma, the Amulet will directly translate that into his Shrykull power.