Unicorn Overlord: Should you execute or free Mandrin?

Unicorn Overlord has more than four dozen unique units you can recruit during your journey across Fevrith, but not all of them will simply join up with Alain’s Liberation Army. Some, like the Black Talon archer Mandrin, require you to make a difficult decision when you meet them in the heat of battle. 

Mandrin is the boss character you must best to complete The Winged Knight quest and save the Cleric Sharon alongside the Feathersword Angel Ochlys. Like his fellow Black Talon member Gammel, who you can encounter a bit earlier in the story in a separate side quest, besting Mandrin in combat will lead to a cutscene where you can decide his fate. Depending on if you choose to free or execute him, the way your playthrough of Unicorn Overlord plays out will never be the same. 

What happens if you free or execute a Mandrin in Unicorn Overlord?

If you spare Mandrin, he will be recruitable during a future mission. But if you choose the execute option, Ochlys will slay him and you will never gain him as a usable unit. 

Upon defeating Mandrin and his men in The Winged Knight quest, he will tell you a story about how his poor actions have been in hopes of supporting his friend and his sister. This is essentially identical to Gammel’s own story about how he was only acting in the interest of helping his sister when you are given the chance to free or imprison him in a different side quest. 

If you choose free Mandrin, he will recognize you for your noble actions and be off to do better things. Additionally, if you previously freed Gammel instead of imprisoning him, both Mandrin and Gammel will become recruitable during a quest in Elfheim. It currently looks like you need to have chosen to free both characters to recruit either of them. 

Alternatively, executing Mandrin is a tempting option because the bonus reward for doing so pays off immediately after you clear the quest. If you let him go free, you will get a few items and the ability to recruit the Cleric Sharon, but if you select to execute him, you will get those same rewards, and Ochlys will give you 15 Divine Shards once she brings her blade down on the archer. 

Those 15 Divine Shards can then be used to get closer to your next side quest, which involves exchanging the sparkling stones with Ochlys at her Divine Shard Exchange. Once you exchange enough Divine Shards, you can recruit Ochlys to your army—which can be a bit of a grind if you don’t get the boost from Mandrin’s execution.