Mount and Blade: Warband

[Sir Christopher Warren]

I have recently come across a video game of all things that I thought everyone might be interested in. I figured the library forum was the best place for it.

Mount and Blade: Warband in short is what I would call a sandbox sort of game with a ton of RPG elements that puts you in the land of Calradia where several different nations are at war. The era is based on medieval Europe, the Middle East, and the Russian steppes. What you get is 5 nations with their own strengths and weaknesses as far as warfare and a large land full of villages castles and towns.

You start by yourself with a few coins, and a few weapons and you have to make your way in the world. You can choose to be a traveling merchant, a mercenary warlord, a vassal to any of the other kings, or become the king of your own 6th nation.

Here is the web page for it:
http://www.mountandbladewarband.com/

[Sir Edward]

YEah, it's been quite a long time since I've played Mount & Blade, but this sequel looks great!

I may have to start playing it again. I never really got back into it after the game was fully released, since I had played it so much during it's development cycle.

[Sir Brian]

Excellent we have another Mount and Blade disciple!

I’ve been an avid player of Mount and Blade since 2007 when it was still in beta version .808 and was part of the beta testing for Warband. Now that Warband has been out for five months there have been a lot of mods developed and released. One of the best IMO is the mod called Diplomacy.

This mod allows you to hire some counselors to do your recruiting and training, set up patrols, send gifts to other Lords and Ladies, and negotiate alliances and trade agreements, etc. (This last part is when you have your own kingdom.)

Glad you found Warband!
 

[Sir Christopher Warren]

Yeah I have been researching some of the mods but have yet to plug any in. One mod called Prophecy of Pendor really struck me as something great but unfortunately they have not done the Warband port yet.

I will certainly have to look into the Diplomacy mod as I have moved into my own Kingdom and have noticed I am a bit of a stand still. I am strong enough to defend my current holdings but I am still all alone and not strong enough to spread out yet mainly because of the need to recruit and manage my resources.
Thanks for the suggestion Sir Brian.

[Sir Brian]

On second thought try this mod instead! 
It has the Diplomacy mod as well as several other really great mods incorporated with it. The only bad part is you have to start a new game but you can always export/import your character. I just started this mod last night and I like it a LOT. They revamped the sounds as well as added a bunch of eye candy!

http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=2144

Here are a few screen shots pilfered off the forum at Taleworlds. 

 







 

[Sir Christopher Warren]

Well this looks interesting enough to start over with besides I have overextended myself a bit and have 3 Kingdoms gunning for me and not enough troops to really mount a proper defense for all my holdings against an invading force... let alone 3!

So I figure this would be a good restart.

[Sir Brian]

Yeah you kind of chose the hardest path to follow in the game, that of a conquering usurper. It can be done but it is difficult and best left to an uber-high level character with plenty of denars.  The diplomacy mod does make it easier though, which I intend to find out by pursuing this very path on my current game. I haven’t tried to establish my own kingdom since that feature became possible in the original Mount and Blade. 

My basic plan is to find and develop my corps of companions to include equipping them and myself with the best arms, armor and horses. Then I intend to curry the favor of some of the more renowned nobles in each faction. Then when I can field a large army of elite troops I will wait until one of the factions is being swarmed by two or more other factions and take one of their towns to establish a stronghold then work from there. My anticipated schedule to capturing my first town is around 300 days into the game in which I’m currently at day 20. The schedule really all depends on how quickly I find my companions and develop them into something usable. 

[Sir Christopher Warren]

Yeah I was able to build a rather strong base fairly quickly by building renown and making money in tournaments. Then of course making friends with several lords. The thing I neglected was the "Right to Rule." Which I only had around 20 points when I took my first city. At first it was ok but about a month in and having gained a second city and a castle I was spread too thin and was unprepared for the onslaught. So yeah...right to rule...big deal.

[Sir Ulrich]

I loved this game it was exactly what I wanted, only issue my graphics card is broken and I can't play it. Shame...

[Sir William]

I take it this is a PC-only game?  Man I would love to play.  Reminds me of Bladestorm: Hundred Years' War; you start as a mercenary captain and you build up troops and troop-types for varying situations.

Of course, I built up my knights and eventually led a conroi into every engagement with resounding success-  nothing like leading an entire host into the flank of the enemy and watch them scatter and fall...good times, yes.

Just checked, PC only...damn.

[Sir James A]

Necro-post, but a bunch of the Mount & Blade are on sale at Steam until Jan 4th:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/48700/?snr=1_7_7_ut2_150_3

http://store.steampowered.com/app/48720/?snr=1_7_7_ut2_150_5

http://store.steampowered.com/app/22100/?snr=1_7_7_ut2_150_5

[Sir Nate]

I love this game!

[Sir Rodney]

I played the heck out of M&B from beta through the initial release, but I never got hooked on the warband mod.

M&B stands out as one of my all time favorites.