Guide to Becoming King in Mount & Blade: Warband
Create a Faction
We have established the basic process of how to create your own faction. In simple terms you simply have to seize a town or city as an independent. The problem is keeping your empire and avoiding a crushing attack from the other factions. Obviously you have to be levelled up, kitted out and in command of a large, well trained army. Making friends will also help because there is a greater chance that other lords will stay neutral when you rebel. Now we’ll have a look at recruiting lords, marrying ladies and increasing your Right to Rule.
Recruiting Lords
You can also improve your chances of victory by recruiting lords to your cause. This will make your faction more powerful but it will also decrease your chances of grabbing land for yourself. If you persuade a lord to defect or you make a companion into a vassal you will need to grant them lands of their own to keep them happy. If you make a companion into a vassal make sure they are levelled up with good armour and weaponry first because you won’t be able to change it afterwards.
You’ll need to talk to them in private if you want to recruit them. Make sure that you have a decent relationship before you broach the subject so as to avoid trouble. You can also question the competency of the current king and suggest you would do a better job. It is a smart idea to survey the scene before making any moves and make sure you approach the disaffected lords.
You can find out the situation by observing messages, talking to lords and ladies and sending your companions to gather intelligence. It is important you recruit lords and promote companions with similar ideas or you’ll end up with a hopeless kingdom.
Marriage
Another new option in Mount & Blade: Warband is to woo a lady with poetry and marry her. You can do it in secret or you can get her father’s permission (sometimes brother). It takes several visits to worm your way into a bedchamber and it’s not a good idea to rush. You can learn poems in taverns and there seems to be a limit of five in total.
The benefit of marriage is that it gives you the ability to hold feasts and increase your standing. It also brings you closer to the family, provided the marriage was sanctioned. Be warned though, if you elope and marry without the permission of the male relative then you’ll be making an enemy for life.
In order to meet eligible ladies you should win tournaments and then visit the feast and dedicate the tournament win to the lady you fancy. Once you declare an interest you’ll get summons occasionally or you can go to the city where the lady resides and you’ll see Attempt to visit a lady as a new menu option. When the relationship gets advanced enough and you’ve tried out all your poems on her you can pop the question.
Right to Rule
An important new concept in Mount & Blade: Warband is Right to Rule. You can check your Right to Rule rating in your Character Report. When you think you are ready to create your own faction you should start to build up this rating by talking to your companions and telling them you want to be king. You’ll get an option to send them out on missions. Each of your companions will have a different idea about how to improve your chances of becoming king. You’ll only be able to send one or two at a time and they’ll be away from your party for a few days while they complete the mission. Each time they return your Right to Rule will increase by 3.
If your Right to Rule rating is too low and you try to start your own faction you can expect serious opposition from all factions because they’ll regard you as a rebel bandit. To be taken seriously you have to have a good rating in terms of renown, honor and Right to Rule (just over 50 worked for me).
Making Peace
You can’t afford to be at war with everyone so you’ll want to make peace with some factions. If you are on friendly terms and you have a good standing in Calradia then you should be able to get peace. You can also use your companions as diplomats for your cause and send them to visit factions in an attempt to get treaties. You can do this by talking to your minister and asking him to dispatch an emissary. You want to send someone in your party with good persuasion skills to increase your chances of success.
Don’t be Controversial
There are various things that will make your standing suffer and so you must avoid them if you want to be taken seriously as a king. If you have a high Controversy rating you run the risk of incurring the wrath of everyone. You can check your Controversy by selecting Notes then Characters.
- Always make sure you take care of your lands. If you don’t protect them and develop them your reputation will suffer.
- Be careful who you make into a vassal. Some lords will get upset and outraged if you grant status to a commoner. You can afford to promote companions like Alayen because they are of noble blood.
- Get permission for your love affairs. If you sneak around behind the backs of male relatives or worse elope with a lady then you’ll anger people.
Build a Solid Foundation
The gold doesn’t always flow very easily and since you’ll be engaged in major warfare when you begin a new faction you’ll want a solid financial base behind you. It is ideal if the first target you take is rich. It is also a good idea to target the weakest faction and scoop up their lands as quickly as possible.
Remember that in order to attack a faction you need to have a negative relationship with them.
If you plan well you should be ruling an empire in no time. If you have any suggestions for good tactics to use then please post a comment.
This post is part of the series: Mount & Blade: Warband Guide
A five part guide to the new Mount & Blade: Warband.
