Mount and Blade: Bannerlord, the sequel to the cult classic feudal wargame, is a massive hit. The game features the same core setup from previous games. You are a pauper lord, just trying to survive and thrive in the medieval nightmare of Calradia. Your goal is to gain influence and build a true kingdom of your own. More ambitious leaders might even seek to unite the land under their banner.
But before you can do any of that, you actually need troops and allies. As a poor knight at best, you have precious few resources and potential recruits to draw from. You will be fighting many wars to take and hold territory on the map. That means you will constantly need to make and break alliances, take resources, and rebuild lost armies. All this is done with the goal of carving out your own kingdom. This guide will show you how to recruit lords from other kingdoms to your own, so that you may grow that kingdom.
How to Recruit Lords to Your Kingdom in Mount and Blade Bannerlord
It’s important to note that the way in which you recruit new lords and make friends depends on the kind of game you’re playing. You can either join an existing faction, or found your own. The first thing you need to do when founding your own kingdom is reaching Clan Rank 4. After that, you need to capture at least one town or castle from an enemy faction. Keep in mind this will cause you to be at war with that faction, and they are sure to try and retake that lost territory by force.
Some Prep
Before you go around declaring war, spend some time scouting around. Find a good trade route to exploit and build up a bit before trying this trick. You will likely need a solid reserve of gold to fund a war, as well as to pay for bribes.
Also, it can really help speed this up by aiming for the leaders of each rival clan. By knowing who the bigshots are, you can jump right to trying to recruit them. It’s a good idea to sharpen your negotiation skills on a few smaller vassals first. Just be wary of trying to snipe too many vassals from a faction, as it will sour future relations with them.
Also, make sure to talk to the Lords you wish to recruit, avoid trying to bribe the ones that say they are happy with their current liege. These loyal followers are never going to betray their current kingdom. If you find a lord who has a much less rosy disposition, make note of them. You might want to work on raising key stats, like Charm, if you plan on being successful.
Since you know the enemy is on the way, now is the time to recruit Lords to your Kingdom. The reason you want to aim for Lords—and not small vassals—is that their entire clan will join your faction if you can convince them. This offers a massive boost to both manpower and resources for your fledgling fiefdom.
Gaining New Allies
Go around the nearby map and hunt down leaders of each Clan. If you scouted them out ahead of time, this process should be fairly quick. Choose the option “Your liege, …, is not worth your loyalty”.
This will then trigger a skill check to see if they like you enough to join your cause. If your Charisma is high enough, they may join outright. You could also try to bribe them and barter for a price. This may anger some more noble lords though, be careful. Having a high Charm stat can help a lot in these instances.
Now that you know how to recruit lords to your kingdom, get out there and make some friends. Be sure to bring the skills and experience, as this won’t be easy, but you can do it.
Other things you might want to learn are how to properly manage your party’s size and movement speed. No use building a massive army if it’s too slow to fight. Smithing and other crafting disciplines are key to outfitting your troops. And knowing how to deal with rival lords and vassals is key to actually building that army.
The skill system in the sequel is also much more complex. The act of engaging in everything from trade to diplomacy depends on the skills you bring to the table. You might also want to manage caravans and trade goods to help grow your economy.
