For best results, look for nobles who already own settlements. You won’t start with any vassals, and you’ll have to recruit characters from other kingdoms. The same process also applies once you form your own kingdom. The lord will offer to join your kingdom and you’ll need to trade gold or other items to make them accept. However, if you do pass all the dialogue checks, the barter screen will open (seen above). It’d be wise to cancel the dialogue if the odds aren’t in your favor. If you weren’t able to convince a lord, it may take a while until the dialogue option is made available again the cooldown seems to be variable. The dialogue system is very weird right now, and it’s possible for answers with higher percentages to still fail. Critical failure = -2 to any progress you’ve made.It’s also possible that having high relations with lords would convince them readily. For instance, if you have a high Charm skill and the “Mercy” trait (from your chosen background during character creation), then some types of answers might be more apt. Your available answers have varying degrees of success and the probability is based on your skills and other traits. You need to get all four “pips” to light up based on your answers. In any case, once you’re speaking to the head of a family, you’re then asked four questions with multiple choices. This will help increase your Charm skill. Alternatively, you could choose to let them go after defeating them in battle. This nets you a lot of gold and, like the other prisoners you ransom, will help increase your Roguery skill. Note 2: Assuming you don’t want to recruit nobles, you can ransom them instead in any settlement’s tavern. Execution will cause a massive relations penalty between you and that noble’s clan. Note 1: Enemy lords captured in battle cannot be recruited, but you may (a) keep them as prisoners in your party, (b) imprison them in a dungeon, or (c) execute them. You can open the topic of discussion by speaking to a head of a clan, telling them that their faction’s ruler is not worthy of their loyalty. The only exceptions are the faction leaders themselves.

Once you’ve become a vassal (or a ruler) in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, you’ll be able to convince lords to join your cause. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Recruiting enemy lords For more information, check out our Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord guides and features hub. Note: This guide is intended for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord’s early access stage. However, there’s a way to have enemy lords betray their own kingdom. Truth be told, most of these actions - especially those that increase your renown and influence - will lead you to unending war. In our series of guides for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, we’ve already detailed how to become a mercenary or a vassal, build up your clan’s rank, and play politics with the other lords in your kingdom.

Prisoners mount and blade