Taking a noble lady wife is a more sedate way of sidling into power, but it usually entails winning a tournament, having a social standing high enough to get invited to a feast, and then wooing her with poetry, much like in real life.

Those that choose to go it alone and remain unaligned can roam the countryside battling bandits, performing good deeds for villagers, or even go the other way and take hostile actions on towns or castles with a bid of capturing them one of the first steps to starting a new faction. At the same time, it comes at the cost of instantly becoming the enemy of a rival faction, which could prove dangerous later on should paths cross with one of their armed patrols. This comes in handy as it provides a regular stream much needed tax income. Aligning with a particular faction ensures regular work and eventually vassal status, bringing control over a number of fiefs, along with the title. Given the open-ended progression, there are options available catering to most styles of play: though slaying enemies does seem to be a constantly recurring theme. Granted, there is the opportunity to do some basic weapon training before heading in, but after that it's very much a case of learning the various mechanisms as they are encountered. While the ultimate goal is to become the overall ruler of Calradia, the route to getting there is unwritten, as are the instructions on how to go about doing it. The lack of a campaign narrative in the traditional sense provides an open sandbox for wannabe warriors to carve an individual, bloody path through Calradia, and as such, townsfolk, villagers and royalty will react to benevolent/hostile actions taken or alliances made during the journey. These can be anything ranging from an impoverished noble saddened by the loss of a loved one to a steppe nomad fuelled by revenge. While it all sounds very Game of Thrones, the main character starts the campaign unaffiliated and judged merely on the attributes bestowed upon them during the creation process. In some respects, this pretty much sums up the underlying ethos behind Mount & Blade, a game set during Medieval times in the vast, sprawling land of Calradia, a territory split between six factions teetering on the brink of all-out war. It consisted of an agreement between a ruler and his vassal (think socially inferior subordinate) that rewarded military service and protection with land, compensation, and certain privileges. Historically speaking, the warband was a phenomenon mostly prevalent during feudal times.

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