Before becoming lords...

[Revverie]

The path to become a lord is in my opinion, pretty short. You raise an army of 20 people, and you instantly become a mercenary in kingdom's eye, then you lead some fights, defeat some lords and apparently that makes you able to be a lord, and every other lord likes you more for becoming one. But there should be at least more steps, like being knighted or recognized in a noble way, because being a mercenary often means being a commoner in lords' eyes. And I would like some variation with how lords treat you once you climb the step towards novelty, since some of them shouldn't be happy to have more competition

 

[Roccoflipside]

I think both these things might be in BL already, considering "captain mode"  makes the being a mercenary part more interesting, therefore people won't get upset at having to spend more time there, as well as having so much more stuff to do in general. Additionally, the increase in number of lords and more focus being put on the family aspect with clans, it's likely we'll see much more variation in how other lords will view you once you become a lord yourself. Imagine you're a mercenary w/ Vlandia, and you save an allied lord's life in battle. He recommends to the king that you be made a lord of the realm, which the king grants. You'll probably have good standing with that lord and his clan, but the rival clan will probably, to varying degrees depending on their personality, dislike you.

 

[lolbash]

But there should be at least more steps, like being knighted or recognized in a noble way, because being a mercenary often means being a commoner in lords' eyes.

This is heavily Eurocentric and does not at all consider for the many other diverse factions and culturesin Bannerlord.

For example, does a term such as being "knighted" exist in Battania? Khuziat Khanate? Aserai? Chivalry as a term originated from France so if we are being historical I highly doubt that term is able to be reached and understood by the Mongolians and the Mali Empire in the scope of time that Bannerlord is focusing on.

 

[Bjorn The Dead]

Avrasya tarihinde, göçebe halklar arasında İmparatorluk kuran, yerleşik halkları egemenliği altına sokan gerçek askerî birlik, zırhlı sürvari ordusudur.

https://www.tarihtarih.com/?Syf=26&Syz=381245

Translation: In the history of Eurosia, armored cavs unit is the unit which enables nomadic nations to found imperial states over other nations.

This is a quote from an article which is written by Halil İnalcık. You can look for his name.

İlk koşulu "muhkem yürek", cesaret sahibi olmaktır, "yagı görüp sinmiya", cesurluk, askeri ayakta tutan "direktir" (alp'in liderliği). İkincisi Alp'in kolunda kuvvet olmalı (fiziksel güç). Herkes onun gücünü görür ve sayar. Üçüncüsü, alp gayret ve hamiyet sahibi olmalıdır. Alplığı başarmıya gayretsüz er Dördüncü koşul, bir "bayık" at sahibi olmalıdır.

This is also a quote from that article but Halil İnalcık quoted this from Garipname which is a book written by Aşıkpaşazade in 1310. This describes how to become "alp" which is a Turkic term for knight. Alp should have courage, phsical strength, will and a horse.

Alpın atının karnını örten bir zırhı olmak gerektir. Zırh, karşıdan heybetli bir görünüş gösterir ve hayvanı kılıç ve ok darbesinden korur. Düşman alpı atından tanır. Beşinci koşul, alpın zırhlı olmasıdır. Alplık zırhla belli olur.

Again from Garipname, it basically says "alp" and the horse of "alp" should have armor on them.

So Turkic and Mongolian culture have a equivalent unit of knights and there is a process before becoming one.

Spoiler: TW is aware of this

 

[Crossbow Pig]

What if we could become vassal of other vassals?

 

[lolbash]

Spoiler

Avrasya tarihinde, göçebe halklar arasında İmparatorluk kuran, yerleşik halkları egemenliği altına sokan gerçek askerî birlik, zırhlı sürvari ordusudur.

https://www.tarihtarih.com/?Syf=26&Syz=381245

Translation: In the history of Eurosia, armored cavs unit is the unit which enables nomadic nations to found imperial states over other nations.

This is a quote from an article which is written by Halil İnalcık. You can look for his name.

İlk koşulu "muhkem yürek", cesaret sahibi olmaktır, "yagı görüp sinmiya", cesurluk, askeri ayakta tutan "direktir" (alp'in liderliği). İkincisi Alp'in kolunda kuvvet olmalı (fiziksel güç). Herkes onun gücünü görür ve sayar. Üçüncüsü, alp gayret ve hamiyet sahibi olmalıdır. Alplığı başarmıya gayretsüz er Dördüncü koşul, bir "bayık" at sahibi olmalıdır.

This is also a quote from that article but Halil İnalcık quoted this from Garipname which is a book written by Aşıkpaşazade in 1310. This describes how to become "alp" which is a Turkic term for knight. Alp should have courage, phsical strength, will and a horse.

Alpın atının karnını örten bir zırhı olmak gerektir. Zırh, karşıdan heybetli bir görünüş gösterir ve hayvanı kılıç ve ok darbesinden korur. Düşman alpı atından tanır. Beşinci koşul, alpın zırhlı olmasıdır. Alplık zırhla belli olur.

Again from Garipname, it basically says "alp" and the horse of "alp" should have armor on them.

So Turkic and Mongolian culture have a equivalent unit of knights and there is a process before becoming one.

Spoiler: TW is aware of this

I don't mean knights as in the armored Cavalry units. Even the Romans have them.

I mean "knightly" as in how a lord can regonize you for your will and honor or other such qualities that buying yourself a suit of armor and a horse won't replace.

 

[Terco_Viejo]

FREELANCER no more, no less... start from the bottom to elite troop as a servant and then become a knight vassal in favor of your lord.

 

[Roccoflipside]

Lolbash, I think you're a bit too focused on the word 'knight' rather than the context it was used in. I could be wrong, but I believe what was being asked was not the ability to be knighted, but rather having more steps to being welcomed into a faction's elite classes. Instead of calling it being 'knighted', we could call it 'commissioned' if you prefer. For example, you start out, raise a small warband, and take out some bandits. King what's-his-name from Vlandia takes note and hires your warband as mercenaries for his campaign against the Battanians. You perform well, but don't do anything that particularly stands out (taking a castle/town yourself, taking on a much larger party as a distraction, etc.), but after 'years' of loyal service he offers you a commission. Basically, he's accepting you into the faction w/out making you a vassal, but it's another step in that direction. It would pay more than being a mercenary, you'd get more quests/contracts dealing with internal rather than external threats, and maybe you'd carry the king's/lord's banner (the one who commissions you) rather than your own. After a while of doing that successfully, you could be offered full vassalship, with your own lands, banner, and everything else that comes with it.

This would increase the amt. of time spent earning your way to nobility w/out making the player feel stuck, as there is still some progression involved. It would also put more emphasis on land-owning as a later-game feature, meaning that hopefully you get less bored of owning fiefs because you have less time to sit around and protect them, or watch them get sacked over and over again.

 

[Terco_Viejo]

Lolbash, I think you're a bit too focused on the word 'knight' rather than the context it was used in. I could be wrong, but I believe what was being asked was not the ability to be knighted, but rather having more steps to being welcomed into a faction's elite classes. Instead of calling it being 'knighted', we could call it 'commissioned' if you prefer. For example, you start out, raise a small warband, and take out some bandits. King what's-his-name from Vlandia takes note and hires your warband as mercenaries for his campaign against the Battanians. You perform well, but don't do anything that particularly stands out (taking a castle/town yourself, taking on a much larger party as a distraction, etc.), but after 'years' of loyal service he offers you a commission. Basically, he's accepting you into the faction w/out making you a vassal, but it's another step in that direction. It would pay more than being a mercenary, you'd get more quests/contracts dealing with internal rather than external threats, and maybe you'd carry the king's/lord's banner (the one who commissions you) rather than your own. After a while of doing that successfully, you could be offered full vassalship, with your own lands, banner, and everything else that comes with it.

This would increase the amt. of time spent earning your way to nobility w/out making the player feel stuck, as there is still some progression involved. It would also put more emphasis on land-owning as a later-game feature, meaning that hopefully you get less bored of owning fiefs because you have less time to sit around and protect them, or watch them get sacked over and over again.

This is precisely what "Ennoblement" is 
...and this idea would go well with the  Taragoth's Freelance concept, because it would apply a meritocracy/social Darwinism by promotion through extraordinary merits (in this case: ennoblement by the king for military services).

 

[Noudelle]

Lolbash, I think you're a bit too focused on the word 'knight' rather than the context it was used in. I could be wrong, but I believe what was being asked was not the ability to be knighted, but rather having more steps to being welcomed into a faction's elite classes. Instead of calling it being 'knighted', we could call it 'commissioned' if you prefer. For example, you start out, raise a small warband, and take out some bandits. King what's-his-name from Vlandia takes note and hires your warband as mercenaries for his campaign against the Battanians. You perform well, but don't do anything that particularly stands out (taking a castle/town yourself, taking on a much larger party as a distraction, etc.), but after 'years' of loyal service he offers you a commission. Basically, he's accepting you into the faction w/out making you a vassal, but it's another step in that direction. It would pay more than being a mercenary, you'd get more quests/contracts dealing with internal rather than external threats, and maybe you'd carry the king's/lord's banner (the one who commissions you) rather than your own. After a while of doing that successfully, you could be offered full vassalship, with your own lands, banner, and everything else that comes with it.

This would increase the amt. of time spent earning your way to nobility w/out making the player feel stuck, as there is still some progression involved. It would also put more emphasis on land-owning as a later-game feature, meaning that hopefully you get less bored of owning fiefs because you have less time to sit around and protect them, or watch them get sacked over and over again.

More or less what he said.

It's not because the real life counterparts of these cultures didn't have knights (or even the equivalent of knights), that they shouldn't have them in Bannerlord.

 

[NPC99]

You start out, recruit some thugs and fight to control the protection racket of a local back alley, making your first enemy of the local Lord whose taxpayers you are extorting. Instead of recommending you for knighthood he throws you in his dungeon and cuts off your right thumb, reducing your one-handed skill. Eventually war is declared and the dungeons are emptied to fill up the ranks with sword fodder. You are given a spear and wicker shield so you can die for your crimes or rise above them. 

Hopefully, clans, crime, kidnapping and assassinations will make Bannerlord more than a graphically superior Warband.

 

[Noudelle]

You start out, recruit some thugs and fight to control the protection racket of a local back alley, making your first enemy of the local Lord whose taxpayers you are extorting. Instead of recommending you for knighthood he throws you in his dungeon and cuts off your right thumb, reducing your one-handed skill. Eventually war is declared and the dungeons are emptied to fill up the ranks with sword fodder. You are given a spear and wicker shield so you can die for your crimes or rise above them. 

Hopefully, clans, crime, kidnapping and assassinations will make Bannerlord more than a graphically superior Warband.

Heck yeah. And with the supposed "keep playing the game as a family member after your original character died" mechanic, this could lead to some really interesting emergent stories.

 

[Revverie]

Lolbash, I think you're a bit too focused on the word 'knight' rather than the context it was used in. I could be wrong, but I believe what was being asked was not the ability to be knighted, but rather having more steps to being welcomed into a faction's elite classes. Instead of calling it being 'knighted', we could call it 'commissioned' if you prefer. For example, you start out, raise a small warband, and take out some bandits. King what's-his-name from Vlandia takes note and hires your warband as mercenaries for his campaign against the Battanians. You perform well, but don't do anything that particularly stands out (taking a castle/town yourself, taking on a much larger party as a distraction, etc.), but after 'years' of loyal service he offers you a commission. Basically, he's accepting you into the faction w/out making you a vassal, but it's another step in that direction. It would pay more than being a mercenary, you'd get more quests/contracts dealing with internal rather than external threats, and maybe you'd carry the king's/lord's banner (the one who commissions you) rather than your own. After a while of doing that successfully, you could be offered full vassalship, with your own lands, banner, and everything else that comes with it.

This would increase the amt. of time spent earning your way to nobility w/out making the player feel stuck, as there is still some progression involved. It would also put more emphasis on land-owning as a later-game feature, meaning that hopefully you get less bored of owning fiefs because you have less time to sit around and protect them, or watch them get sacked over and over again.

Exactly this is what I meant

But there should be at least more steps, like being knighted or recognized in a noble way, because being a mercenary often means being a commoner in lords' eyes.

It's even part of the quote lolbash

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

Knight also often gets used as a generic term for any equestrian military noble. Even the equite class in Republican Rome gets translated as "knight" a lot of the time.