SP Musket Era 1631: The Thirty Years' War - A near-complete overhaul of WFAS

[Frossa]

(Yes, someone actually made a mod for WFAS in 2023.)
WHAT IS THIS?
Changes the setting of Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword to Germany and parts of Western Europe in 1631, a pivotal year in the Thirty Years' War. The playable Factions are the Habsburg Monarchy, the Protestant League, Sweden, France, and the Netherlands. All Factions have unique troops, but some troops are shared between all Factions due to their ubiquity. Towns, Castles, and most Villages have been modified or redone entirely to match the setting. All Companions are new characters with new backstories. Goes without saying, but all Lords have also been changed to represent appropriate historical people.

The Thirty Years' War mod introduces a lot of limitations to what the player can do — much depends on your status, expressed either in Renown or the clothes and armour you choose to wear, as well as religion. Not all towns are necessarily welcoming of visiting adventurers, and not all Lords are willing to give you Quests right away.
This means that the early game can be quite an uphill battle, depending on your starting conditions. You can choose if you wish to start off as a merchant, noble, or perhaps just a poor vagrant. It is almost always possible to overcome these obstacles however, as you progress through the game.
Some noteworthy features in this mod is that you can join a Lord's party as a soldier, you can marry ladies, and you can buy a house in a Town and become engaged in its local politics. See the full feature list further down for more.

(This is a singleplayer mod only, and there are no changes to multiplayer.)

DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL
Nexusmods link: https://www.nexusmods.com/mbwithfireandsword/mods/4021/
Mediafire mirror: https://www.mediafire.com/file/rj2slfavgsj2oo2/30yw.zip/file

Extract the "30yw" folder from the .zip file into the modules directory (Commonly: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Mount & Blade With Fire and Sword\Modules).

FULL FEATURE LIST

Spoiler

Major new features:

• You can become a soldier in a Lord's party, following it around and participating in battles to earn military ranks and easy experience.
• You can buy a home in each Town on the map, where you can store items.
• Towns have local policies that change dynamically depending on factors such as the personality of their ruler.
• Towns have Criminality that affect Prosperity and various events in them. Criminality can be affected by policies, among other things.
• You can become a politician in Town where you own a home, and are able to propose or repeal policies.
• The player has to choose a religion when starting the game, and your choice affects how you interact with certain Lords and Towns.
• You can marry noble ladies, in a system unique from the one in Warband. Marriage gives a Renown boost, depending on the Renown of the father of the bride.
• You can get courted by and married to male nobles as a female player. You get a Renown boost depending on the Renown of the Lord you marry.
• A tiered clothing mechanic. The type and quality of various hats, boots, armours, and clothing (or lack thereof) gives you an edge or a penalty in certain social situations (Commoners will also stare at you on the street if you're well dressed).
• "First impressions" with Lords and Ladies based on how well-dressed you are. Plays considerably into the marriage system.
• Abandoned Castles, Monasteries, and Farmsteads with npcs spawn in certain parts of the map to add some variety to gameplay.
• Neutral and unconquerable Free Cities that offer various unique services dot the map. (Very shallow so far, WIP)

Minor new features:

• An optional "historical" mode of diplomacy, where wars are started and ended on terms that resemble the territorial issues of the period. Lasts for 400 days if enabled, after which wars are started and ended at random again.
• You can start the game as a teenager as opposed to an adult, which makes it harder to recruit mercenaries until you have enough Renown.
• You can choose between four spawning locations when starting a new game.
• You can beg in Villages for basic clothing.
• You can scavenge looted Villages for basic items.
• You can spend excess money on sponsoring renovations of buildings in Towns in exchange for Renown.
• You can catch a cold, which penalises your Strength and Agility, for having poor or no clothing.
• More armours, hats, and boots to add some more variety. More to be added in the future.
• Several new Troops, such as the unique and rare Grenadier. (Yes, they throw grenades)
• Special scenes might trigger when looting Villages.
• The AI can now blow up the walls of besieged Castles and Towns if their Tactics is high enough, instead of only ever attacking with ladders.
• Travellers in Taverns share intelligence about what certain Factions are planning.
• Female players now have a female overworld model.

Changes to vanilla features:

• Offer to serve as mercenary for a Faction is now its own dialogue option instead of something hidden behind asking a Lord for a task.
• Women are slightly shorter than men.
• There are children and teenager npcs.
• New screen for selecting character and game settings.
• Tutorial has been disabled.
• Movement speed on map has been halved to make army logistics more challenging.
• Renown requirements for accepting Quests and entering Lords' Halls in Towns. (Plays into religion and tiered clothing mechanic: you can overcome the thresholds easier by dressing "impressively".)
• Bandits are very unforgiving: You lose all your money and your entire inventory upon being captured.
• Illnesses are more penalising (-2 to Strength and Agility instead of -1).
• Player skills start off way lower than in vanilla.
• Companion hiring costs are much higher.
• Resting in taverns costs twelve times as much as in vanilla. This is also to add logistical challenges to having an army.
• Only two Factions have Claimants, found at semi-secret locations on the map. No Claimants spawn in Taverns.
• Small graphical modifications to some buildings, as well as border terrain on scenes.
• Melee mode disabled for most muskets and pistols to reduce irrational AI battle behaviour.
• All Horses have significantly increased Charge stats, so that they're actually useful for knocking people out in battle.
• All thrusting swords and also pikes have been made more powerful to balance them against the increased rarity of swinging weapons (Sabers are very uncommon).
• Mercenary Camps have been removed, save for the Polish one, and one which has been repurposed for Swiss and is incorporated into one of the Free Cities on the map.
• Most Special Missions and all of the main storylines from vanilla have been removed. These have been replaced by a few Quests that are more tailored for the period and setting.

IMAGES

Spoiler

Children running in the street.

An army camp in the field. You can join a Lord's party as a soldier.

A wedding between the player and a Lord's daughter.

The French Royal Guard at the court of king Louis XIII.

A battle at sea.

The city of Paris.

The city of Heidelberg.

CREDITS

• Willhelm for his tons of 17th century items: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/ultimate-17th-century-pack.327745/
• NPC99 and other contributors to the English Civil War mod for many invaluable assets: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/wfas-english-civil-war.368595/
• The BNL Eighty Years War team for additional asset: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/bnl-eyw-main-topic.86306/
• kraggrim for his galleon model: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/galleon-ship-and-static-sea-battle-scenes.380010/
• Jaako for his ecclesiastical props: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index...h-monastery-and-bridge-pieces-updated.277166/ https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/late-medieval-italian-prop-pack.279992/

TROUBLESHOOTING
If you fail the launch the module and receive a "shader out of video memory" error, open the configurations of the M&B launcher and go to the video tab. Make sure "Load Textures On Demand" is ticked.

 

[Ningauble]

This is great; many thanks for this exciting work.
I always hoped NPC99 would further develop his ECW mod.
You have a good emphasis on history, and role playing features, as per your lists above.
What other WIP features are you working on ?

( I would prefer to hold off playing until you have it " complete " )
( I am wishing that, apart from every other fantastic thing you thinking of, that you can see your way to adding attractive female faces for Companions and young noblewomen ie potential wives, and that your attractive wife can join your party and adventure alongside you as a skilled Companion, as we see coded in Perisno and some other up - to - date Warband mods these days. Please ! ).

 

[Frossa]

This is great; many thanks for this exciting work.
I always hoped NPC99 would further develop his ECW mod.
You have a good emphasis on history, and role playing features, as per your lists above.
What other WIP features are you working on ?

( I would prefer to hold off playing until you have it " complete " )
( I am wishing that, apart from every other fantastic thing you thinking of, that you can see your way to adding attractive female faces for Companions and young noblewomen ie potential wives, and that your attractive wife can join your party and adventure alongside you as a skilled Companion, as we see coded in Perisno and some other up - to - date Warband mods these days. Please ! ).

Thank you!

Currently I'm working on making it harder to survive by simply just roaming, requiring the player to stay in certain locations and work for a living, but also to get more involved in local affairs. Basically to deepen mechanics in Towns and Villages even further, making them feel more alive beneath the surface. A vision I have is that you should be able to find wives and husbands in every social class, not just nobility. (I'm also planning to add more noble ladies, since there's only two marriable ones per faction currently.)
The mod is very much "complete" in a sense already though, so don't worry about that.

As for wives as companions, that's obviously something I've been thinking about, but I'm concerned with a few aspects of realism here. Having women run around on the battlefields is a bit silly, and there's not that many skills in the game that feel particularly "womanly", to justify having them be skilled partners. I can see the practical argument for wive companions, since this is Mound & Blade, but it's a bit a mental hurdle for me from a historical perspective, unfortunately.

 

[Ningauble]

Thank you!

Currently I'm working on making it harder to survive by simply just roaming, requiring the player to stay in certain locations and work for a living, but also to get more involved in local affairs. Basically to deepen mechanics in Towns and Villages even further, making them feel more alive beneath the surface. A vision I have is that you should be able to find wives and husbands in every social class, not just nobility. (I'm also planning to add more noble ladies, since there's only two marriable ones per faction currently.)
The mod is very much "complete" in a sense already though, so don't worry about that.

As for wives as companions, that's obviously something I've been thinking about, but I'm concerned with a few aspects of realism here. Having women run around on the battlefields is a bit silly, and there's not that many skills in the game that feel particularly "womanly", to justify having them be skilled partners. I can see the practical argument for wive companions, since this is Mound & Blade, but it's a bit a mental hurdle for me from a historical perspective, unfortunately.

Your vision is indeed inspiring.

Re the " ladies " - in an incredibly interesting and " challenging " world it seems always some women, privileged or no, " rise to the occasion ", travel and adventure, even campaign with armies, by design, or by " accident "..........
There are so many examples, from before Boudica and Zenobia, to Lady Hester Stanhope, and way beyond.

Off the top of my head we have the medieval Sikelgaita, Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd, and, of course, Joan of Arc.

Most pertinently Leonora Christina Ulfeldt is a good contemporary 17th Century example of an " adventuring " wife.
Christina, Queen of Sweden, is an even more impressive example of a contemporary " tomboy " ( and she was a great rider, fencer, etc ).

Catherine I of Russia campaigned alongside Peter the Great, as did Darya Menshikova accompany Menshikov.
Later, Nadezhda Durova ( a wife, and mother, and daughter of a major ) would join the Napoleonic Russian uhlans.

And after all, we already have female adventuring Companions, with their, well, plausible backstories ; even if " the wife " is the only adventurous wife ( and swordswoman, a la Hellish Quart ? Pourquoi pas ? ) in the game, that is perfectly in keeping with being, uniquely, the player's wife - she is already " exceptional "!
( That's why I married her ! And she has so much potential ! And ......... she is strikingly beautiful ............... )

And if you play as a ( comely, mind you ) female adventurer, well, there you are, the rare swashbuckling swordswoman yourself. You'll probably marry a general, and carry on campaigning. I say what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

By the way, for an immersive Thirty Years' War read I highly recommend " Tyll " by Daniel Kehlmann - Elizabeth Stuart, "The Winter Queen", is one of the great characters. And of course the Swedish - French etc film " The Girl King " is apposite ( and very atmospheric ).

 

[Frossa]

Your vision is indeed inspiring.

Thank you for the encouragement!

And yes, obviously there is historical precedent for out-of-the-ordinary women. As you say, the player could easily fill that role. But for it to commonly become the standard whenever a player marries a lady is what I'm debating whether is a good idea or not. I'm not ruling it out, but it's not high on my priority list. Marriage primarily serves as a way to accummulate Renown and serve role playing purposes, in my mind.

As to not kill hope entirely, I see it more fit that adventurous women would be easier to find among the lower classes than the nobility, who have a lot of eyes and expectations on them. Fleshing out Village life is my current focus, so we'll see where it ends up.

 

[Ningauble]

Thank you for the encouragement!

And yes, obviously there is historical precedent for out-of-the-ordinary women. As you say, the player could easily fill that role. But for it to commonly become the standard whenever a player marries a lady is what I'm debating whether is a good idea or not. I'm not ruling it out, but it's not high on my priority list. Marriage primarily serves as a way to accummulate Renown and serve role playing purposes, in my mind.

As to not kill hope entirely, I see it more fit that adventurous women would be easier to find among the lower classes than the nobility, who have a lot of eyes and expectations on them. Fleshing out Village life is my current focus, so we'll see where it ends up.

To be sure, " some village beauty to adventuring general's wife " makes for a grand narrative arc.
Again, witness the amazing life of Catherine I ( Marta, a farmer's daughter ), colliding with Peter the Great like that.
She must have had really great ....... Charisma !

 

[tomandre81]

Your mod doesn't work: "shader out of video memory"

 

[Frossa]

Your mod doesn't work: "shader out of video memory"

I found this solution on NPC99's English Civil War mod:

"This was resolved by selecting load textures on demand from the launcher's configuration video options. I hope that advice helps anyone else with a similar PC configuration."

Try this, it should work. If so I will add this instruction to the topic.

 

[thebearessentials]

A very fun but punishing mod; maybe I've been away from wfas too long...

How does one join a lord's army? Something along the lines of "you are not fit to be a soldier".

 

[Frossa]

A very fun but punishing mod; maybe I've been away from wfas too long...

How does one join a lord's army? Something along the lines of "you are not fit to be a soldier".

Thank you! Yes, it can be very punishing, at least when sick or being captured by enemies.

You need Strength of 8 to join an army, so that has to be the reason you're being denied. If you've got any diseases or injuries that lower Strength that will also matter (all of these are recorded as Quests). The only other reason the army recruiters will say that you aren't fit, is if you've sneaked into town as a beggar.

 

[thebearessentials]

Thank you! Yes, it can be very punishing, at least when sick or being captured by enemies.

You need Strength of 8 to join an army, so that has to be the reason you're being denied. If you've got any diseases or injuries that lower Strength that will also matter (all of these are recorded as Quests). The only other reason the army recruiters will say that you aren't fit, is if you've sneaked into town as a beggar.

Strength was the problem! Thank you Frossa.
Does the mercenary system offer equipment at a certain level? I am a sergeant now. Does battlefield loot become available at a certain rank? After battles in most mods you can pick from some loot left over.

 

[Frossa]

Strength was the problem! Thank you Frossa.
Does the mercenary system offer equipment at a certain level? I am a sergeant now. Does battlefield loot become available at a certain rank? After battles in most mods you can pick from some loot left over.

Military ranks only raise the party size for now. But indeed, I have thought about being handed equipment according to a chosen role, for example being equipped like a Reiter if you choose to enlist as a cavalryman, or perhaps if you simply meet some skills requirements.
As for loot, I don't really know how to increase the loot yield for the player whilst enlisted. Since the player only contributes one soldier (or potentially up to 30 depending on your military rank) to a Lord-led battle you're not really owed much loot, according to the existing code.

 

[thebearessentials]

Military ranks only raise the party size for now. But indeed, I have thought about being handed equipment according to a chosen role, for example being equipped like a Reiter if you choose to enlist as a cavalryman, or perhaps if you simply meet some skills requirements.
As for loot, I don't really know how to increase the loot yield for the player whilst enlisted. Since the player only contributes one soldier (or potentially up to 30 depending on your military rank) to a Lord-led battle you're not really owed much loot, according to the existing code.

That would really help with immersion. I hope you add some basic equipment for enlistees. So far playthrough has been challenging but fun - interested to try the marriage/house mechanic once I am not poor.

By "loot" I meant items from the battlefield vs cash. Usually after a freelancer battle you're given the loot screen with odd weapons/food/clothes left on the battlefield.

 

[Stormwolf511]

Very nice mod indeed! I'm playing it next weeked! *Do you have plans for artillery being added ?
* What about a questline similar to WFAS or VIking Conquest?

 

[Frossa]

interested to try the marriage/house mechanic once I am not poor.

By "loot" I meant items from the battlefield vs cash. Usually after a freelancer battle you're given the loot screen with odd weapons/food/clothes left on the battlefield.

There's really not that much to married life once you've had the wedding... yet! Right now it's mostly just a Renown boost to marry.
And yes, I also meant the loot screen. But I think a problem with just contributing one soldier (yourself) to a battle is that the loot the game thinks you're owed is so low it doesn't bring up the loot screen at all. There are ways I could fix an entirely different system for battlefield looting when you're enlisted though, but that's not a priority of mine.

Very nice mod indeed! I'm playing it next weeked! *Do you have plans for artillery being added ?
* What about a questline similar to WFAS or VIking Conquest?

Thank you!
I have thought a little about programming artillery, but a concern of mine is that it could be quite unbalanced... That's my experience in mods like the English Civil War, for example.
I'm not too sure about story lines. I know the ones in native WFAS can be quite buggy, and it's generally messy to program even simple Quests. Don't expect anything like that for a while.

 

[thebearessentials]

There's really not that much to married life once you've had the wedding... yet! Right now it's mostly just a Renown boost to marry.
And yes, I also meant the loot screen. But I think a problem with just contributing one soldier (yourself) to a battle is that the loot the game thinks you're owed is so low it doesn't bring up the loot screen at all. There are ways I could fix an entirely different system for battlefield looting when you're enlisted though, but that's not a priority of mine.

Thank you!
I have thought a little about programming artillery, but a concern of mine is that it could be quite unbalanced... That's my experience in mods like the English Civil War, for example.
I'm not too sure about story lines. I know the ones in native WFAS can be quite buggy, and it's generally messy to program even simple Quests. Don't expect anything like that for a while.

Still, the fact you included it is great and helps with immersion. The fact that WFAS is getting any quality of life/role play mod is good in my book.

If memory serves me right, Nova Aetas for Warband has an artillery system that fired solid shot that "bounces" instead of the large area damage that most artillery mods have. Was very cool and reminiscent of NW.

 

[Stormwolf511]

Thank you!
I have thought a little about programming artillery, but a concern of mine is that it could be quite unbalanced... That's my experience in mods like the English Civil War, for example.
I'm not too sure about story lines. I know the ones in native WFAS can be quite buggy, and it's generally messy to program even simple Quests. Don't expect anything like that for a while.

Oh yeah, i would imagine modding WFAS is a bit more complicated than Wb. Anyway I hope you consider adding artillery, since it was probably one of the most defining aspects of combat during the Early Modern period. I undestand storylines being difficult to code, perhaps single quests, that give a little more context to the war?

 

[Frossa]

I undestand storylines being difficult to code, perhaps single quests, that give a little more context to the war?

I have some of those planned, and there are at least two in the game already, as "special missions": one you get from a specific Dutch lord, and another which you get from Gustaf II Adolf of Sweden. Indeed, much easier to make from a coding perspective.

 

[Thor Head]

Nobody has mentioned the amazing gunshot death animations yet? Are they unique to 1631? I've never seen these in any other mod. Every Taleworlds gun mod should have these!