The companions are a great addition to M&B, but they seem a little shallow. They tell you a bit about their past when you first hire them, but other than that, you don't get much interaction. The only other thing is that they like eachother or fight, and they tell you a little bit about a certain area of the map. And they are all recruited the same way. IMO this aspect of the game can be fleshed out a lot more for Warband (or maybe some mods will take up this idea if it doesn't make it into the game). It already has a little, with companions being sent out to raise support for your player faction and making them nobles. But here are my ideas:
Recruiting companions should differ. Some should be hireable in the tavern, others should be gotten some other way.
For example, to recruit one companion, you would have to talk to him in the tavern, then fight him in the area and win the tournament. After that, he would challenge you to a one-on-one duel, and if you win he decides to come with you.
One companion would be locked up in prison (maybe for stealing horses or something). You could talk to him, then talk to the Lord of that town. You could try to pursuade him, or pay him to let the companion go. Or, you could sneak in at night (in your traveler's robe and quarterstaff) and bust him out.
You could talk to one one companion who is a merchant (like Marnid) and he says he is going to X city to sell stuff. When you leave the town, script a caravan to go towards that city, and script bandits to attack it. If you intervene and save him, he joins your party. Maybe also make an option to pay the bandits off. If the bandits capture him, you could hunt them down and free him
Make a female companion who has a man who wants to marry her (with her father's support) but she doesn't like. You can try to pursuade her father or suitor to break off the marriage, or challenge the suitor to a duel under the pretense of being a fellow suitor.
Make a rogue character (maybe Rolf?) who is basically a bandit. You can talk to him and persuade him to join you, or pay him. Or, you can fight him and if you win, he asks to join your party.
Make a character that is kidnapped by some bandits (who don't run around, but sit in a random place on the map) that you can free and have join you.
One character may not join you until you bring him a certain weapon or horse (perhaps a poor knight who lost his last steed and can't afford another one? This would also work with a book and a scholarly character).
Also, there should be more interaction after you recruit people.
For example, one companion (maybe Bunduk?) may have a grudge against a certain Lord, which causes the Lord to dislike you. You can pay him off, or duel him to redeem your honor.
Some companions may spurr their own miniquests. One may have a friend who needs some money that you can loan out. Another may have a friend that gets kidnapped by bandits or another faction that you have to rescue. Another may have a mostly dialog miniquest that involves going to certain places, talking to certain people, and finding certain items. Another may have a friend who gets arrested and you can try to plead on his behalf in court to try and get him freed, or break him out of prison, which would entail a relation hit with the city.
One character may have assassins or slavers after him/her that ambush you in a city/village, sort of like the current bandit ambush at night thing. They would keep coming after you (randomly, of course) until you go to a certain special settlement, which is their hideout. Defeating their leader would essentially destroy their organization and stop the attacks. You would have to go through some dialog and story to find their hideout. Maybe involve talking to several people and finding/buying a map to the settlement.
One character may be a smith or merchant and be able to set up some special deals to get a limited number of armor or weapons cheaper than usual.
Also, I don't think companions should tell you everything about them at the start. You should be able to talk with them, and over time they would tell you more about themselves. Some companions would have to reach a certain dialog point with the player before quests are triggered. This would add some more depth I think. You wouldn't be forced to follow their quests if you didn't want to, but it would add a lot of variety from the conquer-the-world theme.
Recruiting companions should differ. Some should be hireable in the tavern, others should be gotten some other way.
For example, to recruit one companion, you would have to talk to him in the tavern, then fight him in the area and win the tournament. After that, he would challenge you to a one-on-one duel, and if you win he decides to come with you.
One companion would be locked up in prison (maybe for stealing horses or something). You could talk to him, then talk to the Lord of that town. You could try to pursuade him, or pay him to let the companion go. Or, you could sneak in at night (in your traveler's robe and quarterstaff) and bust him out.
You could talk to one one companion who is a merchant (like Marnid) and he says he is going to X city to sell stuff. When you leave the town, script a caravan to go towards that city, and script bandits to attack it. If you intervene and save him, he joins your party. Maybe also make an option to pay the bandits off. If the bandits capture him, you could hunt them down and free him
Make a female companion who has a man who wants to marry her (with her father's support) but she doesn't like. You can try to pursuade her father or suitor to break off the marriage, or challenge the suitor to a duel under the pretense of being a fellow suitor.
Make a rogue character (maybe Rolf?) who is basically a bandit. You can talk to him and persuade him to join you, or pay him. Or, you can fight him and if you win, he asks to join your party.
Make a character that is kidnapped by some bandits (who don't run around, but sit in a random place on the map) that you can free and have join you.
One character may not join you until you bring him a certain weapon or horse (perhaps a poor knight who lost his last steed and can't afford another one? This would also work with a book and a scholarly character).
Also, there should be more interaction after you recruit people.
For example, one companion (maybe Bunduk?) may have a grudge against a certain Lord, which causes the Lord to dislike you. You can pay him off, or duel him to redeem your honor.
Some companions may spurr their own miniquests. One may have a friend who needs some money that you can loan out. Another may have a friend that gets kidnapped by bandits or another faction that you have to rescue. Another may have a mostly dialog miniquest that involves going to certain places, talking to certain people, and finding certain items. Another may have a friend who gets arrested and you can try to plead on his behalf in court to try and get him freed, or break him out of prison, which would entail a relation hit with the city.
One character may have assassins or slavers after him/her that ambush you in a city/village, sort of like the current bandit ambush at night thing. They would keep coming after you (randomly, of course) until you go to a certain special settlement, which is their hideout. Defeating their leader would essentially destroy their organization and stop the attacks. You would have to go through some dialog and story to find their hideout. Maybe involve talking to several people and finding/buying a map to the settlement.
One character may be a smith or merchant and be able to set up some special deals to get a limited number of armor or weapons cheaper than usual.
Also, I don't think companions should tell you everything about them at the start. You should be able to talk with them, and over time they would tell you more about themselves. Some companions would have to reach a certain dialog point with the player before quests are triggered. This would add some more depth I think. You wouldn't be forced to follow their quests if you didn't want to, but it would add a lot of variety from the conquer-the-world theme.
