Any chance we will see assassins hunting the player?

Do you want to occasionally be hunted by assassins?


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-X declares war on Y
-RandomLord has been taken prisoner by OtherRandomLord
-*Long list of random lords taken as prisoners by RandomLordDoomStack*
-MeaninglessCastle has been besieged by a RandomLordDoomStack
-Y has made peace with X
-Z declares war on Y
-X declares war on Z
-*repeat*
Wow! You´ve just describe my sandbox campaign!

And the real important stuff like "Building X in YOUR settlement is finished" is lost in this "log".
 
Am I the only person who hated the random health-deleters in Warband? It was really a build check at best; if you carried a weapon unsuitable for foot combat, you just got screwed for nothing. They were random events without any connection to the greater world. Interesting at first, but really annoying after a while. This is one omission into Bannerlord I'm glad for.

Actual assassins would be interesting but definitely not the random-event ambushes at towns in nighttime that just served to waste time. As for how actual assassinations could work... well, I guess the real question is "how to not make it extremely OP" since if you could hire a guy to off all the nobles of enemy kingdoms without incurring backlash against the player clan (as in, they succeed and don't know it was you that hired them) then it could become a far more optimal play style than normal battling. It could be a very interesting way use subterfuge to win battles, along with mechanics oriented towards bribing enemy castle lords to flip their castles, gatekeepers to open their gates, munitions officers to poison their soldiers, etc. but the ultimate concern is making such a mechanic not overpowered while still being worth investing time into. There's usually a thin line between something like this being the de facto smartest way to play and being a useless money sink. Games like Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence: Ascension and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 have managed to strike what I'd consider a good balance, but they're grand strategy games rather than sandbox simulations, so who knows if those kinds of mechanics would work well in this type of game.
 
Am I the only person who hated the random health-deleters in Warband? It was really a build check at best; if you carried a weapon unsuitable for foot combat, you just got screwed for nothing. They were random events without any connection to the greater world. Interesting at first, but really annoying after a while. This is one omission into Bannerlord I'm glad for.

Actual assassins would be interesting but definitely not the random-event ambushes at towns in nighttime that just served to waste time. As for how actual assassinations could work... well, I guess the real question is "how to not make it extremely OP" since if you could hire a guy to off all the nobles of enemy kingdoms without incurring backlash against the player clan (as in, they succeed and don't know it was you that hired them) then it could become a far more optimal play style than normal battling. It could be a very interesting way use subterfuge to win battles, along with mechanics oriented towards bribing enemy castle lords to flip their castles, gatekeepers to open their gates, munitions officers to poison their soldiers, etc. but the ultimate concern is making such a mechanic not overpowered while still being worth investing time into. There's usually a thin line between something like this being the de facto smartest way to play and being a useless money sink. Games like Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence: Ascension and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 have managed to strike what I'd consider a good balance, but they're grand strategy games rather than sandbox simulations, so who knows if those kinds of mechanics would work well in this type of game.
I also found them mostly a nuisance. It didn't make any sense that the player couldn't either enter cities with bodyguards and/or simply send someone else once they're aware of assassinations as a possibility, either.
 
I also found them mostly a nuisance. It didn't make any sense that the player couldn't either enter cities with bodyguards and/or simply send someone else once they're aware of assassinations as a possibility, either.
Being able to have bodyguards would change my tune on the matter; after all, not every player-character is designed to be a warrior, and I think it'd be good for squishier builds to be given leeway since a scholar/"theoretician" type would probably not be traveling in dangerous places alone. And any notable who feared their life might be in danger would likely take some bodyguards. I think Bannerlord having at least your topmost companion follow you around is a good start for this sort of thing.
 
Does not make sense for me as random event. Who pays the big amount of money to hire them, for what? If it had political reasons, then it should be late in the campaign and the player had a certain high position, otherwise, why? Such a high ranked person should have bodyguards and wear some form of armor perhaps when going through some shabby streets.

If it were a certain event/quest with a story and an assasination could be expected, the player should be able to prepare for a situation, like wearing some armor in towns.

On the other hand, there could be kind of robbery attempts in towns in certain areas. But not that often, please.
 
Yes they were lol. I think you needed negative honor and/or negative reflation with a bad personality lord, but you could get an assassins in the tavern 🥷
You sure there was any correlation with negative honor or relation with any noble? I don't remember and think so. It wasn't explained so unless you've found it in the game code or something...
I didn't deny the random encounters, both bandits when you tried recruiting from a village, and the more common lesser attackers when clicking to go to tavern in a town. Although afaik, it was very random and nothing to do with what you said/implied about hired assassins (although only at night). The game only hinted at it.
 
I've only seen them on playthroughs where I was bad and had very low honor for most of the game and never seen them on a normal playthrough where high honor is sought after.
https://mountandblade.fandom.com/wiki/Tavern
  • Hired Assassin: Very rare. Assassins are hired by enemy lords (with less than -20 relation) that have a sadistic (harsh) personality. They become active without notice once the player comes close to them. At most, they appear once every 7 days.
 
Being able to have bodyguards would change my tune on the matter; after all, not every player-character is designed to be a warrior, and I think it'd be good for squishier builds to be given leeway since a scholar/"theoretician" type would probably not be traveling in dangerous places alone. And any notable who feared their life might be in danger would likely take some bodyguards. I think Bannerlord having at least your topmost companion follow you around is a good start for this sort of thing.

Agreed. The beauty of playing Bannerlord is that you can be whatever you want. If you wanna be a meathead knight that can take on a whole army and win - sure. Want to treat it as an immersive Total War game and direct your troops from the rear? Cool. Medieval merchant roleplay? Why not. The challenge in Bannerlord shouldn't only rely on fighting, but come from more strategic factors like fog-of-war, enemy AI, and diplomacy.

To be clear: I also disliked the ambushes in Warband because they made no sense story-wise for people who weren't doing an "adventurer/fighter" build or once you got past early-game.

Why would a ruler walk down alleyways alone (and not with a retinue of guards and servants)? Why am I getting ambushed in a village with thousands of my own troops encamped literally a few yards away? If I have a thousand men garrisoned in a city, why would I get attacked if I have enough troops to guard every corner? Stuff like this makes no sense and only ruins the immersion.
 
Agreed. The beauty of playing Bannerlord is that you can be whatever you want. If you wanna be a meathead knight that can take on a whole army and win - sure. Want to treat it as an immersive Total War game and direct your troops from the rear? Cool. Medieval merchant roleplay? Why not. The challenge in Bannerlord shouldn't only rely on fighting, but come from more strategic factors like fog-of-war, enemy AI, and diplomacy.

To be clear: I also disliked the ambushes in Warband because they made no sense story-wise for people who weren't doing an "adventurer/fighter" build or once you got past early-game.

Why would a ruler walk down alleyways alone (and not with a retinue of guards and servants)? Why am I getting ambushed in a village with thousands of my own troops encamped literally a few yards away? If I have a thousand men garrisoned in a city, why would I get attacked if I have enough troops to guard every corner? Stuff like this makes no sense and only ruins the immersion.
Yep, I totally concur with your statements. Both in terms of the appeal of Bannerlord and the ways Warband handled getting jumped.

Bannerlord's loads of fun for me as both a role-playing game and a unique generational/dynastic game. It was extremely gratifying when I had my first child and then, later, died and played on as her for the second generation of my playthrough. It was really profound to look back on what had happened over the course of my playthrough and see all the faces of those I had known, those that had died, those who still lived, and the new generation coming up to become the leaders and movers of the world.

I'm curious how the fog-of-war on Encyclopedia info will affect gameplay since I'll miss being able to check out the new monarch of a country and see how they got there. I suppose it'll just pay to talk to everybody you meet at least once. I certainly enjoyed handling the increasing difficulty of managing an increasingly wide-spread country and trying to expand without contracting. A little trick I used for dealing with enemies who could outrun me was to wait for them to try to raid a village and then just jump them while they're vulnerable, for example. Diplomacy's simple but plenty tough and fun for me to deal with. I'm not sure how TaleWorlds can expand upon it while still keeping the core challenge. For example, if I could cement long-term alliances, what's stopping me from doing what I do in most strategy games (ally with everybody I'm not fighting, and then fight my allies one at a time without fear of dealing with them as a coalition)? And if they're too hard to establish or too unreliable, they practically don't exist. As it stands, coalitions naturally occur as a result of one kingdom (usually one too big) getting ganged up on, while alliances and interventions naturally occur when two kingdoms share a common enemy and don't fight each other. The lack of formality in these things does stir me and keep me tense. As long as the foundational A.I. is solid enough, I think it will continue to work well and could become better with smarter tinkering.
 
Yep, I totally concur with your statements. Both in terms of the appeal of Bannerlord and the ways Warband handled getting jumped.

Bannerlord's loads of fun for me as both a role-playing game and a unique generational/dynastic game. It was extremely gratifying when I had my first child and then, later, died and played on as her for the second generation of my playthrough. It was really profound to look back on what had happened over the course of my playthrough and see all the faces of those I had known, those that had died, those who still lived, and the new generation coming up to become the leaders and movers of the world.

I'm curious how the fog-of-war on Encyclopedia info will affect gameplay since I'll miss being able to check out the new monarch of a country and see how they got there. I suppose it'll just pay to talk to everybody you meet at least once. I certainly enjoyed handling the increasing difficulty of managing an increasingly wide-spread country and trying to expand without contracting. A little trick I used for dealing with enemies who could outrun me was to wait for them to try to raid a village and then just jump them while they're vulnerable, for example. Diplomacy's simple but plenty tough and fun for me to deal with. I'm not sure how TaleWorlds can expand upon it while still keeping the core challenge. For example, if I could cement long-term alliances, what's stopping me from doing what I do in most strategy games (ally with everybody I'm not fighting, and then fight my allies one at a time without fear of dealing with them as a coalition)? And if they're too hard to establish or too unreliable, they practically don't exist. As it stands, coalitions naturally occur as a result of one kingdom (usually one too big) getting ganged up on, while alliances and interventions naturally occur when two kingdoms share a common enemy and don't fight each other. The lack of formality in these things does stir me and keep me tense. As long as the foundational A.I. is solid enough, I think it will continue to work well and could become better with smarter tinkering.

The fog-of-war system in the beta actually doesn't really affect gameplay that much. The player starts off with faction rulers fully discovered and you also discover any hero that becomes a faction leader. Plus, you still have full access to map events (enabling you to see the various battles and marriages going on), and the player character discovers all of the participating lords every time you pop into a keep, fight in a tournament, or join a battle without needing to meet all of them on an individual basis.

By mid-late game, you'll usually have discovered all of your neighboring lords by joining tournaments and visiting keeps. The only big annoyance I've had so far is getting a marriage offer and being unable to get more details on the potential match - but yet again, I prefer to proactively arrange dowries and marriages for my relatives.

Although some might argue otherwise, marrying a complete unknown isn't realistic as portraits and messengers often went back and forth multiple times between medieval nobles trying to arrange a marriage, so letting you "discover" the proposed match should definitely be added to the game.
 
The fog-of-war system in the beta actually doesn't really affect gameplay that much. The player starts off with faction rulers fully discovered and you also discover any hero that becomes a faction leader. Plus, you still have full access to map events (enabling you to see the various battles and marriages going on), and the player character discovers all of the participating lords every time you pop into a keep, fight in a tournament, or join a battle without needing to meet all of them on an individual basis.

By mid-late game, you'll usually have discovered all of your neighboring lords by joining tournaments and visiting keeps. The only big annoyance I've had so far is getting a marriage offer and being unable to get more details on the potential match - but yet again, I prefer to proactively arrange dowries and marriages for my relatives.

Although some might argue otherwise, marrying a complete unknown isn't realistic as portraits and messengers often went back and forth multiple times between medieval nobles trying to arrange a marriage, so letting you "discover" the proposed match should definitely be added to the game.
I see. Sounds like it's only really a factor in trying to not get catfished (which could itself be trivialized if you're willing to save-scum, since I am not presently able to press the Encyclopedia button to confirm who's being proposed in marriage while prompted and it's a strain on my eyes to read the tiny written first name and hope there isn't multiple people with that name lol). Good to know monarchs are known at least, but is their clan? Also good to know visiting keeps and doing tournaments just lets you know all of them rather than having to track everybody down one at a time; I was expecting that to be a bit of an annoyance lol.

Aside from immersion, I'm uncertain how it'll really affect gameplay outside of anonymous matchmaking, and I do think it's better if there was transparency in matches being proposed since, realistically, only arranged marriages made at gunpoint would have had one party ignorant of their potential spouse. The ability to press a button to check the prospective wife/husband should have been a thing (maybe it is on other versions, but it isn't a thing on PS4) to begin with, and I think it's silly to impose a fog-of-war on it now. I guess if I'm truly bothered and want to change it "unofficially," save-scumming is always an option lol. :wink:

Actually, I can think of one consistent area where it'd be a factor; tracking down characters. Unless that's still auto-updated every time you enter a city/castle? Because it can be useful strategically to look up where enemy nobles are, and also friendly nobles on occasion. I do know TaleWorlds said they're interested in using the new alley mechanics as a way of parting of the fog-of-war, so I'm curious if that's been implemented or how meaningful it'll be. It would certainly be useful to know how many soldiers/militia are inside a city long distance, at least, and I'd say that sort of information gathering is generally more useful than knowing how many daughters not named Adalindis the dey Fulcun clan has lol. :razz:
 
Except it always felt gamey as you were warned "You've walked into an ambush" and could clearly tell you were in a revamped scene meant just for ambush so it felt artificial. Now imagine your walking around a town scene at night (because for some magical reason -in this world you must actually ENTER cities) and there are still civilians hustling about but maybe, just maybe one or a few of them are bandits, assassins or from an enemy lord also in the same town and they really ambush you while your totally unexpected.
That's how the Hired Assassin in Warband works, and he's placed in the one part of town the player is actually incentivised to visit.
 
Assassins would only work if the player spends more time in normal civilian scenes than on the overworld, but that is just a fundamentally different (but imo much better) game where you stay in one town for much longer periods, and most of your interactions are in settlements and not in the middle of nowhere.
 
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