So, this was a "bug" I posted a while ago, but I believe it is more of a suggestion concerning an oversight rather than a mistake in and of itself.
Summary: While having a discussion about whether the Merry Men perk is working or not (I have seen the option to recruit even though I do not have the perk, so the mechanic seems to be there at least) I realized there exists another issue when said option pops up.
How to Reproduce: Engage bandits/looters and have them surrender.
Quest/Settlement Name (if related): Anywhere there are bandits/looters
Version: Currently on 1.0.10.
Media (Screenshots & Video): Should be unnecessary.
Testing details
Perk status: Roguery 60, Merry Men perk not available
My party:
Unit count: 334 (310 + 21w + companions)
Notables: My self, my wife Manan, Sora the Wanderer, Calatild the Wronged, also apparently carrying our three children (ages zero, zero, and one)...
Troops: 138 infantry, 43 cavalry, 35 mounted archers, 94 ranged...the numbers were more even before these bandit tests
Bug/Oversight: The issue/oversight I've found with bandits surrendering is that you can only loot what they were carrying, not their gear. So if a steppe bandit group surrenders you don't get their weapons, armor, horses, or even their prisoners. Likewise with desert bandits, sea raiders, mountain bandits, forest bandits, and looters. In fact, I did not encounter a group of any of those listed who surrendered and gave me anything more than food and trade goods. I think if I am going to be forced to take prisoners, I should at least disarm them. So, options should be more along the lines of:
Summary: While having a discussion about whether the Merry Men perk is working or not (I have seen the option to recruit even though I do not have the perk, so the mechanic seems to be there at least) I realized there exists another issue when said option pops up.
How to Reproduce: Engage bandits/looters and have them surrender.
Quest/Settlement Name (if related): Anywhere there are bandits/looters
Version: Currently on 1.0.10.
Media (Screenshots & Video): Should be unnecessary.
Testing details
Perk status: Roguery 60, Merry Men perk not available
My party:
Unit count: 334 (310 + 21w + companions)
Notables: My self, my wife Manan, Sora the Wanderer, Calatild the Wronged, also apparently carrying our three children (ages zero, zero, and one)...
Troops: 138 infantry, 43 cavalry, 35 mounted archers, 94 ranged...the numbers were more even before these bandit tests
Bug/Oversight: The issue/oversight I've found with bandits surrendering is that you can only loot what they were carrying, not their gear. So if a steppe bandit group surrenders you don't get their weapons, armor, horses, or even their prisoners. Likewise with desert bandits, sea raiders, mountain bandits, forest bandits, and looters. In fact, I did not encounter a group of any of those listed who surrendered and gave me anything more than food and trade goods. I think if I am going to be forced to take prisoners, I should at least disarm them. So, options should be more along the lines of:
- Take us on as hired fighters?
- Very well (More fodder for the army!)
- You think I'm daft?
- So that's how it is, is it? (Fight! Yay, loot!)
- No fight. (All bandits should appear as potential prisoner options with the typical weapon, mount, food, and trade goods loot options. All bandit prisoners should appear as potential troops)
- Post surrender option, possibly on the prisoner screen: Execute bandits for their crimes. There should be no faction/relationship hits for this. Perhaps an influence and/or relationship gain, dependant upon whose territory that you're in. (Armor also gets added to the loot options.)
- No, pay for your crimes.
- So that's how it is, is it? (Fight! Yay, loot!)
- In that case, we surrender. (Same as the 'You think I'm daft' option above.)
- Never mind. (Why is this even an option? I mean, if they approached us we wouldn't be able to just leave. I could understand the option for a notable, army, or caravan, but bandits?)
- Perhaps add an option to take all of their loot/weapons/armor/mounts/prisoners in order to allow them to leave while still free and breathing.
- Make one of the options, either "You think I'm daft?" or "No, pay for your crimes." force a battle.
- I have observed bandit and looter parties numbering in the single digits surrender almost every time I managed to corner them. I've had to search for numbers in the double digits to have a decent chance of getting into an actual fight (with no recruitment option or with the justice option) so that my troops could get experience and even some of those surrendered without any action. This is a good thing as I would expect small parties to yield to larger ones unless the option of surrender was taken away and their life was as stake.
- When I choose daft/justice, it seems a bit random if they surrender or put up a fight. I've had parties of 25+ surrender when I wanted to fight, and parties of 6 that chose to fight my 300+.
- If multiple bandit parties are engaged at the same time, and the party you initialized the engagement with (the party you speak to) surrenders, the loot options appear as above for that party only. Once back on the map the other parties that had engaged with the primary remain as individual parties. If the main party attempts to get recruited then attacks as per daft and justice options (when they don't just surrender), all enemy parties engage in the battle as expected.
- I believe each party should have the opportunity to ask to be recruited/surrender if that is the route that they would have chosen individually based upon their combined strength instead of the strength of their party alone.
