This is a time of war – a time of bloodshed and pillage, of destruction and ruin, of plague and fire. Chaos is at the Gates.
Chaos at the Gates is an attempt to bring a darker atmosphere and a more consistent level of technology to Mount and Blade. It's not intended to be a huge modification, radically changing the gameplay. However it is intended to create a more gripping and enjoyable experience.
Factions:
Swadia: Although scholars might futilely argue whether the Swadians were an invading people during the collapse of the old Empire, or if the feudal system that they use to raise their armies was simply a development of the old ways, the Swadian kingdom certainly grew in the power vacuum of the time. During its height the Kingdom of Swadia was nearly the same size as the Calradian Empire, however during these dark days cracks are showing.
On the battlefield the Swadians rely on their heavy cavalry to punch a hole through enemy lines. The Swadian nobility have perhaps the best armour in Calradia, and are trained from birth at the lance and sword. In order to make up numbers on campaign, infantry and crossbowmen are levied from Swadian fiefs. Although sometimes they're simply used as arrow-fodder, the image of a grinning Swadian footman bearing a voulge has been many soldiers last.
Vaegirs: Without a doubt the Vaegirs are a native people of Calradia, as evidenced by their ethnic ties across the mountains. After any resistance was crushed by the Calradian Emperors, the Vaegirs were used as auxilary troops in their legions and otherwise left to look after their own affairs. With it's fall, however, their lands came to the attention of the Swadian nobles, and many soon found themselves serfs to a foreign lord. More kings of Swadia have met their deaths trying to put down a Vaegir uprising than have died peacefully in their sleep, and it's of no surprise that the Vaegir clans have seized on the fracturing of the Swadian kingdom to try and claim their independence once more.
The tribes of the Vaegirs are fiercely territorial, each fief ruled over by a "Boyar", roughly the equivalent to a knight in Swadia, but more lightly armoured and also proficient in the recurve bows that all Vaegir are fond of. In defence of the clan a boyar can call on all men of age to volunteer to defend their lands, and most adults are skilled at archery. Vaegir lords prefer ambushes to the set battles of the Swadians, and when direct confrontation is inevitable the Vaegirs often retreat into the old fortresses left behind by the Empire and wait for the hit and run attacks of neighbouring tribes to wear down any besieging force, a recent example of which is the death of Gundig Hairy-Breeks and the destruction of his army at the Rock of Rivacheg.
Nords:
The Nords bear many similarities to the armies of Swadia, part of the reason that learned men suspect them of being related. They have come to raid the coast of these lands for as long as records can tell us, the sight of their dragonship's sails on the horizon striking fear into Calradian emperors and Swadian kings alike. In fact the Emperor recruited them to his cause, giving the Nords a small strip of land along the coast, so that they would crew his galleys. Gundig Hairy-Breeks, the King of the Nords, has used what the skalds told him was his inheritance as an excuse to launch an invasion attempt, before his death.
Unlike the Swadians, the Nords do not field any horsemen, perhaps because they would likely perish on the crossing from whatever land they leave in their dragonships. Instead their infantry deploys in a deep line with shields overlapping, called a war-hedge by some. Most of their soldiers are levied for the season, and known as fyrdsmen, and are armed with spears and shields. The professional soldiers of a raiding force are the king's huskarls, who are often armed with fearsome two handed axes for breaking apart enemy formations.
Rhodoks: The Rhodoks are seen by Swadians as being worse than scum. Part an ethnic group, part a group of philosophical and theological thinkers, the Rhodoks were once a tribe under the Emperor who took his coin. However when they found themselves vassals to the Swadians - "under the Swadian yoke" as they put it, the peasantry rose up against their lords and butchered them to a man, their rallying cry "Bakke before tyme beganne, who was thanne a gentilman?"
When forced to repel a Swadian lord's attempt to crush the independent Rhodok state, the people of the towns and villages arm themselves to defend against them. They try and only fight on marshy terrain which puts enemy cavalry at a disadvantage, and use ranks of spear men to push back the charges, supported by the famously well trained crossbowmen. The "Goedendag" is a spiked club usually associated with the Rhodok rebellion, as more than a few would be lords have had their skulls crushed by a fearsome blow from one.
Khergits: The Khergits have traditionally been thought of as hill tribesman, bringing their herds down from the mountains to graze during the winter months. However only lately have scholars truly learnt of the nature of the Khergit people, steppe nomads from beyond the peaks of Calradia's borders. We only know this from reports that their own lands beyond the mountains have come under attack from a "Great Horde", whose size is no doubt extremely exaggerated. In any case, what is known is that the Khergits have been migrating over the mountains in increasing numbers, attacking and capturing what were once Vaegir lands.
The Khergits use the same tactics as all steppe peoples, with most of their forces being composed of horse archers, with an elite of heavy cataphracts being used to smash apart any remaining resistance. Obviously, of course, their tactics are unsuited for the siege warfare of Calradia, and so they are hardly the threat that rumour makes them out to be.
v0.3 Release;- Primary Download. This release works for both version 0.960 and 0.955. However now that the module system is out we are re-writing the mod from scratch and developing brand new features, so for v0.960 there are several bugs - battle sounds do not work, some shields are bugged and the like.
Without further-ado, some eye candy:
Right now we're looking for contributions to the mod, graphical, audio, code and any other contributions will be welcome! The screenshots are of a Work in Progress, and everything in them is liable to change in a moment.
Credits to:
Tostig - Mod Leader and Texturer
Ursca - Contributing Texturer and Modeller, and also a great all round help
gutekfiutek - Dark texture set incorporated with permisssion.
And those that are contributing but don't have content ingame yet:
Cymro - Mod Coder
Raz - Contributing Modeller
Pagan - Contributing score writer
Winter, Yoshi, Feer, Foosh, and the other IRC denizens.
All content may only be used with permission of the origional creator and they must be credited. If you are unsure of who authored a certain piece I strongly suggest that you contact me.
sorry, it looked like it at first. 
