It would be really cool to have the factions change over time, have quest lines and stuff that could affect the factions, stuff like that. The lore seems to support these sorts of possibilities. Hell, it already sort of did in Warband, sadly the gameplay didn't represent this.
The Vlandians seem to be almost made for this.
As we know, Vlandia is what the Swadians and Rhodoks were before they split. This means that it would make sense to have this schism represented in the game, perhaps growing over time.
The blog once described them as having transitioned from a tribal to a feudal society. This makes a lot of sense when we look at their descendants in M&B1. The Rhodoks don't even seem to have ever been fully feudalised.
To me, the Vlandian kingdom could be split into three distinct groups:
1. The Highlanders
Rugged people from the mountains. Tough as nails, but perhaps a little behind the times. They stick to old Vlandian traditions, have a fairly flat and loose hierarchy, and rely on old systems like tribal/village assemblies resembling the old Germanic Thing.
In M&B1/Warband, these would be represented by the Rhodok melee units. These people never truly were under proper Calradian rule, although mostly because there's so little going on in the mountains that they were never seen as being worth conquering. Instead, the Empire secured trade routes through the lower lands and mountain passes using forts and other checkpoints, and recruited their oftentimes impetuous young men as auxiliaries.
2. The Lowlanders/Burghers
While culturally close to the highlanders, they developed in a very different direction. Their velvet manufacturing and access to seas towards the west (Balion?) made them far wealthier and urbanised, although in many ways they hung on to their old traditions.
This wealth did not go unnoticed. Eventually, these people came under imperial rule, although it was relatively loose in nature. They did benefit from imperial knowledge and organisation, gaining a penchant of their own for military technology. Their Crossbows especially would become a defining aspect of their fighting men.
3. The "Swadians"
My personal theory is that Swadia is not really Vlandian home territory. As the Empire declined, their control over Vlandia loosened to a point where all the lands were truly independent. However, the Empire had left a major mark on Vlandians.
Now sophisticated in their own right and extremely capable militarily, the Vlandians on campaign (under Imperial Command) had not only excelled on foot, but proven themselves on horseback as well.
With Imperial rule gone, and also fragmenting beyond Vlandian borders, many saw an opportunity to push into the flatlands of Swadia and conquer these territories for the fledgling kingdom of Vlandia.
Their cavalry tactics proved supreme in this more flat region, and they quickly conquered these vulnerable lands.
For the first time, non-Vlandians were under Vlandian rule. Their new lords saw them self in a sense as carrying on the ways of the Empire, seeing the bickering rulers of Calradia as having lost their way.
They took control over existing structures, "Calradifying" themselves over time - perhaps to the point that the ruling class began to speak the Imperial tongue instead of Vlandian.
Seeing themselves as the new rightful rulers of Calradia, the lords now try to push further inland, while trying to exert their influence over the rest of Vlandia, despite a growing cultural divergence.
The new kingdom, barely established, already seems to be destabilising...
Obviously this is all speculation, but having some added complexity within the factions could add a ton of replay value.
Say for example you want to destroy the Vlandians. You could divide and conquer, splitting up Vlandia into two or three separate factions before taking them on.
Or perhaps you are a filthy kettle-wearing Rhodok (like me), and you want to free your people from the rule of a group that seems increasingly unrelated to you, and demands more control than ever before. If every faction had such things going on, it would be amazing.
The Vlandians seem to be almost made for this.
As we know, Vlandia is what the Swadians and Rhodoks were before they split. This means that it would make sense to have this schism represented in the game, perhaps growing over time.
The blog once described them as having transitioned from a tribal to a feudal society. This makes a lot of sense when we look at their descendants in M&B1. The Rhodoks don't even seem to have ever been fully feudalised.
To me, the Vlandian kingdom could be split into three distinct groups:
1. The Highlanders
Rugged people from the mountains. Tough as nails, but perhaps a little behind the times. They stick to old Vlandian traditions, have a fairly flat and loose hierarchy, and rely on old systems like tribal/village assemblies resembling the old Germanic Thing.
In M&B1/Warband, these would be represented by the Rhodok melee units. These people never truly were under proper Calradian rule, although mostly because there's so little going on in the mountains that they were never seen as being worth conquering. Instead, the Empire secured trade routes through the lower lands and mountain passes using forts and other checkpoints, and recruited their oftentimes impetuous young men as auxiliaries.
2. The Lowlanders/Burghers
While culturally close to the highlanders, they developed in a very different direction. Their velvet manufacturing and access to seas towards the west (Balion?) made them far wealthier and urbanised, although in many ways they hung on to their old traditions.
This wealth did not go unnoticed. Eventually, these people came under imperial rule, although it was relatively loose in nature. They did benefit from imperial knowledge and organisation, gaining a penchant of their own for military technology. Their Crossbows especially would become a defining aspect of their fighting men.
3. The "Swadians"
My personal theory is that Swadia is not really Vlandian home territory. As the Empire declined, their control over Vlandia loosened to a point where all the lands were truly independent. However, the Empire had left a major mark on Vlandians.
Now sophisticated in their own right and extremely capable militarily, the Vlandians on campaign (under Imperial Command) had not only excelled on foot, but proven themselves on horseback as well.
With Imperial rule gone, and also fragmenting beyond Vlandian borders, many saw an opportunity to push into the flatlands of Swadia and conquer these territories for the fledgling kingdom of Vlandia.
Their cavalry tactics proved supreme in this more flat region, and they quickly conquered these vulnerable lands.
For the first time, non-Vlandians were under Vlandian rule. Their new lords saw them self in a sense as carrying on the ways of the Empire, seeing the bickering rulers of Calradia as having lost their way.
They took control over existing structures, "Calradifying" themselves over time - perhaps to the point that the ruling class began to speak the Imperial tongue instead of Vlandian.
Seeing themselves as the new rightful rulers of Calradia, the lords now try to push further inland, while trying to exert their influence over the rest of Vlandia, despite a growing cultural divergence.
The new kingdom, barely established, already seems to be destabilising...
Obviously this is all speculation, but having some added complexity within the factions could add a ton of replay value.
Say for example you want to destroy the Vlandians. You could divide and conquer, splitting up Vlandia into two or three separate factions before taking them on.
Or perhaps you are a filthy kettle-wearing Rhodok (like me), and you want to free your people from the rule of a group that seems increasingly unrelated to you, and demands more control than ever before. If every faction had such things going on, it would be amazing.