Granting peerage to companions is a great addition that was added from Warband to Bannerlord, but for fundamental reasons as to how the game works and treats individual characters, it has flaws in Bannerlord. Flaws I believe are mendable with a few solutions.
In Warband, the characters never aged and never died. They were all treated as a single person no matter if they had family members written in the lore. In this system, it was a very simple as to who you wanted to grant peerage for, either it was purely practical reasons like nobility or good skills, or sentimental reasons such as long service.
However, in Bannerlord, the practical reasons overtake any sentimentality. Characters age, and people who have served you from the start until your own kingdom might be sixty or older, thus at risk of dying shortly. This might risk the future of the clan as its already small amount of members will be reduced. Moreover, for women companions to be too old as they're granted their own clan, they would no longer be reproductive - reducing the new clan's ability to grow in numbers. Another thing with new clans is a problem also present with rebel clans: bleed-out of women from the original clans. Rebel clans also spawn with only men, so they need spouses from the original clans in the game. This on top of the fact that children always take to the culture of their mother, a clan's culture often becomes a a quilt of patchwork or gets dominated by the largest culture present, imperial culture. I wouldn't name it the biggest issue, for I believe a solution for this is separate from the issue at hand.
So, how would one patch this?
I would suggest that granting peerage to companions would, rather than giving a static tier 2 clan with two additional non-family members as a bonus, count points based on factors that happen during service to the player's clan. Bonus points could be awarded for levels gained during service, years served, and specialization in skills. Levels gained is quite self explanatory - level up and you gain a point; it will reward letting a companion do things - any things from trading to fighting. Years served is an automatic point system, even if you forget a companion in a town for a decade, they will still gain a few points by simply having a steady wage. Specialization in skills would reward players who can develop a companion in a non-cheesed way. If simple skill points would give clan points, an easy solution would be to have a companion train a little bit of everything. Specialization points would be awarded by having a companion excell at one or few skills. It would make companions who are great at fighting as worthy as it would a great charmer. Based on this developmental system, it would no longer be a wise choice to pick up the youngest possible companion of needed culture in the closest tavern and instantly grant them the rank of nobility. It would rather be effective to take companions early on, nurture them and give them lands after years of fruitful service.
Any clan points awarded to a companion as they become a noble would then be converted into clan members and their spawning skills. Based on their age and backstory - for example, The Black of Vlandia says her parents are dead but never mentions the existence or confirms non-existence of siblings or half-siblings - they would gain a family instantly upon being granted a clan. This would fix many of the aforementioned problems, such as the new clan not marrying anyone for they could spawn with a spouse, siblings, parents, children, or son- or daughter-in-laws. These clan members not originally the companion would gain skills much like the children of AI do, some specialize in steward, trade, and other similar traits while others become fighters, and a few are walking gods. All based on the points earned during companion phase. It would also tie in the sentimental value some companions might have to the player. I know many players like to min-max and care little for lore, continuity or storytelling, but I personally like to see a person who's fought for me for decades have a fief, then watch their children and grandchildren take charge of the lands their forefathers were granted by me.
What are your thoughts on granting peerage? Is the current system fine or does it need a little honing? Do my ideas sound reasonable, is there something I missed or did not thing through?
In Warband, the characters never aged and never died. They were all treated as a single person no matter if they had family members written in the lore. In this system, it was a very simple as to who you wanted to grant peerage for, either it was purely practical reasons like nobility or good skills, or sentimental reasons such as long service.
However, in Bannerlord, the practical reasons overtake any sentimentality. Characters age, and people who have served you from the start until your own kingdom might be sixty or older, thus at risk of dying shortly. This might risk the future of the clan as its already small amount of members will be reduced. Moreover, for women companions to be too old as they're granted their own clan, they would no longer be reproductive - reducing the new clan's ability to grow in numbers. Another thing with new clans is a problem also present with rebel clans: bleed-out of women from the original clans. Rebel clans also spawn with only men, so they need spouses from the original clans in the game. This on top of the fact that children always take to the culture of their mother, a clan's culture often becomes a a quilt of patchwork or gets dominated by the largest culture present, imperial culture. I wouldn't name it the biggest issue, for I believe a solution for this is separate from the issue at hand.
So, how would one patch this?
I would suggest that granting peerage to companions would, rather than giving a static tier 2 clan with two additional non-family members as a bonus, count points based on factors that happen during service to the player's clan. Bonus points could be awarded for levels gained during service, years served, and specialization in skills. Levels gained is quite self explanatory - level up and you gain a point; it will reward letting a companion do things - any things from trading to fighting. Years served is an automatic point system, even if you forget a companion in a town for a decade, they will still gain a few points by simply having a steady wage. Specialization in skills would reward players who can develop a companion in a non-cheesed way. If simple skill points would give clan points, an easy solution would be to have a companion train a little bit of everything. Specialization points would be awarded by having a companion excell at one or few skills. It would make companions who are great at fighting as worthy as it would a great charmer. Based on this developmental system, it would no longer be a wise choice to pick up the youngest possible companion of needed culture in the closest tavern and instantly grant them the rank of nobility. It would rather be effective to take companions early on, nurture them and give them lands after years of fruitful service.
Any clan points awarded to a companion as they become a noble would then be converted into clan members and their spawning skills. Based on their age and backstory - for example, The Black of Vlandia says her parents are dead but never mentions the existence or confirms non-existence of siblings or half-siblings - they would gain a family instantly upon being granted a clan. This would fix many of the aforementioned problems, such as the new clan not marrying anyone for they could spawn with a spouse, siblings, parents, children, or son- or daughter-in-laws. These clan members not originally the companion would gain skills much like the children of AI do, some specialize in steward, trade, and other similar traits while others become fighters, and a few are walking gods. All based on the points earned during companion phase. It would also tie in the sentimental value some companions might have to the player. I know many players like to min-max and care little for lore, continuity or storytelling, but I personally like to see a person who's fought for me for decades have a fief, then watch their children and grandchildren take charge of the lands their forefathers were granted by me.
What are your thoughts on granting peerage? Is the current system fine or does it need a little honing? Do my ideas sound reasonable, is there something I missed or did not thing through?
