Well, after several hours with the mod (+ RBM) I've been fighting my way up the ranks as a Vlandian lowlife and I gotta say this is one hell of a way to play the game. Just going out and immediately getting men now seems lame in comparison. Thanks again Bloc!
It's definitely an improvement over the vanilla early game! It's been cool starting out as a nobody and then working up the ranks by charging recklessly into combat against orders to up my kill count (maybe the mod could eventually incentivize other behavior but this works fine now).
Here's a suggestion for
@Bloc - how about instead of randomized skill xp for serving in the army, we pick a persistent camp job that gives consistent xp for a selection of themed skills? (this would be on top of the training/hunting/scouting missions).
Even with tweaks from mods like this, the early game is really hurting for XP for noncombat skills other than scouting/stewardship.
For instance, options under "Ask for a different assignment":
Assist in the infirmary: Medicine + Charm + Athletics
Serve as a page for the commander: Leadership + Tactics + Stewardship
Take guard duty: Roguery + One-Handed + Polearm
Assist the quartermaster: Trade + Stewardship + Engineering
Ride with the vanguard: Scouting + Riding + Bow/Throwing/Crossbow
The default job would only train combat skills.
These jobs could be gated behind different service levels, so anyone can help out in the infirmary but you'd have to get to S2 to be trusted with guarding anything important and you'd need to be Noble-ranked to serve as a page and you'd need a horse to ride with the vanguard.
Also, these jobs would be replaced by becoming a bodyguard - which would grant random skills as usual given its exposure to all aspects of army management.