My no-manhunters game - short story

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Probably a boring story but for anyone curious / bored -

I started out in the Rhodok kingdom, with my usual favorite built: Father a noble, early life noble in training, became troubador, left out of sense of duty. This gives me 6 leadership with only 10 charisma, which is a pretty strong early advantage. I take a couple points in looting, some combat skills, path finding, spotting. Starting in Rhodok kingdom, I get a violin(troubador) which I just kind of like having for dorky RP reasons, along with a hunting crossbow and bolts which is a very practical early game weapon.

I kill a bandit, talk to a merchant with a kidnapped brother and take his job offer, the usual. I roam the world killing the occasional group of looters or deserters that I feel I can handle - leveling up as well as making a decent profit and improving my gear - and search the taverns for companions. I eventually gather Firentis, Marnid, Borcha, Artimenner, Lezalit, Matheld, my usual small crew.

I handle the merchant's kidnapping problem, then I'm free of obligations. I hunt more easily handled bad guys, gearing up my companions a bit. Then I start to think about building my early game army - or warband, I suppose. The ideal choice is obvious to me - fill my party with standard recruits, level them up to tier 2/3 infantry and archers, and mob bandit groups with manhunter prisoners so I can start amassing my usual manhunter bandit stomping force(sweet revenge) from. But I decide not to go that route. I want to do something different this time.

I review the troop trees. For a variety of questionable reasons, I decide I'm just going to go for pure heavy cavalry. I go with the khergits. It's simple, but seems effective enough at least against bandits and deserters.

I join the Vaegirs after getting an offer from their King. I help them out in some minor battles. Things are going well except that as my cavalry are leveling up they're becoming increasingly expensive. I'm not bringing much in, and while I can stay even I'm not getting a good enough start on my enterprises and land purchasing that will fund me for the rest of the game. So I release my warband after helping another Vaegir lord in battle, giving him all my troops excluding of course companions.

I'm going to want to take a city for the income, so I'm thinking I'll go the easy route of attrition via archers. I gather vaegir recruits. I've got most of them up to tier 3-4 archers when I run into bandits that I can't pay off. I'm not too worried, it's about an even battle.  The battle begins, and I soon realize my error. I hadn't seen the bandits' troops before battle. A wave of manhunters, of all things, crashes into my line of archers. This is bad... I end up losing and being captured. I should've probably tried to go for an escape mid-battle but I was being sloppy and it cost me. One of the things taken after battle, my steppe charger that I'd been holding for when I'd get enough riding skill to use it. I save, and exit the game in frustration.

Considering starting a fresh game, it's been forever since I've actually been captured in this game and this particular experiment of sorts is feeling like a failure.


 
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