Poll: To What Degree do you Roleplay Your Character?

[eardstapa]

I roleplay character in historical way
normans when vlandia, kiev rus when sturgia
and wear historical armor as possible

 

[Benjamin Bones]

I don't role play at all. I'm a 40+ year old man and I usually make a 20yo girl who murders all her husbands and has like 10 babies(until TW nerf it...).
But I feel the character has come to life on it own over many many games. You see a screen cap with Kegels and you know you're in for some ****ing ??
and shenanigans that probably shouldn't be allowed in the game.

 

[RoyBread]

I roleplay heavily in most games but M&B lacks the in-game flavor for it in my opinion, so I just enjoy it as a medieval warfare simulator.

 

[Javalon]

Oh i'm number 4 all the way lmao! Okay, maybe number 3, I didn't handcraft anything xD HOWEVER, I did handWRITE my characters backstory etc, not much, just put together notes and general storyline. I won't write any of my actual gameplay, creating an in-depth backstory helps to immerse me into the game so that everything after feels like actual memories.

I'm fairly new to the game, but have had a couple mid-playthroughs to get to grips with the systems and have now started a full fledged campaign that I will see through to the end.

I wanted to go down the 'true heir' route, so had a vague idea but finished the story when choosing my characters childhood etc in game, and it all came together nicely. Even managed to get a half decent anagram going for the name. Here goes!

My story:
The late emperor Arenicos, before his passing, had a mistress. Unbeknownst to all, even to him, his mistress bore a him bastard child, Arenicos' first. A son. Following the emperor's death, knowing that the child would likely be in danger all his life, she smuggled the boy out of Empire territory, striking south into her Aserai homeland. She'd had little time to plan her flight, and as such had little food. What little she did have she gave to the boy, as her health slowly deteriorated.

A pair of [Parent choice: Aserai Faction, Warrior-Slaves] recently-freed slaves were making their way back to their home settlement of Zalm, south of Askar, when they came upon the woman on the brink of death. As she begged them to save her child's life, she whispered to the man the true nature of the boy, along with the name she'd given him, and pleaded him to never reveal this secret. The woman succumbed to the elements that night, and the man made a silent oath to protect this boy as if he was his own.

The boys name, was Caseinor.

[Selected choices that focused on trade, tactics, steward and leadership, coming up with a man that would be honourable, generous, quick-minded and generally a good future leader]

[Using the main campaign quest as a launch into the story]

24 years later.

One night, a roving band of raiders stormed the village, killing all in their path. Caseinor and his family stood in their hut, barricading the door, but from the screams outside Caseinor's father knew it was pointless. He drew Caseinor close, and whispered the truth. The truth about his real parents, the truth about his name.
Caseinor.
Arenicos.
It was the same.
Caseinor was the true heir to the throne of the Calradic Empire, and may be the last hope of ending the civil war, saving countless lives and restoring peace to the lands.

At that point several arrows shattered through the thin hide walls, taking his father in the throat. The door burst open and without pause a massive raider charged in, sweeping a broad sword, slicing Caseinor's face [Scar selected]. Caseinor's vision turned red, his world nothing but a blur of pain and fear. He heard his mother scream as she was impaled on the raiders sword. The sound woke something within him, something primal; this was the woman that had raised him, regardless of true blood. He reached for a length of wood from the shattered door frame and swung hard at the raiders head, hearing a sharp crack as the wood connected with the bone of his skull. The thug dropped without another sound. Breathing fast, Caseinor looked around at his siblings, gathered some supplies and drew the others close to whisper rapid instructions; they raced out into the town square and were about to dart into the treeline when arrows screamed into their path. Caseinor and his brother continued to run, but their younger two siblings froze in their tracks, terrified beyond reason. Caseinor bellowed at them to keep moving, but it was too late. The raiders were upon them. He had enough time to see a large brute heft the two children over each shoulder, as three raiders raced towards Caseinor and his brother. Unarmed, there was no choice. They turned and ran.

[Haven't actually done much of the main quest yet so lets skip the brother going to find someone or whatever]

After they parted ways, Caseinor made a decision. These lands needed protecting, needed to be saved from the petty squabbles of the lords and their nobles. Their egos were resulting in the death of thousands, it had to be stopped. Whether he liked it or not, the fate of the lands had been thrust into his hands.

Sitting at a tavern in Husn Fulq, Caseinor put together a plan, or at least a series of objectives that would bring him closer to restoring peace to the land. First, he needed money and arms. His skill with numbers [Aptitude for numbers in childhood selected] meant trading came easy to him. Next he would need men he could trust, companions to lend advice and offer diverse skills. He would need to make a name for himself, gaining powerful allies for the battle to come. He would need an army, settlements of his own for them to live and feed, and he would need defensive positions too. A solid plan forming, he finished off his ale and headed to bed. After all, taking over the world required a good rest.



BONUS EXTRA: 50 years later
Caseinor Won every battle, killed all enemies, and now rules the world. Unfortunately watching the slaughter of his family broke his mind, so he killed all allies too. He never remembered to go find his siblings. Teh end!

 

[stevepine]

Oh i'm number 4 all the way lmao! Okay, maybe number 3, I didn't handcraft anything xD HOWEVER, I did handWRITE my characters backstory etc, not much, just put together notes and general storyline. I won't write any of my actual gameplay, creating an in-depth backstory helps to immerse me into the game so that everything after feels like actual memories.

I'm fairly new to the game, but have had a couple mid-playthroughs to get to grips with the systems and have now started a full fledged campaign that I will see through to the end.

I wanted to go down the 'true heir' route, so had a vague idea but finished the story when choosing my characters childhood etc in game, and it all came together nicely. Even managed to get a half decent anagram going for the name. Here goes!

My story:
The late emperor Arenicos, before his passing, had a mistress. Unbeknownst to all, even to him, his mistress bore a him bastard child, Arenicos' first. A son. Following the emperor's death, knowing that the child would likely be in danger all his life, she smuggled the boy out of Empire territory, striking south into her Aserai homeland. She'd had little time to plan her flight, and as such had little food. What little she did have she gave to the boy, as her health slowly deteriorated.

A pair of [Parent choice: Aserai Faction, Warrior-Slaves] recently-freed slaves were making their way back to their home settlement of Zalm, south of Askar, when they came upon the woman on the brink of death. As she begged them to save her child's life, she whispered to the man the true nature of the boy, along with the name she'd given him, and pleaded him to never reveal this secret. The woman succumbed to the elements that night, and the man made a silent oath to protect this boy as if he was his own.

The boys name, was Caseinor.

[Selected choices that focused on trade, tactics, steward and leadership, coming up with a man that would be honourable, generous, quick-minded and generally a good future leader]

[Using the main campaign quest as a launch into the story]

24 years later.

One night, a roving band of raiders stormed the village, killing all in their path. Caseinor and his family stood in their hut, barricading the door, but from the screams outside Caseinor's father knew it was pointless. He drew Caseinor close, and whispered the truth. The truth about his real parents, the truth about his name.
Caseinor.
Arenicos.
It was the same.
Caseinor was the true heir to the throne of the Calradic Empire, and may be the last hope of ending the civil war, saving countless lives and restoring peace to the lands.

At that point several arrows shattered through the thin hide walls, taking his father in the throat. The door burst open and without pause a massive raider charged in, sweeping a broad sword, slicing Caseinor's face [Scar selected]. Caseinor's vision turned red, his world nothing but a blur of pain and fear. He heard his mother scream as she was impaled on the raiders sword. The sound woke something within him, something primal; this was the woman that had raised him, regardless of true blood. He reached for a length of wood from the shattered door frame and swung hard at the raiders head, hearing a sharp crack as the wood connected with the bone of his skull. The thug dropped without another sound. Breathing fast, Caseinor looked around at his siblings, gathered some supplies and drew the others close to whisper rapid instructions; they raced out into the town square and were about to dart into the treeline when arrows screamed into their path. Caseinor and his brother continued to run, but their younger two siblings froze in their tracks, terrified beyond reason. Caseinor bellowed at them to keep moving, but it was too late. The raiders were upon them. He had enough time to see a large brute heft the two children over each shoulder, as three raiders raced towards Caseinor and his brother. Unarmed, there was no choice. They turned and ran.

[Haven't actually done much of the main quest yet so lets skip the brother going to find someone or whatever]

After they parted ways, Caseinor made a decision. These lands needed protecting, needed to be saved from the petty squabbles of the lords and their nobles. Their egos were resulting in the death of thousands, it had to be stopped. Whether he liked it or not, the fate of the lands had been thrust into his hands.

Sitting at a tavern in Husn Fulq, Caseinor put together a plan, or at least a series of objectives that would bring him closer to restoring peace to the land. First, he needed money and arms. His skill with numbers [Aptitude for numbers in childhood selected] meant trading came easy to him. Next he would need men he could trust, companions to lend advice and offer diverse skills. He would need to make a name for himself, gaining powerful allies for the battle to come. He would need an army, settlements of his own for them to live and feed, and he would need defensive positions too. A solid plan forming, he finished off his ale and headed to bed. After all, taking over the world required a good rest.



BONUS EXTRA: 50 years later
Caseinor Won every battle, killed all enemies, and now rules the world. Unfortunately watching the slaughter of his family broke his mind, so he killed all allies too. He never remembered to go find his siblings. Teh end!

Haha that's impressive!

Thanks for sharing that. It was fun and quite interesting to read!

 

[Bluko88]

IDK if I "roleplay" very much, well there really isn't much way to roleplay other then whatever you decide to headcanon.

Most of my characters are just created to try a "playstyle" of some kind. And as quickly as I create them, I abandon them too, usually when I get bored or something causes me to rage quit. Considering the game is basically still in a Beta phase, I think it's silly to really get attached/roleplay any character at this point. I've got a couple "keepers" right now because campaigns have gone fairly well, but honestly some of them are from such old patches I don't think it's wise to continue with.

I got fairly attached to one Imperial character I created early on (save is literally gone/corrupted at this point LOL), but the fact the main quest timed-out on me (this was before Quest day logging existing) just really pissed me off. So for me, I ain't going to take anything seriously til TW gets this game in some kind of decent order. Honestly if I lost all my saves right now, don't even think I would be bothered.


That said I usually do layout some ground rules with my characters. i.e.

• Make a "Boy Scout" character who's always honorable, does right thing, no raiding, no executing.
• Make a "Warlord" character who has 0 qualms about raiding and pillaging, or in general being dastardly. (Would like to be able to execute, but it's so poorly implemented at this point not worth it)

So that's the extent I roleplay. Truthfully this game is not much of an RPG right now other then fact it has levels. All the characters are just mindless bots that hardly to react anything at all. The fact donating prisoners is probably the best way to become friends with a Lord is rather laughable.

Bannerlord has the potential to be a pretty decent sandbox RPG - especially with its Traits concept. Companions, family, lords - all need to react to what you do and what other Lords do. If you're playing a "pirate" type character honest/merciful companions should not like raiding (yes, sort of implemented right now) and eventually get mad enough that they abandon your Clan. Same for family or even Lords in your Army.

We're starting to see the beginnings of this with army members that will react positively/negatively based on how you treat a captured settlement. So this gives me *some* hope, if TW can deliver, and doesn't just release the game after adding 2 more Battanian boot sets.

Though if TW was a pizza delivery chain their motto would be: "30 years or it's free!"

 

[geala]

I roleplay very little, sadly. I have modded the Aserai to have a mixed character, the normal troops are mostly unarmored black tribal warriors, from which my char stems. I recruit only from them and only wear pieces which are used by them, so do my companions from that culture. My cavalry only comes from prisoners. I don't use horsearchers because they are not typical (it's always hard to donate or sell a bunch of Khan Guards ...). I do not use smithing because I'm a warrior and not a crafter.

It's difficult to roleplay the politics and relations. For example I would like to hunt down and punish nobles who raid my villages which is barely possible due to the big disadvantages. I would like to develop and interact with my fiefs much more, but there are few possibilities and not much time usually (despite using a diplomacy mods with forced peace periods).

 

[Honved]

I usually come up with a basic back-story, then flesh it out as the game goes.

Example: Character is the offspring of parents from two different factions. The character will build and try to maintain good relations with those two factions, and will be honorable and helpful to their citizens. The other factions are "fair game", and the player will not recruit troops from them, including freed prisoners. The in-game character creation choices are made, and the character then plays mostly to his or her stronger traits, at least for a while until/unless an in-game situation calls for a change.

The game really doesn't provide much feedback to support RP, especially if you're attempting to do anything outside of an aspiring warlord or mercenary, so it's about 90% "in your head". Without at least some RP, the game is nothing more than a battle generator.

 

[Moth_Queen]

I always roleplay as a smith.

 

[stevepine]

Good to see that those of us who really care about immersion, the world, and roleplaying are in the vast majority.

 

[Danny5]

Ik a lot of people, (including me) role plays, comes up with own back story of their characters, but we all do that cause the game doesn't have any rp, which is disappointing

 

[black_bulldog]

Unless I'm playing as Genghis Khan or Attila the Hun who lives for battle there's no rping in this game for me. The way the game constantly forces you to fight useless battle after battle pretty much kills that aspect for me.

 

[Kazzan]

I roleplay my character as a hyper intelligent mastermind that optimizes the fun out of my game.

And I don't think roleplaying equals backstory. I do think Bannerlord lacks systems to make the emergent narrative engaging.

 

[Legolas Mirkwood]

No details for roleplay?

 

[anoddhermit]

If I were really roleplaying my character as myself... I'd spend the whole game just chilling in a tavern in one of the safest cities lol.

I do some very minor level things, like make my character look somewhat like me and have a few limitations on what he will and won't do rather than being purely power gamey about everything.

I think some areas of the game need to be fleshed out more to really facilitate role playing - being a trader or bandit or merc are all pretty dull and limiting - but I understand why conquestin' 'round the world is the main focus.

 

[Death Knell]

There is little reason for me to RP my characters due to limited content (equipment, flare) and several cities are flawed.

 

[Moton]

I do try to roleplay but it's almost entirely in my imagination. Never try to "cheese" the game, try to play in a way that feels sort of 'realistic'.

Same here. I make upp rules that makes it interesting.