Bannerlord's roleplaying aspects are quite lackluster, especially if you consider it possibilities. The shift towards randomly generated characters has stripped us of the possibility to have atleast some amount of immersion through more curated storylines and characters.
How do you make characters compelling, despite them being randomly generated? I've played a number of games that tried to answer that question, but the one that did so most succesfully, at least in my opinion, is Crusader Kings 2 (I haven't played 3 yet, probably should)
Crusader Kings, for those that somehow know about Mount and Blade but not Paradox games, is a medieval sandbox grand-strategy where you play as a dinasty, from one character to the next, from 789 to 1453. There are various start dates, so you can see the first years of gameplay being fairly curated, like Charlemagne's events, but soon it all fizzles out and the player is left alone.
The game basically has folders upon folders of events that can happen randomly, provided certain conditions are met: culture, religion, if married, if you're in campaign, as well as specific traits, which also unlock certain choices within these events
Crucially, I want to focus on 3 aspects of CK events:
How do you make characters compelling, despite them being randomly generated? I've played a number of games that tried to answer that question, but the one that did so most succesfully, at least in my opinion, is Crusader Kings 2 (I haven't played 3 yet, probably should)
Crusader Kings, for those that somehow know about Mount and Blade but not Paradox games, is a medieval sandbox grand-strategy where you play as a dinasty, from one character to the next, from 789 to 1453. There are various start dates, so you can see the first years of gameplay being fairly curated, like Charlemagne's events, but soon it all fizzles out and the player is left alone.
The game basically has folders upon folders of events that can happen randomly, provided certain conditions are met: culture, religion, if married, if you're in campaign, as well as specific traits, which also unlock certain choices within these events
Crucially, I want to focus on 3 aspects of CK events:
- They allow to flesh out not just the characters but the world as well, through culture-specific events and more.
- Traits play a significant role in the process. The character gains or loses traits and is given additional option because of one specific trait.
- They can affect relationships, either by slight increases or dramatic changes. Friendships and Rivalries aren't people you have +100 or -100 relations with, they are made and undone with events.