Ransoming Prisoners

[Spanish_Broomaker]

I always see that all the lords of Calradia have endless troops prisoners in their castles or towns, my question is, why do I need to aggressively take over the castle to liberate them and have them in my service?  In my current game I am Swadian I don't really like Khergits, but we are at peace for the moment, no lords in their side have a bad relationship toward me, I am suggesting to be able to go up to a Khergit lord and pay him a ransom for the 10 Swadian Man-at-arms he has in his castle.  I also noticed some fellow Swadian lords have some prisoners I want in my service.  I figure, why wouldn't they work for me?  Since I liberate them from such a miserable existence like staying in the dungeon of some fat lord!
I think this would lead to lords asking for prisoners I have, I may have Nord Huskarls and some Nord lord wants to liberate them.
How about sides trading enemy lords?  Lords buying an enemy lord from an ally to sell him for more money back to the enemy?  I was thinking, I saw an enemy lord in Nord hands, why can't I ransom him, and hold him for a higher ransom (to make profit).
What do you think?

 

[Jasrock]

It's sure that you could logically, and because you're a Lord, asking other Lords to sell their prisonner or ransom some other. But it's not in the uses and it's a pity for my opinion.

This come from "probably" the oriented way to become a Lord and nothing else. Whatever you trying to become, you're always directed to take the weapons for a king or a claimant. If you do not, this game have some kind of nonsense.

The reason why i talk about this oriented way is because that game is primarily a war game. a thin layer of RPG was sprinkled on top but ... some efforts must be done. (Personal opinion... we're ok on that i think)

We all know that programming each way you could take and their consequence is time consuming. So actually a lord is a warrior who occasionally acomplish some "directed" quests. He can sell some prisonners to a slave hunter or a ransom broker but ONLY the character you're playing can do that.

That's just a nonsense... i agree with you.

OT : We can discuss some hours on the subject of the Lords attitudes. (To much clean, never seen in a town or a village, You're the only Lord to visit a tavern for example.. You'll never find another Lord in... etc...  )

 

[Spanish_Broomaker]

You are right it would depend on the Lord, but money has a way of changing opinions, if I bring 300+ men to this khergit castle and threaten to take his castle if he does not give me a bargain, or if I come peacefully and show a lot of gold, the opinions of these Lords can change.  And I wonder something about your opinion, why would a Lord sell prisoners only to a ransom broker?  If I want a slave I can buy one of the Lord's prisoner farmers, the lord will get the same amount of money if he sells that farmer to a ransom broker, Ramun or me.  Oh and you are right lords wouldn't go to taverns!    So we bargain in the Lord's hall as Lords do. 

 

[Jasrock]

And I wonder something about your opinion, why would a Lord sell prisoners only to a ransom broker?  If I want a slave I can buy one of the Lord's prisoner farmers, the lord will get the same amount of money if he sells that farmer to a ransom broker, Ramun or me.

It's what i'm talking about and we could also buy some prisonners.

Also... There's a kind of nonsense about prisonners... if they not escape from your party or your prisons... what do they become ?  Nothing ! They are jailed until the end of their life... Even if you made peace with the faction you took them from.

So, you become "naturally" a human trader because it's a nonsense to keep those people jailed. There should be a way to release some of them with honour instead of sell them to Ramun or a Ransom broker.

Finally, you could become a ransom broker yourself. Even if you're a Lord. And lord should sell their prisonners too.

Personnally i like to think that in some next versions you can restart the game and playing an adventurer or an assassin, a merchant or whatever existing NPC (Puted aside soldiers)... Each time with some different lifestyle and quests.

Oh and you are right lords wouldn't go to taverns!    So we bargain in the Lord's hall as Lords do. 

Yeah... 

Lord you're playing is a kind of E.T. who have started from scratch to become a respected, charismatic lord in two or three years. This character is the only one to be trapped by bandits, to visit taverns, streets. He's the only one to sometimes trade for pay his troops. To sell prisonners, to hire some heroes, to release some lords after battles... To fight bandits in villages, To improve his fiefs, etc...

And he's the only lord, even if he's the "powerfull" marshall, unable to know how goes the war and where are other lords if he don't ask another lord. (And this asked lord know all.. Even if he's in the opposite part of Calradia, confined alone in his castle, standing near the fireplace) 

Hmmm... there's a thing that other lords do like you... they don't sleep ! 

I can be wrong but... there's some work to do for humans attitudes and logic before improving weapons and gameplay... Am i wrong ?

 

[Skorpion]

Well, it DOES seem unrealistic to have hundreds of prisoners packed into my dungeons while I ransom off the raw recruits and mercenaries. Maybe selling them to other lords would be handy, aside from the 'Bring me X of Y!' quests.

 

[MeestYk]

One of the more exciting part of ransoming should lie at the fact that you should get more denars for selling more important unit types and not 50 denars per units no matter what they are.

Example: 5 denars for looters, 10 denars for recruits, 15 denars for skirmishers, etc...  and more so as more imporant units are sold to the ransom buyers.  You should also be able to sell Lords to the ransom buyers for a hefty  small fortune for turning them in.

Then, having ransom buyers carry on from towns to towns with their prisoners just like caravans.    And guess what, you can attack them too just like caravans and the tax collectors I suggested http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,41727.0.html

 

[Crom The Conqueror]

One of the more exciting part of ransoming should lie at the fact that you should get more denars for selling more important unit types and not 50 denars per units no matter what they are.

Example: 5 denars for looters, 10 denars for recruits, 15 denars for skirmishers, etc...  and more so as more imporant units are sold to the ransom buyers.  You should also be able to sell Lords to the ransom buyers for a hefty  small fortune for turning them in.

Then, having ransom buyers carry on from towns to towns with their prisoners just like caravans.    And guess what, you can attack them too just like caravans and the tax collectors I suggested http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,41727.0.html

I think something along that line would work well for a neutral man hunter factions. Manhunters collect slaves, slaves are brought to a slave master and transported around the world. High reputation with that faction could even result in the ability to buy slaves (purchase soldiers of other factions), lowered prices on said soldiers and the occasional freeing of soldiers from your faction (you would acquire those freed soldiers.)