Well after a while playing singleplayer Warband, one thing has stuck out in my head: Despite having a "marriage" and "Diplomatic" system for those with there own kingdom, there is very little political depth. Take marriage for example, as it is all you can do is marry and have your husband/wife sit there; it makes no major gameplay difference to get married. It was common for Lords to give some of their lands to their daughters grooms back in the period this seems to be set, yet they give you nothing. Death is also a major issue, many players prefer it when Lords, and even the player, can either be slain in battle or executed if captured; now I'm not saying make it so that everytime somebody is knocked out they die, determine the chances of death by both the companions + players surgery skills, and the amount of luck the player has remaining. When the player falls dead in battle there could be some kind of cutscene of the funeral, and then a screen where it tells of your accomplishments, and how people remember the player. If executed, instead of a funeral, maybe see the players head on a pike, and then have the screen pop up and tell all that stuff I mentioned before. If a the lord who is the father of the player's spouse dies, then the player and his spouse would receive a portion of his land, depending on A) how many offspring the lord had; and B) How good of friends the Lord and the Player were. Maybe an option to "try for a child" would be a good thing to add as well, and if successful, an heir would be born, who after your death, will receive all lands and titles, and could possibly be taken control of by the player. The player could also marry off sons/daughters to other lords/ladies, and relinquish any possible control over them, making them npc lords/ladies in their faction, and paying the player an amount of cash that depends on the territory owned, and renown of the player.
I feel a few changes to Diplomacy could be made to enhance the game also. As it is your only options are to send emissaries for peace, and to declare somebody a traitor. The diplomatic system would be much more effective if options such as "Declare Trade Embargo, Declare War, Ask for Peace, Set up advanced trade routes to..., Send out carvans, Pay money into the economy, Assassinate [Lords Name], Send spies to [City/ Lord's name], Train/recruit Spies, & Train/recruit Soldiers" a few more building options would be nice, as well such as " Build Barracks, Renovate Castle/ Lords Hall (have 3 levels of renovation, and each one makes it bigger, and increases renown) Build New Tavern, Build church, Expand Farmlands, Build Merchant's Guild, Build Assassin's Guild (they could be spies, as well), Build Armory(store weapons), build Fletcher's/Weaponsmith/Blacksmith (Produces weapons & armor; This would make it so that in order to recruit troops into the barracks, you would require to have enough equipment; this could be the system of limiting recruits in towns/castles), & build mercenary's Guild". The use of the Assassin is my favorite, because an untimely ending to the life of your spouse's father could be arranged if you want his lands
Well that's all I have, any feedback on these idea's would be appreciated.