I reached the point where I built up a warband and enough reputation to join a faction, and was handed the decrepit remains of a village for doing so. After about half a dozen or more village quests and an improvement or two over a 6 month span, it's still in only about one small notch better condition: still poor and neglected. Do I need to make more improvements, do more quests, or what?
I also helped a few of my faction's Lords in battles, and slaughtered (or captured) hordes of deserters and bandits, including assisting in a couple of successful sieges. At that point, with a reputation in the 200-300 range, about 30 relations with the king, and around 50 men, I felt confident enough to conduct my own siege, and promptly did so twice, managing to eke out a couple of wins (not cheap in terms of manpower). I requested each of the castles in turn as a fief, but was denied and handed the pittance of a few hundered Denars instead.
What do I need to do to reach the next stage, where I've got either a town or a castle and can garrison some of my troops, instead of needing to drag my entire force around with me? I seem to be stuck at 50 or so men and one run-down village (with 50+ relations). Do relations with the other Lords within the faction come into play (most are neutral, one likes me and one still dislikes me from the time I joined), or just with the king and faction? The game guides really don't explain the concepts of what you need to do, they only list the missions and quests, and how to complete them, without telling you WHY you need to do them. The tutorials and guides offer several ways to get to this point, but not what to do when you get here.
I also helped a few of my faction's Lords in battles, and slaughtered (or captured) hordes of deserters and bandits, including assisting in a couple of successful sieges. At that point, with a reputation in the 200-300 range, about 30 relations with the king, and around 50 men, I felt confident enough to conduct my own siege, and promptly did so twice, managing to eke out a couple of wins (not cheap in terms of manpower). I requested each of the castles in turn as a fief, but was denied and handed the pittance of a few hundered Denars instead.
What do I need to do to reach the next stage, where I've got either a town or a castle and can garrison some of my troops, instead of needing to drag my entire force around with me? I seem to be stuck at 50 or so men and one run-down village (with 50+ relations). Do relations with the other Lords within the faction come into play (most are neutral, one likes me and one still dislikes me from the time I joined), or just with the king and faction? The game guides really don't explain the concepts of what you need to do, they only list the missions and quests, and how to complete them, without telling you WHY you need to do them. The tutorials and guides offer several ways to get to this point, but not what to do when you get here.