Scars Unseen
Recruit

Having played this for a while now, I assume that you are going to try to keep the open gameplay whenever you get around to polishing this game up with a story and all. One issue that such games tend to have is that if the gameplay is too open, the player can get lost as to what to do next(aside from capturing slaves, freeing peasants, looting/escorting caravans, etc). And whether the main story arc is straight forward or nebulous, there is only so many times a player can go through it without starting to feel that it is a necesary bit of tedium.
So I have a little idea to(possibly) help alleviate both problems. Tied into the main quest of the game(when there is one), you could have some semi-random subplots. Whenever the player enters a town, the game could gather info on what the character has done in the past regarding things like the various factions in the game(rescuing faction members, doing quests for the factions, attacking members), the various criminal elements in the game, and the type of units that the character has working for him.
Based on this information, and then rolled on a chart of possible events that match the data gathered, you could have someone actively seeking the player's help, declaring a blood feud with the player, seeking to join the character's band, etc. You could also have a pirates/bandits attack the town while the player is in it, or conversely you could have a bounty placed on the player and have manhunter parties attack.
Depending on how complex you wanted to make it, you could have the information from the subplots recorded to create a continuing underlying story that pops up from time to time as the game goes on. That would definately make for a near guarantee that the game would be a different experience every time you played through it.
Just a thought i had and decided to share
So I have a little idea to(possibly) help alleviate both problems. Tied into the main quest of the game(when there is one), you could have some semi-random subplots. Whenever the player enters a town, the game could gather info on what the character has done in the past regarding things like the various factions in the game(rescuing faction members, doing quests for the factions, attacking members), the various criminal elements in the game, and the type of units that the character has working for him.
Based on this information, and then rolled on a chart of possible events that match the data gathered, you could have someone actively seeking the player's help, declaring a blood feud with the player, seeking to join the character's band, etc. You could also have a pirates/bandits attack the town while the player is in it, or conversely you could have a bounty placed on the player and have manhunter parties attack.
Depending on how complex you wanted to make it, you could have the information from the subplots recorded to create a continuing underlying story that pops up from time to time as the game goes on. That would definately make for a near guarantee that the game would be a different experience every time you played through it.
Just a thought i had and decided to share