Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has just released as part of Steam’s early access program. As of the time of this writing, the game is boasting over 160,000 concurrent players, and that’s likely to climb up as more fans are able to check it out. Of course, the first thing one will notice upon starting your Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord campaign is the character creation system. Much like the original and its expansions, you’ll be able to choose certain backgrounds such as cultures and traits that’ll determine your character’s early-game build. Here’s our mini-guide to help you out.
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Note: This guide is intended for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord‘s early access stage. It’s possible that some mechanics may change in due course, so please inform us if we need to update certain information. Likewise, this article presents an overview of the basics of character creation and background picks, though you can refer to our perks and leveling guide for additional details. You can also check out our guides and features hub for other concerns.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Character creation guide
Culture
Your choice of culture will provide a default template for your character in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. For instance, the forest-dwelling Battanians may have a lighter skin tone compared to the darker complexions of the desert nomad Aserai. These are mostly cosmetic in nature and you can still customize your character’s looks after this.
The major distinction, however, is the bonus you’ll receive while playing Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord‘s’s campaign:
- Vlandians – 20% more upgrade XP to troops from battles
- Sturgians – 20% less speed penalty from snow
- Empire – 20% construction speed bonus to town projects, wall repairs, and siege engines
- Aserai – Caravans are 30% cheaper to build; 10% less trade penalty
- Khuzaits – 10% extra speed bonus for horsem*n on the campaign map
- Battanians – 10% less speed penalty in forests
From the get-go, the Vlandians have a unique advantage already. That 20% bonus XP gain is no joke. Coming in second would be the Empire culture due to the construction speed bonus, however, this won’t be as noticeable until you’re further into the Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord‘s campaign. The terrain and speed buffs are extremely situational and won’t be as beneficial.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Attributes and focus skills
There are six attributes, each governing three focus skills. For the skills themselves, you can increase your proficiency by continuing to do actions that’ll help improve them (ie. using spears to increase your Polearm skill or keeping your squad at high morale to increase your Leadership skill).
Your character’s level-ups also add focus points that can be allocated to increase a skill’s leveling threshold. For instance, two focus points in Charm only lets you increase it up to level 125, but five points allow you to max it out eventually. Likewise, if a skill’s governing attribute is high enough and you’ve allocated several focus points into it, then learning and leveling up that skill will be a lot faster. The character backgrounds you select (more on these below) will also give you focus skill buffs to certain selections.
Note: Once you’re progressing through Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord‘s campaign, you’ll see the different perks when your skills are leveled up. Refer to our perks and leveling guide for more info.
Vigor:
- One-handed – proficiency with 1H weapons and axes; includes sword & shield capabilities
- Two-handed – proficiency with 2H weapons and axes — ie. greatswords, great axes
- Polearm – proficiency with spears, lances, staves, and other polearms whether 1H or 2H
Control:
- Bows – proficiency with short bows, longbows, and the like
- Crossbows – proficiency with crossbows
- Throwing – proficiency with throwing weapons and other projectiles
Endurance:
- Riding – determines your horseback riding skill and the level of horses that you can use
- Athletics – physical fitness, balance, and stamina
- Smithing – your ability to craft weapons and refine minerals
Cunning:
- Scouting – spotting enemies from a distance or tracks on the campaign map
- Tactics – your knowledge if a battleplan or simulated engagement will go your way
- Roguery – knowing if characters can be bribed or intimidated, sneaking around, and being a jerk towards the populace
Social:
- Charm – keeping your character well-liked by others
- Leadership – keeping your troops in line and well-disciplined
- Trade – your bartering skills and additional income generation
Intelligence:
- Steward – administrative boosts and several means of increasing your party’s size
- Medicine – keeping troops and companions healed after battles
- Engineering – siege weaponry and siege defenses
Now, let’s take a look at the different background options based on your character’s culture in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Your character’s background
In the tables below, you’ll see the background choices that increase an attribute while adding focus points to particular skills. Let’s say you’ve made choices to have higher Endurance and a deeper focus on Riding, that means you’ll be able to ride higher-tier mounts early in the game.
Family
| VLANDIANS | STURGIANS | EMPIRE | ASERAI | KHUZAITS | BATTANIANS |
| Baron’s retainers: +1 Social; +1 Riding; +1 Polearm | Boyar’s companions: +1 Social; +1 Riding; +1 Two-Handed | Landlord’s retainers: +1 Vigor; +1 Riding; +1 Polearm | Kinsfolk of emir: +1 Endurance; +1 Riding; +1 Throwing | Noyan’s kinsfolk: +1 Endurance; +1 Riding; +1 Polearm | Chieftain’s hearthguard: +1 Vigor; +1 Two-Handed; +1 Bow |
| Urban merchants: +1 Intelligence; +1 Trade; +1 Charm | Urban traders: +1 Cunning; +1 Trade; +1 Tactics | Urban merchants: +1 Social; +1 Trade; +1 Charm | Warrior-slaves: +1 Vigor; +1 Riding; +1 Polearm | Merchants: +1 Social; +1 Trade; +1 Charm | Healers: +1 Intelligence; +1 Medicine; +1 Charm |
| Yeomen: +1 Endurance; +1 Polearm; +1 Crossbow | Free farmers: +1 Endurance; +1 Athletics; +1 Polearm | Freeholders: +1 Endurance; +1 Athletics; +1 Polearm | Urban merchants: +1 Social; +1 Trade; +1 Charm | Tribespeople: +1 Control; +1 Bow; +1 Riding | Tribespeople: +1 Control; +1 Athletics; +1 Throwing |
| Urban Blacksmith: +1 Vigor; +1 Smithing; +1 Two-Handed | Urban artisans: +1 Intelligence; +1 Smithing; +1 One-Handed | Urban artisans: +1 Intelligence; +1 Smithing; +1 Crossbow | Oasis farmers: +1 Endurance; +1 Athletics; +1 One-Handed | Farmers: +1 Vigor; +1 Polearm; +1 Throwing | Smiths: +1 Endurance; +1 Smithing; +1 Two-Handed |
| Hunters: +1 Cunning; +1 Scouting; +1 Crossbow | Hunters: +1 Vigor; +1 Scouting; +1 Bow | Foresters: +1 Control; +1 Scouting; +1 Bow | Bedouin: +1 Cunning; +1 Scouting; +1 Bow | Shamans: +1 Intelligence; +1 Medicine; +1 Charm | Foresters: +1 Cunning; +1 Scouting; +1 Tactics |
| Mercenaries: +1 Control; +1 Roguery; +1 Crossbow | Vagabonds: +1 Control; +1 Roguery; +1 Throwing | Urban vagabonds: +1 Cunning; +1 Roguery; +1 Throwing | Urban thugs: +1 Control; +1 Roguery; +1 Polearm | Nomads: +1 Cunning; +1 Scouting; +1 Riding | Bards: +1 Social; +1 Roguery; +1 Charm |
Childhood
| ALL CULTURES |
| Leadership skills: +1 Cunning; +1 Leadership; +1 Tactics |
| Brawn: +1 Vigor; +1 Two-Handed; +1 Throwing |
| Attention to detail: +1 Control; +1 Athletics; +1 One-Handed |
| Aptitude for numbers: +1 Intelligence; +1 Engineering; +1 Trade |
| Way with people: +1 Social; +1 Charm; +1 Leadership |
| Skill with horses: +1 Endurance; +1 Riding; +1 Medicine |
Adolescence
| VLANDIANS AND STURGIANS | EMPIRE, ASERAI, KHUZAITS, AND BATTANIANS |
| Town’s watch: +1 Control; +1 Crossbow; +1 Tactics | Herded sheep: +1 Control; +1 Athletics; +1 Throwing |
| Alley gangs: +1 Cunning; +1 Roguery; +1 One-Handed | Village smithy: +1 Vigor; +1 Two-Handed; +1 Smithing |
| Docks: +1 Vigor; +1 Athletics; +1 Smithing | Repaired projects: +1 Intelligence; +1 Engineering; +1 Smithing |
| Markets: +1 Social; +1 Trade; +1 Charm | Gathered herbs: +1 Endurance; +1 Medicine; +1 Scouting |
| Reading: +1 Intelligence; +1 Engineering; +1 Leadership | Hunted small game: +1 Control; +1 Bow; +1 Tactics |
| Stables: +1 Endurance; +1 Riding; +1 Steward | Sold produce at market: +1 Social; +1 Trade; +1 Charm |
Youth
| VLANDIANS AND EMPIRE | STURGIANS, ASERAI, AND KHUZAITS | BATTANIANS |
| Garrisons: +1 Intelligence; +1 Crossbow; +1 Engineering | Garrisons: +1 Intelligence; +1 Bow; +1 Engineering | Garrisons: +1 Intelligence; +1 Bow; +1 Engineering |
| Scouts: +1 Endurance; +1 Riding; +1 Bow | Scouts: +1 Endurance; +1 Riding; +1 Bow | Scouts: +1 Endurance; +1 Riding; +1 Bow |
| Infantry: +1 Vigor; +1 Polearm; +1 One-Handed | Infantry: +1 Vigor; +1 Polearm; +1 One-Handed | Infantry: +1 Vigor; +1 Polearm; +1 One-Handed |
| Skirmishers: +1 Control; +1 Throwing; +1 Bow | Skirmishers: +1 Control; +1 Throwing; +1 Bow | Skirmishers: +1 Control; +1 Throwing; +1 Bow |
| Camp Followers: +1 Cunning; +1 Roguery; +1 Throwing | Camp Followers: +1 Cunning; +1 Roguery; +1 Throwing | Camp Followers: +1 Cunning; +1 Roguery; +1 Throwing |
| Joined the Kern: +1 Control; +1 Throwing; +1 One-Handed |
Young Adulthood
| VLANDIANS | STURGIANS AND ASERAI | EMPIRE AND BATTANIANS |
| Defeated an enemy: +1 Vigor; +1 One-Handed; +1 Two-Handed; +1 Valor; +20 Renown | Defeated an enemy: +1 Vigor; +1 One-Handed; +1 Two-Handed; +1 Valor; +20 Renown | Defeated an enemy: +1 Vigor; +1 One-Handed; +1 Two-Handed; +1 Valor; +20 Renown |
| Successful manhunt: +1 Cunning; +1 Tactics; +1 Leadership; +1 Calculating; +10 Renown | Saved city from fire: +1 Cunning; +1 Tactics; +1 Leadership; +1 Calculating; +10 Renown | Saved city from flood: +1 Cunning; +1 Tactics; +1 Leadership; +1 Calculating; +10 Renown |
| Invested money: +1 Intelligence; +1 Trade; +1 Smithing; +1 Calculating; +10 Renown | Invested money: +1 Intelligence; +1 Trade; +1 Smithing; +1 Calculating; +10 Renown | Invested money: +1 Intelligence; +1 Trade; +1 Smithing; +1 Calculating; +10 Renown |
| Survived a siege: +1 Control; +1 Bow; +1 Crossbow; +5 Renown | Survived a siege: +1 Control; +1 Bow; +1 Crossbow; +5 Renown | Hunted a dangerous animal: +1 Control; +1 Bow; +1 Crossbow; +5 Renown |
| Famous escapade: +1 Endurance; +1 Athletics; +1 Roguery; +1 Valor; +5 Renown | Famous escapade: +1 Endurance; +1 Athletics; +1 Roguery; +1 Valor; +5 Renown | Famous escapade: +1 Endurance; +1 Athletics; +1 Roguery; +1 Valor; +5 Renown |
Story Background
| ALL CULTURES |
| Subdued a raider: +1 Vigor; +1 One-Handed; +1 Athletics |
| Drove them off with arrows: +1 Control; +1 Bow; +1 Tactics |
| Rode off: +1 Endurance; +1 Riding; +1 Scouting |
| Tricked raiders: +1 Cunning; +1 Roguery; +1 Tactics |
| Organized travelers: +1 Social; +1 Leadership; +1 Charm |
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Character summary
You can still review and recheck the choices you’ve made to see if your character’s build is satisfactory. Try to find good synergy among the different options that you choose. It’s quite possible to max out your focus skills and reach high attributes at the start of your Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord campaign. If you want to know more about the unlockable buffs and effects, head over to our perks and leveling guide.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is available now via Steam’s early access program. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
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