Mount and Blade Taking Villages, Castles and Towns

This article explains the differences between villages, castles and towns in Mount and Blade and also takes a look at how to conquer them and improve your chances of being awarded the conquered lands by your King.

Places in Mount and Blade

There are three types of places you can visit in Mount and Blade and they are all marked on the world map. Settlements all have names and they are divided into villages, castles and towns. You can visit them simply by clicking on the name on the map and the difference is obvious as villages are the smallest, castles next and towns are the largest. The only other type of place you may come across is the training fields which is where you can learn how to wield weapons and fight skillfully.
Villages, Castles and Towns

VILLAGES:

Often when you pledge allegiance to a particular faction the King will award you a small village in his empire. You can collect taxes from the village and build various improvements but villages do not earn you a great deal of money and they are open to attack. You can also attack villages yourself but as there is no option to conquer them, you can simply loot and pillage.

Villages are connected to castles and towns so when you conquer a castle or town the nearby villages will change allegiance as well.

CASTLES:

A castle is a fortified stronghold that holds sway over the surrounding land. You can station troops here, imprison enemy troops and build various improvements. Castles will also provide a tax income for the lord who holds them. Troops stationed in a castle will cost you less money.

TOWNS:

These are the bustling centres of life in Calradia, you’ll find markets selling food, armor, weapons and horses. You’ll also find taverns with various shady characters enjoying a drink and the great tournaments take place in the arenas. You can station troops or prisoners in towns and they tend to be very well defended. Any lord holding a town can collect large amounts of money in the form of taxes. Continue to the next page to see how to lay siege to a Castle or Town!

Laying Siege to a Castle or Town

When you begin a game of Mount and Blade you will be reliant on taking on missions, competing in tournaments and selling any loot you have accumulated in order to build up some experience and cash. You’ll want to develop your character and train up a formidable fighting force before you attempt to take a castle or town.

If you approach an enemy castle or town you will see that you have the option to lay siege. You will also be able to see the number of troops defending the stronghold. It is tough to take a castle or town so don’t attack unless you have a decent force.

Different castles and towns have different methods of assault; either by ladders or by siege engine. When you lay siege to a town or castle you will first have to build the necessary the siege equipment and how long this will take depends on the engineering skill within your party.

With the ladders or siege engine prepared you can lead your men in an assault. With ladders, the battle will start with the ladders in place and you and your men can simply charge up them and attack. With siege engines you will have to push the large wooden structure up to the city walls until the bridge crashes down and then you can swarm in.

The difficulty comes from the narrow attack corridor which allows enemy troops to defend the position quite easily. You are peppered with arrow and bolt fire all the way as you approach the walls and fighting your way through the chaotic rabble of enemy soldiers can be a tough prospect.

If you do manage to slay the enemy troops then with castles assaults there is often a small secondary battle with troops inside the castle. With towns you will have to fight a secondary battle in the streets before the final assault inside the castle.
Being Awarded a Castle or Town

With the castle or town conquered you can ask your King to grant the lands to you. He will make a decision based on a number of factors including how many lands you already hold and how many lands other lords in your faction hold. The level of your renown will also have an impact and you will be more likely to win the lands if you led the assault. The final consideration is your personal relationship with the King. The more he likes you the more likely he will grant you the castle or town.