Part 9

Discover all ten books for skill boosts and learn how to join factions in Mount & Blade: Warband. Books cost 2900-9000 denars.

Books

There are ten books in Mount & Blade: Warband, divided into two types. Seven books provide a permanent skill point boost upon reading, while three offer a +1 bonus to a specific skill as long as they are in your inventory. Books that grant an inventory bonus will state the skill they affect. To read a skill-boosting book, navigate to the Camp tab, select 'Take An Action,' and if your Intelligence (Int) score is high enough, you will eventually read it. The Int requirement is generally not a significant obstacle, as players typically aim for over 12 Int by the time they can afford books. Books can cost anywhere from 2900 denars to approximately 9000 denars, depending on the specific book and your party's Trade skill.

You can purchase books from book vendors who occasionally appear in town taverns. There are two distinct book vendors, each with different inventories. Although they look identical, acquiring all ten books may require some luck.

Books and Their Effects:

• De Re Militari: Tactics
• Rhetorica ad Herennium: Persuasion
• The Life of Alixenus the Great: Leadership
• On The Art of Fighting With Swords: Weapon Master
• Methods of Mechanical Theorems: Engineer
• Essays on Logic: Intelligence (attribute)
• A Treatise on the Value of Things: Trade
• Manual of Arms: Trainer (provides bonus when held in inventory)
• The Book of Healing: Wound Treatment (provides bonus when held in inventory)
• The Great Book of Surgery: Surgery (provides bonus when held in inventory)

Factions

Mount & Blade: Warband features six distinct factions: The Kingdom of Swadia, the Kingdom of Rhodoks, The Kingdom of Nords, The Kingdom of Vaegirs, the Sarranid Sultanate, and The Khergit Khanate.

Joining a Faction

To join a faction, you need 160 renown. This requirement is reduced by 5 renown for every 1 point of positive relationship you have with the faction's king. One method is to directly offer your service to a king if you have sufficient renown. Alternatively, you can work as a mercenary and eventually become a lord. To become a mercenary, you need a reasonably sized army and must ask a king or lord for quests. Once accepted as a mercenary, follow orders, assist the kingdom in battles (which also increases your renown), and await an offer to join.

Life as a Lord

Upon joining a faction, you will be granted a single village as your fief, typically one that has been recently raided and has low prosperity. As a lord, your primary duty during wartime is to respond when summoned by the marshal. The marshal will gather lords for a concerted offensive, providing a quest to report with a minimum number of troops. You usually have about 4 days to reach the marshal's location. Failing to report once has minor consequences, but repeated dereliction of duty will damage relations and could lead to expulsion from the faction. Participating in the faction's army is beneficial, as it often targets large settlements like towns. Participating in and leading a successful siege increases your chances of being awarded the settlement by the king and may result in a reward of approximately 900 denars, even if you don't receive the settlement. Successful sieges can also allow you to gain troops from prisoners.

Being Marshal

Marshals are appointed by the king, with input from the lords through an informal election process between two candidates.