Overview
I have played this game for hundreds of hours but not for a few years now (since 2009). It is a sandbox game and there are no limits. On returning to the game, I was pleased to find a former character of mine (Atta Peep) still intact and rearing to go. She is a horse person and is pretty skilled. She has plenty of cash and a great band of people with her.She is a vassel of King Yaroglek – king of the Vaegirs – with whom she has a good reputation (nobody else!)She has a number of villages/towns paying rent and castles of her own.There are no outstanding quests.She is primed to run riot over the land – conquoring all enemies of the Vaegirs. She has already defeated the Khergits (?) – I don’t remember doing this but that is another issue. I am going to revisit M&B with her – I am but a new-born babe in this world now – and am very pleased to have some cash/party/strength to vitalise me . I hope to do the same for you, if you want.My ‘guide’ is to present Atta Peep to you and hope she helps you into the great game that is Mount & Blade.ps I have a link to my Dropbox where the save game is. If this is ethically ‘not your thing’ then fine, do not enter, do not pass go.
Download the save game file
M&B offers one the choice of taking your medicine ‘like a man’ and not being able to save your play in ‘sections’ or being able to ‘save as’ to save your progress as you like. The Atta Peep save is a single save of many game day plays. I do not fully recall her exact history but there are logs etc that may help.
As mentioned before, you can access her character by downloading the ‘save’ file from my Dropbox link: [link]
This file (AttaPeep.sav) should be placed wherever you store your M&B file saves and will probably need to be renamed as SOMETHING LIKE: sg02.sav – play and see what happens. I tried sgAttaPeep.sav and nothing was offered to me, so I rather think the numeral thingy is important. M&B starts off with sg00.sav (Windows) which is your first attempt at the game.
Anyway, make a copy of the file as sg0x.sav and leave the original AttaPeep.sav as is to be able to return to if necessary.
By clicking on Restore a Saved Game you will be offered the choice(s) you have. Atta Peep’s choice should say: post vaegar – end game (etc.) I must have been tired!
It is also clear, now, that Peep will not be allowed to continue her merry ways. The save file will fail after a goodly time of playing. Definitely enough time to play without too much fear. (This is a known bug and can be defeated.)
Ok, where am I?
This is where Atta Peep is at this point in time. If you do not save any progress, this is where you will begin.
This represents a narrow view of ‘the map’. Looking around, there are green names and light blue names dotted around. At the moment, the game is paused and nothing is happening anywhere. Hover your mouse over things and see what they represent. If you click, the game is on and your party is off to see the wizard! You can scroll in and out and use your mouse to move the view around. Mostly, you will see blue and green places. These represent two of the factions in the game: the Rhodocks and the Vaegars respectively.
To your right you will see a horseman galloping on the spot. Hover over him to find out who he is and where he is going.
It is noteworthy that the +4 part of his party are prisoners. Prisoners can be a damn nuisance or quite useful. You need skills to handle prisoners, and usually, a reason for taking them. There is a prisoner in your town of Uxhal. See if you can get to visit him/her. Prisoners can escape, be held for ransom, recruited to your cause or just plain released. Some taverns harbour slave traders and others who will ‘buy’ your prisoners that are currently along for the ride.
It is not considered gallant to hold a Lady for ransom.
Who am I and Why am I here?
By clicking on the Character Tab at the base of the gamescreen, you can access a heap of info about who you are.
I gave her as much AGI as possible as she is a horse person and riders need agility – so she is inclined to sway in the saddle when she walks.
I don’t recall the high INT stat reason other than I seem to choose wizards et al in other games so the INT habit is hard to break.
She is not a sword/axe person so physical strength is not key for her fighting style.
It is easy to view all the stats etc by hovering over the headings to view the info on the right-hand side of the screen.
She is predominately a fighter but you can add to the PARTY by recruiting party players – each contributes to the whole party. According to the developers, generally the most skilled party member supplies the party attribute for the skill. Thus, like most RPGs, the party members are very important for what they ‘bring to the party’. Click on the PARTY tab to see who your party members are. Remember, your party is not cast in stone – keeping or firing members is up to you (or themselves if they are dissatisfied with your leadership.)
One aspect of the Party that is not intuitive is their specific role and the placement of the member on the ‘ladder’ to the right.
This party is Peep’s raiding/riding party. She has other members all over the place guarding castles and towns. Nizar is the only ‘fighter’ of the companions (named party members) so he is placed high on the ladder, whereas the others are not really in the group for their fighting skills – so they are lower. Why is this important?
Well, mostly, your group is outnumbered in battle and the max size of the battle is determined in the settings somewhere. You could (and will) meet an enemy force 3 or more times your size! The battle size might be set at 100 so this is the max size of any battle. Let’s say you take on a Nord force comprising over 1000 soldiers. You have 62. Your brain says “Cool, my 62 can thump their 38 anytime! Time and time over until they are all gone. Yeah! Bring it on!”
You scream, “CHARGE!” and settle into the saddle for some fun killing helpless Nords. You look up and, good grief, there are you and Nizar charging into battle! You 2 v 98 Nords! This is what heavily outnumbered means.
It is the fact that Peep and Nizar are at the ‘top’ of the ladder that protects your healers from battle so they can patch you up until it is their turn to get slaughtered.
The ladder also applies when your party allies with other Lords in battle. Your ladder determines who gets ‘picked’ by the alliance to begin the fight with. This from cobweb territory, of course.
To find out a little about where things are ito towns, castles etc. we can use the QUEST tab. It does not appear too helpful at first, but there’s a huge amount of info lurking in its depths.
Choose a town or castle that you find interesting. Click on its name and click on Show On Map. Off we go! We can see around by choosing Quest/Location/See on Map – there is more info at all times about who has an interest in this place etc..
Remember to ‘return’ to Uxkhal or you might find yourself out on the road!
Ok, time to enter the town of Uxkhal and start the clock running.
In town for the night!
At this point, no time has actually passed in the game. Your party is outside of Uxkhal and has stopped on the map. You are not camping, just stopped – so time stops as well. It is time to come alive and see the sights of the big city. This is pretty new for Peep as she did not have such a visual affair those many years ago.
Click on the town.
Trading is another aspect of M&B. The old adage buy low and sell high applies. Your finance expert will help you to make cunning buy decisions which you might be able to profit from at a later stage.
Manage the Town means that you need to find out what the town needs ito infrastrucure. Atta Peep has made two additions to the town already.
When you buy goods from the merchants, keep your companions in mind – you can shop for any of their needs as well as your own.
If you visit the castle, there are usually chests you can use to store extra gear in. Sometimes there are people of influence in attendance. I have never had a clue about this aspect! I think my social graces are non-existant.
Sometimes, trying to find your way out of a section can seem impossible. The TAB key is your get out key.
Anyway, there is just far too much to tell in such a game as M&B. I hope, with a good start, you can play, learn, enjoy and advance as a player. Having a strong support group will protect you and allow you to be unafraid – wonderful. Once you have played, learned and now need more, you can put Peep away – maybe for your children one day.
Enjoy!
Respect
Atta Peep sitting in front of a Nord city – looking at an army of Nords watching her.
