Difference between revisions of "Manual:Getting Started"
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As a newly arrived noble, you have no source of income, and that means sooner or later your gold will run out. Without payment, your men will desert you, leaving you with nothing. | As a newly arrived noble, you have no source of income, and that means sooner or later your gold will run out. Without payment, your men will desert you, leaving you with nothing. | ||
| − | There are | + | There are two main sources of income available to you, in order of difficulty: |
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* Swearing an Oath of Fealty | * Swearing an Oath of Fealty | ||
* Becoming Lord of a Region | * Becoming Lord of a Region | ||
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=== Swearing an Oath === | === Swearing an Oath === | ||
Revision as of 03:36, 11 June 2011
When you start a new character in BattleMaster, you only have some basics - a small unit of men and a few gold coins. Here are the first goals or milestones you want to reach, in no particular order:
Contents
Getting A Source of Income
As a newly arrived noble, you have no source of income, and that means sooner or later your gold will run out. Without payment, your men will desert you, leaving you with nothing.
There are two main sources of income available to you, in order of difficulty:
- Swearing an Oath of Fealty
- Becoming Lord of a Region
Swearing an Oath
The best way for a new character to gain a regular, fairly reliable source of income is to swear an Oath of Fealty to a region lord. Many lords are in need of knights and will offer a share of their region income to any who serve them. They need knights because the knightly Estates are necessary to run the region well, and of course to defend it should any trouble hit. Simply offering your service in public will often yield you a number of offers. Otherwise, checking which regions are in less-than-perfect condition will often tell you where you can get an oath.
Becoming Lord
The most difficult path is to be that region lord yourself. Since all lands belong to the duke or king, you need to be appointed to this position, which means you will have to be noticed by the duke or king first. So this is more of a long-term goal and not really available to you as a newcomer.
Joining the Army
Unless you are looking for a career at the court, joining one of the armies of your realm is strongly recommended for anyone who wants to engage in a military career. It has two main advantages: One, you get information about where to go and what to do from the marshal of the army. Two, the army war chest will pay for parts of your unit upkeep, such as repairs or training.
Unfortunately, you can not really "join" an army. Your liege lord has to assign you. Which brings you back to "Swearing an Oath", because if you don't then the general or king himself is your liege lord and who knows if he can be bothered with that?
Making a Name for Yourself
Progress in BattleMaster is mostly political. For most interesting parts you need to be either appointed or elected. In either case, people need to know your name. You must become famous. This is definitely a long-term goal, but you can not start early enough. Here are some ways to make a name for yourself:
- Train your swordfighting and/or jousting and try to win a Tournament
- Become a hero on the battlefield - if your unit is the last one standing, or turning the fortune, people might notice
- Become an advisor to your lord, later to the duke or king. If you know how to manage a region, or a realm, try to speak to the proper people and convince them that you know things.
- Be there when needed. It doesn't grant you instant fame, but if it is you again and again who is there to defend the capital, or join the raiding force, or even just do some police work in a difficult to control region, then after a while people will remember you.
- Rebel, murder, seceed - there are many less-honourable options that are sure to make you (in)famous. Try them if nothing else works.
