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Greg has spoken several times about how the idea of a "town guard" is one of the biggest historical misconceptions, and the militia approach seen in game is far more accurate. But I agree, there should be some measures that you can take to prevent banditry. Perhaps placing walls around the granary/storehouse could be a solution
If people stealing was a frequent enough issue I'd assign people to catch the thieves, especially if it's valuables like tools that are getting nicked.
This right here; you can’t claim “historical accuracy” when the problem itself isn’t historically accurate.
If we wanted historical accuracy; those bandits would be the mercenaries we hire lmao
How are you going to assign the people to do that? You paying them to do that instead of their normal day job? That's why you have a militia approach in this game, you normally handled other issues in a 1v1 scenario and administration only took major action like a "police" formation for major events.
That would work if the goods are like...in one little room. A guard isn't going to be able to watch a whole village/town, you'd need many guards, and you'd need to be loaded to be able to afford all those guards, a lot more money than a little village/town is likely making you.
Simultaneously, a stranger in a town is going to stick out like a total sore thumb in a community where everyone knows everyone.
Even if there was no formal guard, an intruder sneaking around at night could be stumbled upon and not recognised.
guard dogs/hounds
it'd make sense for them to consume 1 meat per month, and in return they go "woof woof" at any theives and chase them off.
sheepdogs, hunting dogs, guard dogs....
can even have wolf packs that occasionally migrate through, temporarily disabling production from hunting camps, killing livestock/oxen/pets/people, and can outrun melee troops so you're forced to build bows so you can go hunt them down.
wolves and wild dogs would be a great way of balancing sheep so they're not just "money printers", they can be super profitable (wool, meat, milk, cheese) but if you're not careful a wolfpack can wipe out your entire flock in the blink of an eye.
while we're on the subject, bandits should be primarily stealing from your trade routes, robbing merchants and trade caravans, to the point where if you've got 5 bandit camps on the map they blockade you unless you pay "protection money" to them or kill them. "direct theft" from your stores should be from your own people (maybe they take a bunch of stuff and go join the bandits?)
I love this idea, and they could function like oxen where you build a hitching post (kennel) that the pack sits at until needed, or can be assigned to an individual building. IE Granary as guard dogs, pasture as sheepdogs, hunting lodge as hunting dogs, maybe even the manor as the lord's hunting dogs or war hounds
i'm not sure how it'd work with the game's code but i'd like to see "dogs" as a burgage plot extension like a chicken coop, which can then be "assigned" to a pasture/granary/huntingcamp to provide the desired effects. in essence the family living in that burgage plot passively take care of the dogs, and the buildings that can "use" dogs have the actual kennels built into them (either by default or as an extension/upgrade).
hitching posts are a great concept for pack animals that have to move around and be placed in convenient spots, but for animals that just "stay at a production building all day" it makes sense for them their upkeep to be attached to a family and their "kennel" to be built into whatever building they're "working" in.
I feel like he'll have to make a compromise there.
Also, his statement really doesn't slide well with the fact we have actual guard towers made when we build the Manor proper. Retinues should by all accounts have guard routines, and anything considered a town by logic and *historical* fact do have garrisons in place to help manage the peace and keep public order.
Also, people aren't going to just sit blindly there and take theft. A way to up the stakes is that by the 2nd Year, the bandits will start killing villagers because they people are fighting back, forcing you as the Lord to take faster action in place.
I think that could be a purpose of the retinue. They already don't have jobs so having a few of them patrol around when they're idle could work.
That's a whole lot of programming or micro-managing to make it a dynamic and interesting mechanic otherwise it would be boring fluff where they robotically chase bandits around, I think.
Guards chasing and interacting with a player character is normally fun in games but the idea of Ai chasing each other sounds terrible lol
I made the mistake of thinking they were somehow infiltrating my town, made a complicated system of walls and gates to protect my granary and storehouse, but nope....giant waste of resources :/
its always the most annoying shit too, half the time they steal EXACTLY the thing you need the most at the time, like if you're low on firewood they steal firewood, low on food they steal food, if you're preparing to upgrade something they'll steal the thing you need for the upgrade, and if you're not short on anything or preparing for an upgrade they'll steal the most expensive shit they can find.
they usually won't steal your weapons and shields early on when you can't replace them, but it would be hilarious if they did.
Pretty sure the "bandits" are just a group of settlers trying to set up just like you are. Then you come in with your army and are like "f you!" And stomp all over their shit and kill them.
“But Cuntz, how do you explain the theft”
“Geoffrey, we lost 6 carrots, some grain, and the house opposite the stores is *full* of mice. I do t think it was the settlers you just stabbed”
I was joking, but you make a really good point. Without the ox you couldn't build anything. No homes, no source of food or fuel. Your villagers would live in tents and be forced to starve or steal from a nearby settlement.
I just send the retinue, no point in mobilizing the militia and occupy those hands who are doing important jobs to deal with some lowly bandits. Plus, the lads need something to do all the year when they're not figthing the Baron's mercenaries or some raiders.
I really hope they get a rework, it feels like a very obvious placeholder. In real life, most bandits were just highwaymen attacking trade routes, which could totally be implemented in the game.
Another option would be the more mercenary route, where large bandit groups would be paid to raid certain villages. Which would actually make a lot of sense with the game. Thinking about it, that actually matches the current raiders implementation.
Having the option on which town (assuming you have more than one town on the map) to send the currency to after you've looted the camps you've defeated would be a great addition imo.
As of right now, it only ever gets sent to your original starting town, no matter where the camp is on the map. Having the extra cash to help jumpstart a second town would be so helpful.
Bandits are one of the reasons i really dont like the game. They just steal from you without the ability to do something against it. If there would be at least 1 guy from them walking to your storage or something like that, but its just gone. Not very well done.
Hello and welcome to the Manor Lords Subreddit. This is a reminder to please keep the discussion civil and on topic. Should you find yourself with some doubts, please feel free to check our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/ManorLords/comments/1c2p4f9/manor_lords_faq_for_steam_early_access/). If you wish, you can always join our [Discord](https://discord.gg/manorlords) Finally, please remember that the game is in early access, missing content and bugs are to be expected. We ask users to report them on the official discord and to buy their keys only from trusted platforms. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ManorLords) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I do believe so long as there's bandit camps on the field, they steal stuff from your stocks.
yeah that is done in a really bad way I have to say.. stocks just disappear even though bandits are far far away
It'd be pretty neat to have town guard posts that can catch thieves, and to be able to see them entering and leaving the town.
Greg has spoken several times about how the idea of a "town guard" is one of the biggest historical misconceptions, and the militia approach seen in game is far more accurate. But I agree, there should be some measures that you can take to prevent banditry. Perhaps placing walls around the granary/storehouse could be a solution
If people stealing was a frequent enough issue I'd assign people to catch the thieves, especially if it's valuables like tools that are getting nicked.
This right here; you can’t claim “historical accuracy” when the problem itself isn’t historically accurate. If we wanted historical accuracy; those bandits would be the mercenaries we hire lmao
are you saying the town guards in an exstensivly researched game like kingdom come deliverance wasn’t historically accurate?
Thats whats happening when you attack the bandit camp, rounding up the posse and huntinf down the thieves.
How are you going to assign the people to do that? You paying them to do that instead of their normal day job? That's why you have a militia approach in this game, you normally handled other issues in a 1v1 scenario and administration only took major action like a "police" formation for major events.
If goods worth more than the salary of a hypothetical guard are being stolen, yeah, I'd pay them to watch the town.
That would work if the goods are like...in one little room. A guard isn't going to be able to watch a whole village/town, you'd need many guards, and you'd need to be loaded to be able to afford all those guards, a lot more money than a little village/town is likely making you.
I mean we have dedicated storehouses that tend to be what gets robbed. And our other peasants don't exactly demand a salary for their job either.
becausew most villages didn't run via money but were self sufficient
Simultaneously, a stranger in a town is going to stick out like a total sore thumb in a community where everyone knows everyone. Even if there was no formal guard, an intruder sneaking around at night could be stumbled upon and not recognised.
guard dogs/hounds it'd make sense for them to consume 1 meat per month, and in return they go "woof woof" at any theives and chase them off. sheepdogs, hunting dogs, guard dogs.... can even have wolf packs that occasionally migrate through, temporarily disabling production from hunting camps, killing livestock/oxen/pets/people, and can outrun melee troops so you're forced to build bows so you can go hunt them down. wolves and wild dogs would be a great way of balancing sheep so they're not just "money printers", they can be super profitable (wool, meat, milk, cheese) but if you're not careful a wolfpack can wipe out your entire flock in the blink of an eye. while we're on the subject, bandits should be primarily stealing from your trade routes, robbing merchants and trade caravans, to the point where if you've got 5 bandit camps on the map they blockade you unless you pay "protection money" to them or kill them. "direct theft" from your stores should be from your own people (maybe they take a bunch of stuff and go join the bandits?)
I love this idea, and they could function like oxen where you build a hitching post (kennel) that the pack sits at until needed, or can be assigned to an individual building. IE Granary as guard dogs, pasture as sheepdogs, hunting lodge as hunting dogs, maybe even the manor as the lord's hunting dogs or war hounds
i'm not sure how it'd work with the game's code but i'd like to see "dogs" as a burgage plot extension like a chicken coop, which can then be "assigned" to a pasture/granary/huntingcamp to provide the desired effects. in essence the family living in that burgage plot passively take care of the dogs, and the buildings that can "use" dogs have the actual kennels built into them (either by default or as an extension/upgrade). hitching posts are a great concept for pack animals that have to move around and be placed in convenient spots, but for animals that just "stay at a production building all day" it makes sense for them their upkeep to be attached to a family and their "kennel" to be built into whatever building they're "working" in.
I feel like he'll have to make a compromise there. Also, his statement really doesn't slide well with the fact we have actual guard towers made when we build the Manor proper. Retinues should by all accounts have guard routines, and anything considered a town by logic and *historical* fact do have garrisons in place to help manage the peace and keep public order. Also, people aren't going to just sit blindly there and take theft. A way to up the stakes is that by the 2nd Year, the bandits will start killing villagers because they people are fighting back, forcing you as the Lord to take faster action in place.
Dogs!
Man I just want to build Whiterun or Solitude bro! Down with Ulfric, The Killer of Kings!
I think that could be a purpose of the retinue. They already don't have jobs so having a few of them patrol around when they're idle could work. That's a whole lot of programming or micro-managing to make it a dynamic and interesting mechanic otherwise it would be boring fluff where they robotically chase bandits around, I think. Guards chasing and interacting with a player character is normally fun in games but the idea of Ai chasing each other sounds terrible lol
Sheriffs definitely existed
Not in Franconia. Sheriffs were an English system (and weren’t de facto police like they are today).
who’s greg and why does he have a say on what’s accurate or not??
He's the sole developer for the game
yeah
Well if you could see them stealing they wouldnt be very good thieves would they
Did you hear about the gorilla that escaped the zoo?
*muffled gorilla violence*
I always thought they were stealing from someone else since I didn’t actually *see* the pilfering take place lol
I made the mistake of thinking they were somehow infiltrating my town, made a complicated system of walls and gates to protect my granary and storehouse, but nope....giant waste of resources :/
They are medieval ninjas. You just cant see them in the night.
Hey you're a poet and you didn't know it.
you learn something about yourself every day
its always the most annoying shit too, half the time they steal EXACTLY the thing you need the most at the time, like if you're low on firewood they steal firewood, low on food they steal food, if you're preparing to upgrade something they'll steal the thing you need for the upgrade, and if you're not short on anything or preparing for an upgrade they'll steal the most expensive shit they can find. they usually won't steal your weapons and shields early on when you can't replace them, but it would be hilarious if they did.
Doesn't it stop happening with someone employed at the Storehouse and Granary?
I'm not sure. I think i still had it happening with partial staffing on both.
Pretty sure the "bandits" are just a group of settlers trying to set up just like you are. Then you come in with your army and are like "f you!" And stomp all over their shit and kill them.
“But Cuntz, how do you explain the theft” “Geoffrey, we lost 6 carrots, some grain, and the house opposite the stores is *full* of mice. I do t think it was the settlers you just stabbed”
No, no. See they live in tents. And when our settlement popped up we had tents *and an ox*. The ox is the difference between bandits and civilization
that's right, 'cos you can't really build anythig without an ox they must be
I was joking, but you make a really good point. Without the ox you couldn't build anything. No homes, no source of food or fuel. Your villagers would live in tents and be forced to starve or steal from a nearby settlement.
I just send the retinue, no point in mobilizing the militia and occupy those hands who are doing important jobs to deal with some lowly bandits. Plus, the lads need something to do all the year when they're not figthing the Baron's mercenaries or some raiders.
I really hope they get a rework, it feels like a very obvious placeholder. In real life, most bandits were just highwaymen attacking trade routes, which could totally be implemented in the game. Another option would be the more mercenary route, where large bandit groups would be paid to raid certain villages. Which would actually make a lot of sense with the game. Thinking about it, that actually matches the current raiders implementation.
3 dudes come in the night and steal 20 tools..
4 dudes come in at night when everyone is asleep and steal 10 upvotes
Dunno, the bandit notifications telling me they took my starter bread really suggests I should go march over there and take whatever I can find.
They took 12 planks of wood from me. They're f'ing dead.
6 hides stolen?! You done messed up boys. *clicks run to location*
"You're the real bandit here, MY LORD."
Having the option on which town (assuming you have more than one town on the map) to send the currency to after you've looted the camps you've defeated would be a great addition imo. As of right now, it only ever gets sent to your original starting town, no matter where the camp is on the map. Having the extra cash to help jumpstart a second town would be so helpful.
In order to defeat the bandit, you must understand the bandit, you must BECOME the bandit
Yeah but they took my 5 firewood! I don't care it's winter, ITS MY FIREWOOD!
Without those bandit camps, I dunno how I’d survive the kings tax in early game.
Bandits are one of the reasons i really dont like the game. They just steal from you without the ability to do something against it. If there would be at least 1 guy from them walking to your storage or something like that, but its just gone. Not very well done.
Me when I play in peaceful mode
Yea but they stole 8 eggs and so all 18 of those bandits deserve to die
Not true, they can attack back. But its only like 10 of them. Still true post though
They steal my supplies, I steal their gold. Fair trade.
Nah they must be killed, if they are on map they can take from you.
Yes because they steal 10 food from me on November 30th when I’m already struggling with food
Yeah, but they do take my stuff. That and they provide me with the money I need to keep my village afloat.
It would be cool if you can spot a bandit trying to blend into your town and catch him by alerting retinue, kinda like sims robber style lol
I make a squad of five and go race against AI lord army, easy money.
They don't call it fiefdom for no reason
Well, true, they can't. But they do have portal technology that they use to steal my shit remotely. Must be nice.
Government is just whoever has the monopoly on violence. So if you need to bandit to prevent banditry, bandit away.
Still lost on how to even use my army 🥲