The death mechanic in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord is one of the most entertaining features added to the sequel.
It allows the player, after many years of adventuring, pillaging, and conquering, to finally rest in peace and leave their problems off to their heir.
Recommended Read: How to Unlock Smithing Parts in Bannerlord
The good thing about this mechanic is that you can choose if you want it or not by enabling or disabling death.
However, if you do enable it and find yourself at death’s door – what happens when your initial starting character dies in Bannerlord?
Table of contents
- Player Character Death in Bannerlord
- What Happens To Your Items and Kingdom When You Die In Bannerlord?
Player Character Death in Bannerlord
In a very different manner from the original Mount and Blade, Bannerlord has not only added children, but the devs have also implemented death for all characters in the game.
This whole process might remind players of Crusader Kings’ family mechanics:Â Get married, have children, die, and take over as an heir.
This whole process is similar in Bannerlord. However, there is no way for the player to die in battle, as opposed to fellow lords and ladies in Calradia.
The only way you can die in Bannerlord is to disease and old age. Both of these will most likely occur when your character is over the age of 60 and will be the trigger that will end their life.
You will first get a warning that will tell you to get your affairs in order, and, in the near future, your character will finally die.
When this happens, players will be presented with their choices of heirs. These include:
- Your Wife
- Your Siblings
- Your Children
- Your Extended Family (Nephews, Cousins)
As long as your character has any type of family that is part of the clan, you will always have a choice of an heir when you die.
If no eligible family member exists when you die, a message that says “You are not a part of this anymore” will appear, and you can only watch the world as it goes on without you.
If you reach this point, you will either have to load an older save file or start anew with a fresh and young character.
What Happens To Your Items and Kingdom When You Die In Bannerlord?
When you pass, there are many things that can be lost in the process. Luckily, most stats are clan-based, so they won’t be touched.
Influence, money, and renown will all stay the same when you die in Bannerlord. Your heir will also receive all your items in their inventory.
All your settlements will stay with you since they are actually controlled by your clan rather than your player character. Since your heir is the new clan leader, they are the new owners of all your settlements.
However, if you were the king of a faction when you died, you might have a chance of losing the leadership of the kingdom. All kingdoms in Bannerlord are elective, which means that new kings get voted.
When you die, there will be a vote to choose who the new ruler of the kingdom will be. Your heir can either succeed you or lose the throne.
If they are young, this shouldn’t be a problem since they have a chance to get it back in the future. Or you can always knock the new king unconscious during a battle and hope they die.
That’s everything you need to know about what happens if you die in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord!
Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.
Died in battle, a very rare occurrence, no heirs and wife. The game is over.
Can confirm as I died in battle today at 38, my oldest child was not old enough so now I must play as my non combatant wife lol.
They have changed this slightly. If you play on the hardest difficulty you can die in battle. I have had it happen it is just very very rare.