Controversy is a new feature in Warband. Lords and the player can gain controversy. Oddly, ladies will sometimes have controversy.
You gain controversy by:
- Asking for fiefs
- Losing a vassal
- Leaving soldiers behind
- Joining in or starting arguments with other vassals
- Betraying someone
- As Marshall: Any loss, such as having a village raided, caravan destroyed, peasants attacked, a lord losing a battle, a castle captured, or town captured will add to controversy in often large measures. If you face war on multiple fronts or have a large kingdom to defend, you can expect to reach near 100 controversy very quickly. The only solution is to give up being marshall in that case.
You lose controversy by:
- Defeating enemies
- Conquering territory, particularly towns (which reduces it by 120)
- Resolving disputes between vassals
- Over time
The more controversy you have, the higher the chance the soldiers will desert you and lower the chance vassals will join you. High controversy will prevent your king or queen from awarding you a fief. Very high controversy for a marshall makes it likely that they will be replaced. Controversy is maxed out at 100.