The Kingdom of Vlandia is a kingdom in Mount&Blade II: Bannerlord ruled by Derthert dey Meroc. It occupies the western forests and coastal plains of the Calradian continent.
Overview[]
The Vlandian kingdom, named after the early warlord Wilund the Bold (Calradic: "Valandion"), began as a large number of barbarian tribes, who migrated into former Battanian lands during the waning period of the Calradic Empire. The Empire was at war on all sides, so it offered these new barbarian tribes land grants in exchange for mercenary work. Unfortunately, this gave Vlandian nobility a taste for Empire lands, and they united under King Osric Iron-Arm to conquer the far west of the Empire and declare themselves an independent nation.
Militarily, the Vlandians are best known for their powerful, well-armoured heavy cavalry units who charge with couched lances. They also field well-trained crossbowmen, and their cultural Bonus lets their leaders gain 5% more renown from each battle. Mercenaries that are Vlandian-cultured earn 15% more Money and Villages that are bound to castles, are 15% more productive. However, their cultural penalty means that it costs 20% more influence to invite Lords to armies. They start with slightly more territory than the other factions, but are vulnerable to internal dissent.[1]
Vlandia is the predecessor to the Kingdoms of Swadia and Rhodoks in Mount&Blade: Warband, with the Kingdom of Swadia even inheriting the tradition of the ruling clan's heraldry featuring a lion.
Ruler[]
King Derthert |
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Vassals[]
Official Description[]
| “ | They came from overseas, mercenaries and adventurers, speaking the tongues of many lands, taking the empire's silver to guard the frontiers against the unsubdued tribes of the interior. They took their name from one of their first warlords, Wilund the Bold - Valandion, in Calradic - and became known as the Vlandians. Their heavy cavalry, second to none, ran down the Emperor's foes from the Aserai wastes to the distant steppes. But the empire never had as much silver as it needed, and treasury officials soon learned that it could pay its mercenaries with land grants and titles. This was perhaps not the most far-sighted of policies. The Vlandians settled, married, planted farms, and built fortresses. It was not difficult, during the recent interregnum, for Osric Iron-Arm to declare himself king, independent in all but name. He seized the imperial capital of Paravenos and the lands along the coast, and that was how the west was lost to the empire. | ” |
Lore[]
The Vlandians originated overseas and came to Calradia as mercenaries and adventurers. They take their name from one of their first warlords Wilund the Bold (Calradic: "Valandion"). The Vlandians were employed by the Calradic Empire primarily for the use of sieges, utilizing their skill in crossbows and board shields, and paid in land grants and titles, predominately located along the western coast.
During a period of instability in the Empire, Osric Iron-Arm declared himself king of Vlandia, leading to de facto independence. He in turn recognized his lieutenants as barons and counts, granting them suzerainty over their lands in exchange for rallying to his banner in war. Some Vlandian kings have sought to expand the powers of the kingship; others have allowed the barons to feud amonst themselves so long as the money and manpower is there when needed.
The Battle of Pendraic[]
When King Derthert, great-grandson of Osric Iron-Arm, ascended to power, the Vlandian realm still paid lip service to the Empire and was in a shaky alliance with it. Osric Iron-Arm negotiated this alliance in return for the Empire leaving Vlandia alone, and had received a crown from the then-emperor as a gift of good-will. Derthert promised Emperor Neretzes he would aid him in war when he took the throne, not suspecting that war would actually come under Neretzes' rule. But in 1077, when the Sturgians raided the Empire's border, Neretzes called the Vlandians to march with him on the Sturgians and Battanians.
Derthert was reluctant to do so, and the Emperor insulted him, calling him and all of Vlandia cowards. The Barons were furious and Derthert was forced to march against the Empire, maintaining the illusion of alliance until the last minute. While the Vlandians played a great part in the Battle of Pendraic, they also sustained the most casualties. A great deal of Vlandian knights fell to Imperial cataphracts. Many Lords and Barons still blame Derthert for their heavy losses; Derthert himself calls Pendraic "a battle with no victors".
Tactics[]
Strengths[]
- Powerful lancer cavalry available from both common branch and the noble troop tree.
- Dedicated branch of crossbowmen provides early access to well-equipped and powerful ranged troops.
- All infantry options include access to polearms, reducing vulnerability to enemy cavalry.
- Economically balanced and densely settled home region .
Weaknesses[]
- Complete lack of horse archers.
- Light Cavalry troops are particularly fragile and can therefore be a source of high attrition, including the mounts unless carefully deployed and managed. It is recommended to take special care so they may survive long enough to upgrade to Vanguards.
- Relying completely on crossbows instead of bow archers reduces effectiveness against numerous infantry.
- Some troops lack alternative equipment options like throwing weapons despite having room for them.
- Mounts native to their home territory (Saddle Horse, Vlandian Courser) are costly compared to other cultures, even when supply is plentiful. Several Vlandian towns are chronically short on mounts.
Economy[]
- 8 cities
- 8 castles
- 36 villages
- Main products: olives (main producer), iron (1/6 of all deposits), grain, fish, sheep, pigs, grapes (a little of all this)
Summary[]
Vlandian forces pack a powerful one-two punch delivered by their crossbowmen and heavy cavalry charge. Since Vlandian troop lines have access to lancers by both the common troop tree and the noble recruits, they always have access to either elite or regular lancers. However, in Vlandian lands, there is only a single horse farm in the south, meaning that Vlandian barons and mercenaries probably need to travel to other lands to replenish their supply of war horses. Fortunately, their chosen mounts are of sturdy stock and the knights' average speed and protection and long lances allow for relatively high survivability and reduced casualties.
Curiously, conventional military troops of Vlandia do not train in the use of bow and arrow. They rely exclusively on infantry crossbowmen, which reduces their mobility (as opposed to horse archers) and capability of continuous rain of fire, but allows for powerful, synchronized volley fire to be used against enemy lines. Vlandian crossbowmen are also available very early and higher tier variants can possess large shields to protect themselves in close combat. Together with their billmen (which are effective against shields), sergeants and voulgiers (who all possess polearms and backup weapons), Vlandian defensive formations can be a tough nut to crack – but they may be unable to act decisively if their heavy cavalry support or crossbow fire is disrupted by horse archers or other multi-pronged attacks.
A good strategy for Vlandia when faced with superior foes is defense and counter offense. The Vlandian defensive line should be three formations, one behind another. The first is a two-row formation of Pikemen and/or Sergeants, which are capable of bracing their pikes; this should decimate and stop enemy cavalry charges. The second formation should be Billmen and Voulgiers, their role is to finish the remaining enemy cavalry that was stopped and decimated by pikemen. The third formation, preferably on elevated ground, should be Crossbowmen providing fire support to the first two.
Once the enemy's first wave of attackers is thwarted, use your shock lance cavalry to launch a counteroffensive, break the ranks of the advancing enemy infantry and scatter them. Then order your pikemen, billmen and crossbowmen to march ahead; the goal is to bring the enemy into range of the Crossbowmen and provide fire support to the cavalry.
Troop Tree[]
Clans[]
| Clans of Vlandia |
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| Major |
| dey Meroc • dey Tihr • dey Arromanc • dey Cortain • dey Gunric • dey Valant dey Fortes • dey Molarn • dey Jelind • dey Folcun • dey Rothad |
| Minor |
| Brotherhood of the Woods • Company of the Golden Boar |
Territory[]
| Territory of Vlandia |
|---|
| Towns Charas • Galend • Jaculan • Ocs Hall • Ostican • Pravend • Rovalt • Sargot |
| Castles Caleus Castle • Drapand Castle • Hongard Castle • Ormanfard Castle • Talivel Castle Tirby Castle • Usanc Castle • Verecsand Castle |
| Villages Alantas • Alorstan • Arromanc • Caleus • Calioc • Cananc • Chornad • Deriat • Drapand • Etirburg Ferton • Fregian • Furbec • Halisvust • Hongard • Horsger • Larnac • Mareiven • Marin • Meroc • Mot Nogrent • Oritan • Ormanfard • Palisont • Remental • Rodetan • Rulund • Savinth • Sirindac Talivel • Tirby • Usanc • Valanby • Verecsand • Vesin |
Trivia[]
- Vlandia owns the highest number of settlements and occupies the largest amount of territory in-game.
- The inspiration for the Vlandians in Mount&Blade II: Bannerlord comes from the Normans of Normandy (a region in northern France), particularly the conflicts involving William the Conqueror, Robert Guiscard of Sicily, and the crusader Bohemond I of Antioch.[1]
- Leaders of Vlandian clans bear the title of Baron, a nobility title of Old French origin.
- Pravend and Ocs Hall are perhaps the old names for the cities of Praven and Uxkhal.
- Sargot is perhaps the old name for the city of Sargoth, initially owned by the Kingdom of Nords in Warband.
- However, it should be taken into account this cannot be the same city, as it is placed much further south than Sargoth in Warband.
- Galend and Jaculan correspond to Yalen and Jelkala.
- Encyclopedia entries hint Charas corresponds to Shariz, owned by the Sarranid Sultanate by the time of Warband.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dev Blog - Vlandia. TaleWorlds Entertainment (30 November 2017). Retrieved on 2 March 2018.
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