Crime & Roguery Playstyle

November 21, 2025

How to play as a bandit lord.

Playing as a criminal in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord offers a unique, high-risk, high-reward path distinct from the typical noble warlord. Instead of ruling from a castle, you rule from the shadows, profiting from the chaos of war through smuggling, raiding, and the Roguery skill.

Roguery Playstyle Deep Dive

The Criminal Life: Why Go Rogue?

The Roguery skill isn't just for bandits; it's essential for any player looking to maximize loot and manage prisoners effectively. However, dedicating yourself to a "Crime Lord" playstyle opens up unique mechanics:

  • Higher Loot Yields: You get more (and better) items from battles.

  • Prisoner Recruitment: Recruit bandit troops like Forest Bandits or Sea Raiders directly into your party without morale penalties.

  • Infiltration: Sneak into enemy towns to trade or spy.

  • Escape: Break yourself (or others) out of prison.

Roguery Mechanics

Smuggling and Bribing

When you are at war with a faction or have a high criminal rating, you cannot enter their towns normally. You must sneak in using a disguise. Success depends on your Roguery level.

  • Bribing Guards: Sometimes you can pay your way in. This increases Roguery XP.

  • Smuggling: Selling goods in a town where they are illegal or whilst at war can yield massive profits, though it carries risks.

Prison Breaks

One of the fastest ways to level Roguery is breaking lords out of prison.

  1. Enter the Keep/Dungeon of a town (you may need to sneak in).

  2. Select "Stage a Prison Break".

  3. Fight your way out with the prisoner. Success grants massive Roguery XP and relationship boosts with the saved lord's clan.

Upgrading Roguery Skill

Making Money as a Rogue

Raiding Caravans and Villages

The bread and butter of a bandit lord.

  • Caravans: Attack enemy caravans for high-value trade goods (Spice, Velvet, Tools).

  • Villages: Raid villages for raw resources and food. Note that this devastates your relation with the village notables, making future recruitment difficult.

For more details on maximizing raids, check our Village Raiding & Defense guide.

Fencing Goods

Selling stolen goods isn't explicitly labeled "fencing" in the UI, but selling massive amounts of looted trade goods to neutral towns is your main income source.

  • Tip: Use the "Fourberie" mod if you want expanded criminal enterprises like extortion and gangs (if you are on PC). For vanilla players, your "fencing" is simply trading your ill-gotten gains.

Selling Prisoners

With high Roguery, you capture more prisoners.

  • Ransom Brokers: Found in taverns. Selling prisoners is a steady income stream.

  • Recruiting Bandits: Instead of selling, you can recruit high-tier bandits like Fian Champions (via Forest Bandits) if you have the Veteran's Respect perk.

See Prisoners & Ransoms for a deep dive on managing captives.

Key Roguery Perks

Choosing the right perks can transform your army.

Roguery Perks Guide

  • Level 25 - Sweet Talker: Increases relation gain with bandits. Good for early game.

  • Level 125 - Scarface: Increases loot from villages.

  • Level 150 - Partners in Crime: Bandits always offer to join you instead of fighting (if you are stronger). This is crucial for building a bandit army.

  • Level 175 - One of the Family: Increases skill limit for bandit troops in your party.

For a full breakdown, visit the Roguery Skill Guide.

Consequences: The Price of Crime

  • Criminal Rating: Committing crimes (raiding, attacking caravans) increases your criminal rating with a faction. If it gets too high, they will declare war on you, and their lords will hunt you down.

  • Relations: Raiding destroys your reputation. You may find yourself with few friends and nowhere to recruit troops.

  • Executions: If you are captured as a notorious bandit lord, enemy lords are more likely to execute you (if you have death enabled).

Summary

The Roguery playstyle allows you to lead armies of bandits, swim in loot, and laugh at castle walls. It requires careful management of your relations and a willingness to be the villain of Calradia.

Next Steps:

  1. Start by hunting Looters to build your initial Roguery.

  2. Move on to attacking caravans of factions you don't mind fighting.

  3. Unlock Veteran's Respect to turn bandits into elite troops.

Check out Early Game Money-Making for how to fund your first bandit warband.