Where to Live

If you want to build up a warmonger general, it is critical to know which traits you intend on developing. Certain traits and ancilliaries may not be available to you -- Shieldbearers (+2 Hit Points, -1 morale for all troops on the battlefield) are unavailable to Southern Europe, for example, while Runners are unavailable to Norther Europe. I also gather that Swordbearers and Shieldbearers are mutually exclusive, though I recall that one of my generals had both during a pre-patch campaign. Also, certain types of neighbor (particularly neighbors with a fondness for light cavalry) are wholly undesirable for the purpose of building up a warmonger. This again makes England and Scotland good choices, but Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire should not be neglected -- their lands are thick with trees, perfect for a practicing ambusher.


The Joy of Spying

Warmongers love to fight in the limelight. Wide-open settlements with small and frail garrisons make perfect targets for whetting your blade. Seldom will you get the opportunity to strike a settlement without walls; but you can do just as well by opening the gates with a flock of spies. The best way to go about this is to sneak your warmonger deep into enemy territory, and get your spies to let him into an interior settlement -- kill the guards, sack the place, pawn the buildings and melt into the shadows before an outraged enemy can exact retribution. The money and soldiers he expends to put the place back together are money and soldiers he doesn't expend on border security. In this way, warmongers can act rather like beefed-up assassins; why sabotage a building when you can completely destroy it and use the proceeds to buy that sorrel destrier you've always wanted?