There are no short cuts or easy solutions to recruiting. It was simply variable.Įven my own towns with maxed relations weren't offering up impressive recruits. The numbers available didn't seem to have any predictable pattern that I could discern. I'm thinking it's also tied to the player's level? I knew a few villages that had 100 relations with me - even more in some cases - and I would often see peasants, freeholders and on rare occasions, some spearmen. The quality of recruits is more complicated than simply relations however. By the way, do you happen have anything that needs doing around here?" That's an example of how you can max out relations with a village. "I'll take some of that cheap wool, a loaf of bread and all the barley you have. Rather than riding into town and thinking you can bamboozle them all into worshipping you, try being a friend who likes to stop in and say "hello". Better yet, develop the habit of stopping by regularly, over time. Find something else to do and go back again later. You are looking for a short-term solution to a long-term process. There's no way make new friends instantly without cheating. It's a small bonus and you can only do it a few times before it stops working. As long as the cow is "following you" and right close to you and the village, you'll get a new dialogue option "I'd like to give you 1 cow." I think it's the same bonus no matter how many cows you bring so just do it one at a time. You can also bring them a cow or two to get a small boost in relations.