The Old Realms brings Warhammer Fantasy to Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

Image credit: The Old Realms Modteam / R4MPZY, via ModDB. Warhammer © Games Workshop.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord already knows how to stage a pretty impressive battle. But what if those battles involved undead armies, battlefield magic, cannons, and a particularly unhealthy number of vampires? The Old Realms Modteam has spent years answering that question with an ambitious Warhammer Fantasy total conversion that trades Bannerlord's familiar world for an entirely different setting.

Armies drawn from the Empire, Vampire Counts, Bretonnia, and other factions clash across a custom campaign map, while spells and artillery give combat a considerably more explosive personality. Summoning the undead in the middle of a battle is a bit more dramatic than ordering another group of recruits to form a shield wall.

We think the real achievement here is the scope of the transformation. The team has developed new equipment, units, faction systems, and character careers rather than simply replacing one army's appearance with another.

The Old Realms remains an unfinished early-access project, however, not a complete recreation of the entire Warhammer world. When this Spotlight was published, the War in the Mountains release specifically targeted Bannerlord 1.3.15, and the developers warned that War Sails and other major gameplay modifications weren't compatible.

So, if you've ever dreamed of leading an army into battle beneath the banners of the Empire, or finding yourself on the wrong end of a particularly angry horde of Greenskins, The Old Realms is one hell of a reason to saddle up and return to Bannerlord. Just remember... the Old World isn't exactly known for welcoming visitors with open arms.