Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Modding on OpenMods

TaleWorlds's sequel with official modding support

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord (1.0 release 2022 after years of Early Access) is TaleWorlds's medieval combat sandbox. Like its predecessor Warband, Bannerlord ships with official modding support, the Bannerlord Modding API, an official Module structure, and Steam Workshop integration. The community Bannerlord Mod Loader (BLSE) layers additional capabilities on top.

The mod catalogue covers everything from total conversions (Realm of Thrones for Game of Thrones, Old Realms for Warhammer Fantasy) to gameplay overhauls (Diplomacy mods, RBM combat overhaul) to QoL improvements.

The toolchain

• Steam Workshop: primary distribution.
• Bannerlord Mod Loader (BLSE): community-built launcher that handles complex mod lists better than the vanilla launcher.
• Modules system: Bannerlord's official mod format. Mods are folders under Modules/ with SubModule.xml declarations.
• The official Modding documentation: TaleWorlds publishes API docs.

What you'll find on OpenMods

Bannerlord mods live primarily on Workshop and Nexus Mods. GitHub hosts source for many of the larger projects. OpenMods catalogues GitHub-published Bannerlord mods.

Practical notes

• BLSE is recommended over vanilla launcher. The vanilla launcher's mod list management is functional but the community BLSE wraps it with profile management, batch enable/disable, and better load-order tooling.
• Module dependencies are explicit. Each mod's SubModule.xml declares its dependencies. The launcher validates these before launch.
• Patch updates break mods frequently. Bannerlord's 1.x patches have been numerous; mods often need updates. Most popular ones are kept current.
• Save game compatibility varies. Pure-cosmetic mods are save-safe; content mods (new troops, factions) often aren't.