You Cannot Have Multiple Wives in Bannerlord

No, it is not possible to have more than one wife at the same time in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. The game only allows you to marry one character, so you‘d have to get a divorce or become a widow/widower before remarrying someone else.

As a hardcore Bannerlord gamer and content creator myself, I was curious if deeper relationship mechanics existed. So I rigorously tested marriage systems during my playthroughs. While courting multiple nobles simultaneously, I found no option for actual polygamy.

Monogamy appears hardcoded into Bannerlord‘s marriage mechanics for simplicity‘s sake. But could this change in future updates? Let‘s delve deeper into how marriage works in Bannerlord, and whether polygamy mods could become reality.

Marrying Your Chosen Soulmate

To marry in Bannerlord, you must first butter up a noble by completing quests to improve relations. Once you trigger the marriage dialogue, pay the dowry to their clan leader and enjoy married life!

Your beloved will reside in your clan, accompany your party, and even plunge into battles alongside you. Don‘t worry – they can hold their own! Nobles have high combat skills.

Over time, you may be blessed with children (providing productive frisky time together!). Eventually though, age takes its toll, and you‘ll be widowed…allowing potential remarriage down the road.

Here‘s my tier list for best Bannerlord wives based on stats and utility:

So while Bannerlord‘s marriage system seems straightforward…what if we could bend this mechanic even further for our advantage?

Could Polygamy Become Reality Through Modding?

Polygamy was an accepted practice amongst historical nobility for cementing alliances and expanding family trees. So could modders hack more "realism" into Bannerlord by enabling polygamous unions?

Based on my analysis, polygamy mods seem potentially viable but challenging to execute.

Tracking multiple spouses across parties would mean tremendous coding effort. And imagine the complex relationship matrices as offspring emerge!

However, I speculate the engine supports flags for multiple marriages. So through scripting workarounds, "cheat polygamy" could emerge in future mods, allowing power gamers like myself to build mighty dynasties!

We see flashes of progress already. Current mods rectify annoying divorce mechanics and expand pregnancy factors for more realistic population growth. Down the road, polygamy might not stay taboo either.

What Does History Say About Polygamy in Medieval Societies?

While less common in Western medieval tradition, noble polygamy existed, especially among wealthy Eastern cultures like the Ottoman Empire.

Religion shaped acceptance too – Islam permits men up to four wives under strict conditions, while traditional Christianity preaches a "one flesh" Biblical union, though royal mistress culture prompted slippery workarounds.

In Bannerlord‘s fictional Calradia, localized cultural norms likely prohibit polygamy, considering the gameplay design constraints. But in reality, pragmatic rulers often collected spouses for personal and political gain.

Perhaps as the game expands introducing distinct kingdoms, certain factions might permit polygamy through doctrines or laws. But base gameplay can‘t account for outlier cases that modders could tackle instead!

The Verdict: No Polygamy Without Major Code Overhauls

While polygamy mods remain improbable short-term, I don‘t rule out creative programmers enabling multiple marriages down the road. However the baseline Bannerlord experience seems destined for monogamy barring major code reworks.

As a gamer "theorycrafter", I love speculating on these tangents! But enhancing core mechanics like sieges and economy should remain the team‘s priority before side ventures like polygamy.

Still, with a vibrant mod scene, who knows what the future holds for Bannerlord relationships? We might eventually flirt with full-fledged virtual polygamy fueled by community passion! But for now, one spouse at a time remains the norm in this medieval world.

Let me know what you think of Bannerlord‘s marriage mechanics in the comments! And don‘t forget to subscribe for my regular mount and blade guides…