Mount&Blade/Fiefs

Several castles are dotted around the map, controlled by various factions. When you conquer one (see Siege tactics) it will become the property of your faction (if you have one) along with its associated village (if there is one). Every time you conquer a castle your king will assign it and/or its village to his vassals, and there is of course a chance that you will be the chosen recipient of one of these new assets. If you are not a member of a faction there is a chance that a king will offer you a holding in exchange for joining his cause. At this point you cannot control a fief without a ruler giving it to you.

Regardless of how you acquire a fief, doing so allows you to collect taxes from the populace (these taxes accumulate, so you don't have to visit every week if you don't want to). In the case of the castle you will also see your banner flying above it. In later versions you will also be able to pay for improvements to your fiefs. If the fief is a village you can buy food from the villagers or force them to give you goods, but as with other villages this will lower your reputation towards them. Once a village belongs to you or to your faction you can no longer burn it.

If you have previously burned a village that becomes your fief the townsfolk will remember and hate you, but you can still collect your taxes as usual. As a general rule, if you intend to conquer castles you should avoid raiding nearby villages belonging to that same faction.

From time to time enemies will try to raid your villages or besiege your castles; when this occurs you can head there and drive off the attackers. If it's a village being raided the townsfolk will fight alongside you.