Mount&Blade: Warband/Multiplayer

The first thing to do when starting multiplayer is to choose or create a profile. You don't have the option of porting your offline profile to an online one. No matter how much you've done offline, you'll have to start fresh in multiplayer. After freely customizing your character and choosing a banner, you are given the option to either host or join a game.

Host
Hosting a game will allow you to choose from many different options, including:
 * Private or Public: Set a password and make it a private game to play with friends, or let anybody join by making it a public game.
 * Bots: How many computer-controlled characters that will appear on the map.
 * Factions: Which factions will be playing?
 * Friendly Fire: If teammates would be able to hurt teammates, rather than just opponents.
 * Spectator Camera: Decide on a location for the spectator camera.
 * Respawn Period: After dying, how long will it take the player to come back to life?

Join
To join an existing server, double-click on the match suitable for you and skip directly to the game. Hovering the mouse over an option will allow you to see more information on the server.