Rather than having classes to choose from, Mount&Blade instead lets you decide elements of your past which help determine your starting abilities and equipment and acts as a sort of difficulty setting. Unlike some RPGs your starting stats are not "rolled" for you, so every time you choose a particular background element the base stats will be the same.
Once you have chosen the aspects of your background you move onto point distribution.
Base character
| Attributes | Proficiencies | Skills | Gender |
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For v1.011:
| Attributes | Proficiencies | Skills | Gender |
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Note: The weapons proficiency figures for one-handed weapons and polearms were derived by experimentation, and may not be entirely accurate, as the program seems to use a relational algorithm to arrive at them.
Your father was...
| Career | Attributes | Proficiencies | Skills | Inventory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| An impoverished noble (male) | INT +1, CHA +2 | One-handed weapons +10, Two-handed weapons +10, Polearms +10 | Weapon Master +1, Power Strike +1, Riding +1, Tactics +1, Leadership +1 | Battered Round Shield, Renown +100, Honour +3, denars +100, banner |
| An impoverished noble (female) | INT +2, CHA +1 | One-handed weapons +20 | Wound Treatment +1, Riding +2, First Aid +1, Leadership +1 | Battered Round Shield, Renown +50, denars +100, banner |
| A travelling merchant | INT +2, CHA +1 | Two-handed weapons +10 | Riding +1, Leadership +1, Trade +2, Inventory Management +1 | Renown +20, denars +250 |
| A veteran warrior | STR +1, AGI +1, CHA +1 | One-handed weapons +10, Two-handed weapons +15, Polearms +20, Throwing +10 | Ironflesh +1, Power Strike +1, Weapon Master +1, Leadership +1, Trainer +1 | Renown +10, denars +50, Battered Kite Shield |
| A hunter | STR +1, AGI +2 | Two-handed weapons +10, Archery +30 | Power Draw +1, Tracking +1, Pathfinding +1, Spotting +1, Athletics +1 | denars +30 |
| A steppe nomad (male) | STR +1, AGI +1, INT +1 | One-handed weapons +10, Archery +30, Throwing +10 | Power Draw +1, Horse Archery +1, Pathfinding +1, Riding +2 | Battered Round Shield, Renown +10, denars +15 |
| A steppe nomad (female) | STR +1, AGI +1, INT +1 | One-handed weapons +5, Archery +20, Throwing +5 | Wound Treatment +1, First Aid +1, Pathfinding +1, Riding +2 | denars +20, Battered Round Shield |
| A thief | AGI +3 | One-handed weapons +20, Throwing +20 | Athletics +2, Power Throw +1, Inventory Management +1, Looting +1 | denars +25, Throwing Knives |
Early Life
| Job | Attributes | Proficiencies | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| A page at a nobleman's court | CHA +1, STR +1 | One-handed weapons +15, Polearms +5 | Power Strike +1, Persuasion +1 |
| A craftsman's apprentice | INT +1, STR +1 | Engineer +1, Trade +1 | |
| A shop assistant | INT +1, CHA +1 | Inventory Management +1, Trade +1 | |
| A street urchin | AGI +1, INT +1 | One-handed weapons +15, Throwing +5 | Spotting +1, Looting +1 |
| A steppe child | STR +1, AGI +1 | Archery +15 | Horse Archery +1, Power Throw +1, Renown +5 |
Adulthood
| Job | Attributes | Proficiencies | Skills | Inventory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A squire (male only) | STR +1, AGI +1 | One-handed weapons +30, Two-handed weapons +30, Polearms +30, Archery +10, Crossbows +10, Throwing +10 | Riding +1, Weapon Master +1, Power Strike +1, Leadership +1 | denars +20, Ragged Leather Jerkin, Tattered Leather Boots, Rusty Sword, Hunting Crossbow, Bolts, Swaybacked Saddle Horse, Smoked Fish |
| A lady-in-waiting (female only) | INT +1, CHA +1 | One-handed weapons +10, Crossbows +15 | Persuasion +2, Riding +1, Wound Treatment +1 | denars +100, Dagger, Hunting Crossbow, Bolts, Spirited Courser, Sturdy Woolen Hood, Sturdy Woolen Dress, Smoked Fish |
| A troubadour | CHA +2 | One-handed weapons +25, Crossbows +10 | Weapon Master +1, Persuasion +1, Leadership +1, Pathfinding +1 | denars +80, Sturdy Tabard, Ragged Leather Boots, Rusty Sword, Hunting Crossbow, Bolts, Swaybacked Saddle Horse, Smoked Fish |
| A university student | INT +2 | One-handed weapons +20, Crossbows +20 | Weapon Master +1, Surgery +1, Wound Treatment +1, Persuasion +1 | denars +80, Sturdy Linen Tunic, Woolen Hose, Sword, Hunting Crossbow, Bolts, Swaybacked Saddle Horse, Smoked Fish, book (random) |
| A goods peddler | CHA +1, INT +1 | Polearms +15 | Riding +1, Trade +1, Pathfinding +1, Inventory Management +1 | denars +90, Leather Gloves, Leather Jacket, Ragged Leather Boots, Fur Hat, Staff, Hunting Crossbow, Bolts, Saddle Horse, Sumpter Horse, Linen, Pottery, Wool (2x), Smoked Fish |
| A smith | STR +1, INT +1 | One-handed weapons +15 | Weapon Master +1, Engineer +1, Tactics +1, Trade +1 | denars +100, Ragged Leather Boots, Balanced Sword, Hunting Crossbow, Bolts, Tools, Saddle Horse, Smoked Fish |
| A game poacher | STR +1, AGI +1 | Polearms +10, Archery +35 | Power Draw +1, Tracking +1, Spotting +1, Athletics +1 | denars +10, Chipped Axe, Rawhide Coat, Hide Boots, Hunting Bow, Barbed Arrows, Heavy Sumpter Horse, Dried Meat (2x), Furs (2x) |
Reason for adventuring
| Personal revenge | STR+2, Power Strike +1 |
| The loss of a loved one | CHA +2, Ironflesh +1 |
| Wanderlust | AGI +2, Pathfinding +1 |
| Being forced out of your home | STR +1, INT +1, Weapon Master +1 |
| Lust for money and power | AGI +1, INT +1, Looting +1 |
Point distribution
Once you have chosen your background and proficiency you will see the character creation screen. First you have to decide whether you want to be allowed to quit without saving. Enabling this will allow you to quit and reload your game to undo a disastrous battle or otherwise experiment with things.
Once you have decided on a saving mode you get to distribute points to your skills and attributes (see those pages for more information on what each does). Before you can continue you must distribute all skill, attribute, and weapon points, and also give your character a name.
Face generation
Next you get to customise your face. You can rotate the face by holding 
and dragging around, and you can customise various features by moving the sliders or clicking the buttons. You can also click Randomize to have the game create a face (which you can then tweak if you wish). Once you're happy with your face, click Done to finish your character. You may change your looks later on, through the character page.