After each battle in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, you have the opportunity to capture prisoners. In this article, we will look at what you can do with your prisoners, who can be quite useful.
There are two main options for what you can do with prisoners (captives): you can either ransom them for a quick profit or recruit them into your own army.
This is quick and simple. When you have captured some prisoners, you can head to the nearest major city or castle to sell them. Once there, head to the tavern district. Look for the option to sell your captives there. The price will be indicated in parentheses—you can sell them in bulk or individually.
You can also recruit prisoners into your army. For this, you need: free space in your army and the captive's broken will. Initially, you won't be able to lead many soldiers in your group, so you might have to wait until your limit increases. Prisoners cannot be recruited immediately after capture. They need to spend some time in shackles.
Once they have calmed down and you have space for them, go to the party menu and select the captive you want to convert. Look for an icon with an arrow next to their name — this means they can be recruited into your army. Click on the arrow, and they will join you and pledge their loyalty.