You won't kill every enemy you encounter in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord. A handful of them can survive the battle, and when you catch them they become your prisoner after the engagement ends. You have the option of selling them into slavery, giving your army plenty of coins to fight your way through the world. However, for those who want to supplement their army and increase their numbers, can you recruit them?
You have to wait a bit until they are available to join your party. Once you've captured them, you can't immediately get them to join you. The option is not available and is grayed out in the Party menu. Instead, you need to contain them in your trailer and have them remain your prisoner for a few days. Finally, you should see a red exclamation mark appear on the group member icon in the lower left section. Click on it and go to the prisoner section of your menu.
All prisoners currently in your party should be listed in this area. Click on it, and you should see an icon where you can now recruit into your party. They'll have an upgrade like everyone else in your party, and you can upgrade them freely, depending on which troop tree they're from. You can see their level when you hover over them and their level appears in the middle, just like their character model.
You don't have to recruit every prisoner you capture. If you have too many troops in your army, it is best to buy them back in the major towns you visit in the game. Chance provides you with a decent amount of coins which is great when you are starting out and cannot hold that many. group members in your army. It is important to see how many people you can have in your group. You won't be able to hold more than the stated amount, because if you do, your army's movement slows down and your troops start to leave over time.
As you walk around Bannerlord, be sure to see how many experience points your character has gained for new skills, new perks, and always visit new towns for quests to expand your gold and fame.
