The game is built on medieval values and the world will react to you accordingly. On that note, choosing a woman as your character effectively puts the game on hard-mode. So choose a story that you're interested in exploring. You can also choose your background and while the options early on may seem almost unimportant, the things you choose will shape how you are viewed in Calradia throughout the whole of the game. Nothing you create will hold up to the modern standard of beauty. Character looks are limited, but all of them have a very crude and medieval feel to them. Mount and Blade is extremely, and I mean extremely, immersive.
This is the start of your medieval career. Instead, kick off your greaves, hang your helmet, and have a seat next to the hearth in your stone keep. Don't expect to play this game from beginning to end within a single sessin or even a single month. In the open ended, sandbox world of Calradia the character creation screen is literally where it all starts.
