Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Spy Party / Contender Traits

Encased in this guide are the details and information to help you sort out who your Spy is during the Spy Party quest for nobles.

Intro

Not going to type up a storm here, just going to say I was annoyed by the quest itself and was confused like everyone else, so I decided to catalog a bunch of things and compile them into this more comprehensive guide. I’ve seen a couple others but they don’t seem to share some things that really matter.

The Contenders and Traits

Each Contender has four traits that are discerned by the townspeople you chat up while looking for them. They are as follows:

• Sword
• Hair
• Beard
• Markings

There are four Contenders that spawn for this quest.

• Hardy
• Bold
• Dignified
• Confident

These are just names for the NPCs. However, to note is that these character models do not change between iterations of the quest. They will remain the same. Who the spy is per iteration will differ.

To specify, I will list the contenders below and the traits that they do/do not match.

Hardy Contender:

• Has Sword (x)
• Has Beard ( )
• Has Markings ( )
• Has Hair (x)

Bold Contender:

• Has Sword (x)
• Has Beard (x)
• Has Markings ( )
• Has Hair ( )

Confident Contender:

Has Sword ( ) [This is important, I actually wondered why his weapon was on his right rather than the left. I looked closer and it’s actually an axe)

• Has Beard (x)
• Has Markings ( )
• Has Hair ( )

Dignified Contender:

• Has Sword (x)
• Has Beard (x)
• Has Markings (x)
• Has Hair (x)

Example

I had just done the quest for maybe the third time total before writing this guide, and decided to make this guide after I did some real snoopage. So, to provide an example I will use the information and details I listed above.

The traits that the townspeople told me were as follows:

• Has Beard (x)
• Has Sword (x)
• Has Hair (x)
• (Markings not mentioned)

So, those three clues pointed me toward the Dignified Contender, who has the three traits mentioned above. I went outside and saved before pelting his face with two arrows in a duel, but it turns out that my first guess was in fact correct. Yippee!

More M&B 2 Guides

• How to Activate Cheats.
• XP Multiplier and Smithy Stamina Mods.
• How to Get Easy Money On Start.
• Spy Party / Contender Traits.
• Quick Influence (Easy Way).
• Make Money Really Fast!
• Companion Stats.