Robber Baron

You may be looking for the achievement of the same name.

Robber Baron is a side quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, given by Sir Hanush after the side quest Clothes Make the Man, in an attempt to teach Henry and Hans a bit of responsibility.

Background

It´s not unusual for family quarrels to get blown out of proportion, though they usually end with nothing worse than bruised feelings. Not so in the case of Captain Bernard´s kin! Two of his cousins are feuding so fiercely that one is lying seriously wounded in Rattay and the other is pillaging farms around Neuhof with his band of renegades. Sir Hanush has sent me and Lord Capon on a punitive expedition to deal with the robber baron. Captain Bernard will naturally be leading the corps himself.

Simple walkthrough

• (Optional) Go to Bernard and join the squad.
• (Optional) Meet up with the corps in the camp.
• Talk to Captain Bernard.
• Find Wolflin´s encampment.
• Scout out the south farm
  • (Optional) Bring the farmer's wife at least three bandages for her husband (0/3)
  • Follow the trail of blood
• Scout out the northern farm.
  • (Optional) Report the position of the encampment to Sir Bernard
    • Kill Wolflin of Kamberg
      • Talk to Bernard
        • Go back to Rattay and report to Sir Hanush.
  • Try to parley. Put on Sir Bernard's colors and go unarmed.
    • Follow the guard into the camp
      • Go back and report to Captain Bernard.
        • Go back to Rattay and report to Sir Hanush.

Detailed walkthrough

After Hans and Henry are chewed out by Sir Hanush during Clothes Make the Man, he tells them that Sir Milota of Oleshna, a distant cousin of Sir Bernard's recently arrived in Rattay, seriously wounded, after his fortress was attacked by Wolflin of Kamberg, another cousin of Bernard. Milota pursued him as far as Neuhof but was badly beaten. As the skirmish took place in Hanush's territory, and Wolflin is still pillaging the countryside, Hanush insists that he must be stopped, ideally without bloodshed. Hans is relieved to do so and gain the chance to prove himself to his uncle.

Bernard ponders where his troublesome cousin could be hiding

Riding out with Bernard

Hans will head straight down to the courtyard where Bernard is waiting. Speak to Bernard and the party will head to the campsite south of Uzhitz, where Hans and Henry previously camped during The Prey. If the player takes too long, they will head there without Henry, and the objective will update to meet them there.

Along the way, Bernard and Hans discuss the former's Kamberg relatives, and the rumours of a curse that plague the family. Wolflin's father Wilhelm was so hideously disfigured that Bernard's family servants needed to be whipped to not run and hide from him. Even Bernard himself was afraid of the man as a child. Even more ominously, Wilhelm was born this way when Wolflin's grandmother, Countess Barbora of Haugwitz, attempted a abortion when she did not want to bear his grandfather's children. This however failed, and she even gave birth to quintuplets. Wilhelm was the last and only one to survive birth, and would carry the burden of the horrific circumstances for the rest of his life. Wolflin himself was born normal if wild, though his departure for Poland several years ago caused Wilhelm to become bad tempered. Strangest of all, Wolflin returned upon Wilhelm's death, despite abundant rumors about his own death back during his adventures in Silesia.

Suddenly, Bernard brings the party to a stop, having spotted two of his scouts, hung from a tree. After some brief condolences, the group continues to their camp. At this point, Henry can question Bernard about his kin in case he missed the story from earlier. Ultimately though, Bernard sends Henry to investigate two nearby farms where Wolflin was spotted - one to the north, and one to the south.

The northern farm

The northern farmer denies everything

At the northern farm just south of Uzhitz, the farmer denies that any raids have taken place there at all. His wife though will admit to Henry that two or three men came, and her husband made her hide inside while he spoke with them. Her account will contradict itself though, as she lets it slip that she told the raiders up front there was nothing to steal.

At this point, Henry grows suspicious and can attempt to persuade her to tell the truth. If the player succeeds in persuasion, the farmer's wife will reveal the truth. If this fails though, Henry can instead speak to the farmer again to catch him in his lie. Backed into a corner, the farmer will admit that the bandits were here, and that his wife knows where their camp is, having been there to heal one of them. Speak to his wife again, and she will admit to the full account: some of the raiders came to the farm and stole some food, though they did not act violently. Additionally, she offered them medical assistance to appease them, and even went to their camp to do so. At this point, Henry can ask that she take him to their camp, promising to deal with the bandits so they do not punish her for ratting them out.

The southern farm

The southern farmer's wife begs for Henry's help

Alternatively, head to the southern farm north of Neuhof, where the farmer, Lumir, is lying unconscious and badly beaten. The farmer's wife will tell Henry that her husband ran after the bandits after they stole their foodstores, catching one of them with his sickle along the way. Alas, Lumir was beaten black and blue and now lies at death's door. Ask the worried wife where the bandits went and she will tell Henry without hesitation: along the track, straight into the woods. The farmer's wife also gloats that the injured bandit was bleeding like a stuck pig, and Henry muses that he would probably leave a blood trail.

Before the player leaves, they have the option to give the woman 3 bandages to treat Lumir. She will offer Henry 325 in gratitude, and insist even if the player declines.

When ready, follow the small track north. Sure enough, there are splashes of blood along the path - follow these to a small tent with a blood-soaked garment lying on a fallen white tree behind it. Follow the path northeast, where there are bloody hand-prints on a white tree and several more bloodstains and bloodied clothing. Eventually, the path curves north towards a creek. There, the player will find Wolflin’s camp.

Defeating Wolflin's band

Wolflin's secret encampment

Once Henry has found the camp, he muses that he better go back and report to Bernard. The player can of course attempt to slaughter the camp alone, but with almost a dozen men, the odds are very difficult. If they opt to return for backup, Bernard will ask for information about the enemy numbers, before affirming that they must fight no matter the odds to punish Wolflin. When the player is ready, the Rattay men will fast travel with Henry back to Wolflin's camp and do battle.

If the battle is lost, the defeated Rattay men will retreat back to camp where Bernard grimly sends Henry to report their failure to Hanush. As for Wolflin possibly giving chase to finish them off, Bernard is certain that his cousin would rather leave the province to cause havoc elsewhere. Hanush is predictably upset that the robber baron has cheated death once again without being punished, and will refuse to give Henry a reward.

If the battle is won however, the group will return to Rattay where Henry can report their success to Hanush. He will praise Henry's efforts and reward him with the Magdeburg cuirass.

Parleying with Wolflin

Henry negotiates with Wolflin

If the player recalls Hanush's musing that there may be more than meets the eye, they can choose to investigate Wolflin further. To do this, Henry must successfully convince Bernard to allow him to parley. In this case, Bernard will give him an Oleshnitz waffenrock so that Wolflin will know Henry is representing Bernard.

Approach the camp unarmed to be escorted to Wolflin. He will recognize Henry's colors and asks what his cousin has to say. At this point, Henry may ask Wolflin for his side of the story, and his account will be quite different from what Bernard previously told. While it is true that his father Wilhelm was disfigured and the only pentuplet to survive, Barbora herself was a pentuplet and her mother a quadruplet, so multiple births were nothing unusual for their family. Additionally, Barbora never sought a witch for an abortion, as she was deeply in love with Wilhelm's father and more than happy to bear his children. Additionally, not only was Wolflin obviously never killed in Poland, Milota was the one to spread these rumors so as to steal Wilhelm's property for himself. He even bribed a priest to fabricate Wilhelm's deathbed confession about a family curse, and with the King out of the way, the Land Court cannot be bothered to look into the case, leaving Wolflin out of options to claim his land.

Despite his ill fortunes, Wolflin cannot be allowed to go free without returning what was stolen. Henry has four propositions to present to Wolflin in exchange for safe passage: first, Wolflin can leave the loot behind; second, he can leave it behind and pay Hanush compensation for his damages; third, he can leave with his loot as long as he does not cause further damages; finally, they can settle it over a duel.

Negotiating an outcome where Hanush gets his loot back is required to receive his reward. Failing the parley meanwhile will force the player into the previous quest chain - Bernard will commend Henry for an honest attempt before asking him to lead the men to the camp. Finally, dueling Wolflin will end in disaster, as defeating him will merely provoke his men into dishonorably swarming Henry in revenge. Once the player escapes from this, Bernard will be disappointed that Henry chose to fight instead of negotiating, and he orders his men to hunt down the remaining bandits. Hanush on the other hand is pleased and commends Henry on his courage. In any case where Henry successfully earns a reward, Hanush will give him a Magdeburg cuirass, the same as if Wolflin's band was defeated in battle.

Strategies

• If the player wishes to defeat Wolflin's men without the Rattay party's help, the easiest methods are fighting from horseback or stealth archery.
• Wolflin's men are better equipped on average than the Rattay men, especially regarding armor. If the player wishes to defeat him, it is still helpful to kill as many of his bandits as possible before returning to Bernard to trigger the group fight.
  • Alternatively, the battle is immediately won once Wolflin is dead, as this triggers his men to rout. The player may therefore focus on him while his bandits are kept busy.
• Approaching Wolflin's camp armed or without wearing the Oleshnitz waffenrock will immediately provoke his men into attacking. This will immediately fail the parley.
• Wolflin has very high Speech and Charisma, and it can be useful to take either a Bard potion or Amor potion.
• If the player attempts the most generous offer to Wolflin (safe passage and keeping his loot), Henry gains a new option to bribe him for 1000 .
• If the player fully listens to Wolflin's side of the story, Henry gains a new Speech option to bring up Wolflin's lack of quarrels with Hanush. Picking this option allows the player to counterargue even in the case of failing.
  • If Henry states that Hanush does not know about Milota's deception and was merely acting out of generosity, he promises to tell Hanush so they can help Wolflin with his case, since Milota is still too injured to leave before being held accountable. This will convince Wolflin to agree with the proposed terms.
  • If Henry instead cites Bernard's relations to Milota and service under Hanush, Wolflin will be dismissive since that still leaves them as allies of his enemy. This will fail the parley, with Wolflin telling Henry to tell Bernard he will be waiting to do battle.

Notes

• After finishing this quest, Hans may continue to wear his plate armor for several in-game days before switching back to his standard attire. The time it takes for his outfit to reset may vary.
• There are two unique items that can be obtained during this quest:
  • Oleshnitz waffenrock: If the player persuades Bernard to parley, he will give Henry this item as a way to pique Wolflin's interest in speaking.
  • Heavy shield (Blazing Heart variant): Wolflin carries a unique variant of the Heavy shield. The player may obtain it by looting it from Wolflin when he is unconscious or dead.
• The two scouts hung up on the road past Neuhof can be found long before this quest is activated.
• Killing the leads at the farms will not fail their respective objectives nor trigger any unique dialogue, though it will force the player to find Wolflin's camp blind.
• Successfully killing Wolflin and all his men without the Rattay men will trigger unique dialogue. Both Bernard and Hans will be shocked that Henry was crazy enough to attempt this and succeed.
• Neither the Rattay men nor Wolflin's band will eat from the food pot in their camp. Additionally, they will not go to sleep during this quest.
• If Hans is spoken to after convincing Bernard to let Henry parley, he will remark that he thinks this is suicide, though he will not attempt to stop Henry from trying.
• If the Charisma choice was successfully used against Wolflin, Henry can relay Wolflin's greetings and offer to ride against Sigismund when the time comes to Sir Radzig. This will yield an entertaining story about Wolflin's service to Radzig involving a siege and crossdressing.
• Bernard's reaction to a successful parley will depend on the terms Wolflin agreed on:
  • If Wolflin left the loot and paid Hanush compensation, Bernard will be pleasantly surprised and compliment Henry on his nice work.
  • If Wolflin left the loot but paid no compensation, Bernard will be concerned that all they have accomplished is to send him off to rob their neighbors. Still, at least Hanush's domains are safe, and the neighboring fiefdoms can be warned to prepare for Wolflin.
  • If Wolflin was let off scot-free, Bernard will be furious that Henry was too generous. He cannot take their offer back since Henry went as an official envoy, and showing weakness like this seriously damaged Hanush's honor. The only thing they can do left is warn their neighbors in hopes somebody else deals with Wolflin for good.
• Hanush's reaction to a successful parley will also depend on the terms Wolflin agreed on, though Henry will gain reputation with him even in the worst case scenario:
  • If Wolflin left the loot and paid Hanush compensation, Hanush will commend Henry, though he muses that Bernard is likely disappointed at being denied his revenge.
  • If Wolflin left the loot but paid no compensation, Hanush will be relieved that they cut their losses, though he muses that Bernard is likely unsatisfied at them losing face over a few groschen.
  • If Wolflin was let off scot-free, Hanush will be furious that Henry seriously damaged his honor, clarifying that he wanted to avoid bloodshed within reason. Even though Henry meant well, this incident calls into question Hanush's ability to protect his subjects.
• Unlike the other two, Hans will always be impressed by a successful parley from Henry, not caring to pry into the specifics of the terms.
• The player cannot tell Sir Hanush about Milota's actions, even if this option is chosen after hearing out Wolflin's story.
• If the player owns The Amorous Adventures of Bold Sir Hans Capon DLC, this quest must be completed to unlock its content before concluding the main quest.