In With Fire & Sword, sending your troops into battle without you will very often result in wounding enemy troops, which can be useful if on a quest to capture enemy soldiers. Money from ransoms can vary, depending how big the army was, if you captured a noble, or how good it is if it's a soldier (in classic Mount&Blade, all soldiers are worth 50 denars).
Once you have taken prisoners, you may recruit them to your party, ransom them to Ransom Brokers (found in taverns in towns), or garrison them in a town or city. Very rarely, sharp weapons may result in wounding, due to reasons unknown (possibly the surgery skill on the opposite side). You can only capture the enemies who have been knocked unconscious through the use of blunt weapons ( horse charging is also blunt damage). Some fights do not allow the option, such as freeing a village from bandits. You can take prisoners at the end of most battles or sieges.
