Managing characters that can each rise to their own positions in the different factions/realms, from Marshal positions, to Knights, even becoming King (Ruler in Battlemaster). There's taxes and income from feudal fiefs your characters manage have been granted by a higher ranking Lord/Liege in both games, combat and fighting is done similarly in both by controlling your own 'units' of soldiers to command into battle, choosing the location from a larger global map, then sort of going into a more specific map/scenario where the actual fighting takes place between the soldiers. Battlemaster crunches it all by numbers, literally, while the other is just a more visual way of determining a victor. Both games you can duel for honor (though not to the death in default Warband), but you still get to plan out some amount of strategy and tactics in both games by deciding where the battle will take place (open field or a stronghold/fortification), and to some degree formation settings. Both are heavily set in a middle-ages sort of era where feudal oaths, lieges, knights, military campaigns to conquer other kingdoms/factions take place amidst political jockeying to gain influence/honor/prestige with other Lords, knights, and nobles of the realm, etc.
Thinking back on that, I'm quite surprised at how neat Battlemaster is in that regard, it has lots of the military strategy/feudal politics that are big part in this other game lots of people know about. Real-time traveling and combat might be the obvious perks of the other game, but I think Battlemaster hits well on the feudal/middle ages era of military, strategy, combat, and politics. Even being turn-based, I think a lot of players from Mount&Blade: Warband might like BattleMaster too.
